Fundamentum Partnership launches Fund 2, raising $227 million; and 10 years of Unitus Ventures

Nandan Nilekani-backed Fundamentum Partnership has raised $227 million for its second fund which would be invested in early growth-stage Indian startups. Fundamentum plans to fund enterprises that have attained product-market fit and have developed momentum in their scale-up journey. Fundamentum also plans to lead or co-lead a $25-40 million round, investing in 4-5 start-ups each year. Ashish Kumar, co-founder and general partner at Fundamentum Partnership, spoke to Startup Street to elaborate on the road ahead.

India’s leading jobtech investor Unitus Ventures, a VC firm, celebrates 10 years and has close to $50 million of assets under management across two funds. Srikrishna Ramamoorthy, Senior Partner at Unitus Ventures, spoke to Startup Street about Unitus’ 10-year journey and the growth of Indian startups.

Every year, more and more people in India fall under the disabled category and not just because the definition of disability has been expanded. According to the 2011 census, over 2 percent of India’s population — that is over 2.5 crore Indians — live with one form of disability or another. This number is estimated to have risen considerably in the 11 years since this number was published. This is opening up a huge opportunity for assistive technology, especially given advances in robotics, AI, and Machine Learning. Social impact start-ups are lining up to dive into this space. However, there are numerous challenges that are crippling growth.