Priya Patel
TLDR: Insurance broker Equirus has announced the launch of a $25 million Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF) to invest in seed-stage tech startups. The fund will primarily focus on business-to-business (B2B) startups in software-as-a-service (SaaS), deeptech, fintech, and other emerging sectors. Equirus plans to invest $500,000 to $1 million in 15-20 companies with proven track records of sustainable business models, strong monetization strategies, and the ability to solve critical problems in large addressable markets.
Equirus has completed over 240 transactions, raising $10.6 billion, across various areas of investment banking such as M&A, IPOs, PE, and structured finance. The launch of the EIF fund comes at a time when funding for startups has become more challenging due to the funding winter. Equirus aims to fill this gap by providing much-needed capital to early-stage tech startups.
The EIF fund will focus on investing in startups that have demonstrated a sustainable business model and strong monetization strategies. Equirus believes that these types of startups have the potential to solve critical problems in large addressable markets.
Equirus expects that the investment landscape will continue to shift towards sustainable business models with robust monetization potential. This approach reflects a cautious approach to capital deployment and a focus on startups that have the potential for long-term success.
Other firms have also recently launched funds to support seed-stage startups. Velocity, a revenue-based financing platform, announced a $300 crore fund to provide growth capital to B2B SaaS startups. SenseAI Ventures launched a $200 crore SenseAI Fund I to invest in AI-first startups. Java Capital, a deep technology VC firm, closed a $50 crore fund to back startups in deep tech, climate tech, and B2B segments.
Overall, Equirus’ new fund aims
