Kettleborough VC, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments, has announced the launch of its second fund—Fund II—with an intended size of Rs 80 crore. The firm has already raised Rs 35 crore in its initial closing round. Founded in 2021 by Nisarg Shah, Kettleborough VC plans to support approximately 10 startups with initial funding between $300,000 and $500,000.

The fund will target industries such as financial services and software. The initial closing round garnered investments from family offices and entrepreneurs located in both India and the US. The firm has indicated that it is poised to complete its first few investments within the next few weeks.

The investment strategy of the VC firm will focus on startups within sectors like NBFCs, insurance, fintech infrastructure, B2B commerce, B2C consumer brands, vertical SaaS, and agentic AI-driven platforms. According to the firm's statement, there will be a strong inclination towards “dhandha first” businesses.

 “We are extremely disciplined about backing execution journeys only, wherein we invest only in founders for whom the venture is the natural culmination of a decade or more of expertise in a specific domain,” said Nisarg Shah, Founder & General Partner, Kettleborough VC, on the launch of Fund II.

Also Read: Top 7 Women Leading the Way for Clean Energy Transition

Kettleborough VC successfully raised around $5 million for its inaugural fund, which was used to invest in 12 startups, including Zippmat, InPrime, Finhaat, Elivaas, Sumosave, and Gravity, among others. 

The venture capital firm plans to finalize the deployment of Fund I by the end of this quarter and expects to see its first exits in the upcoming quarters. As stated by the firm, numerous portfolio companies have received follow-on funding from leading venture capital firms such as Z47, Omnivore, Lightspeed, 3one4 Capital, and Bessemer. 

This VC firm follows a thesis centered around founder-led businesses that are focused on execution and possess significant experience in their respective categories. 

 

Also Read: WAVES 2025: Burgeoning India's Orange Economy

Shah noted that the startups supported by Fund I have shown impressive performance, nearly doubling in size over just three years.