Arya Ventures Secures Major Backing for Tech Startups
Arya Ventures, a fresh venture capital fund, has received a significant boost with a £400,000 commitment from billionaire investor Siddharth Shankar. This funding is part of an ongoing £8 million round aimed at backing seed-stage tech and artificial intelligence startups led by entrepreneurs of Indian origin in the UK and US.
Supporting the Indian Diaspora
The fund specifically targets companies founded by members of the Indian community, highlighting their important role in the tech industry globally. Indian-owned businesses in the UK are making quite an impact, generating £36 billion in annual revenues and providing jobs for over 174,000 people.
Recent studies reveal that Indian-origin entrepreneurs have established 72 out of 358 US tech unicorns since 2018, collectively valued at over £130 billion. Despite making up just 2.1% of the US population, these founders are responsible for 19% of all American unicorns.
Backing Growth at the Start
Arya Ventures aims to make initial investments ranging from £160,000 to £200,000, with the possibility of follow-up funding up to £240,000. The focus is on tech startups valued between £8 million and £32 million, particularly those that have already launched products and started generating revenue.
Their early investment portfolio includes companies such as Avi Vehicles, KnowYourDosh, and Prescribe Life. Avi Vehicles is currently raising funds, and its valuation has increased sixfold. KnowYourDosh has seen monthly revenues grow from £400 to £5,000, while Prescribe Life has progressed to the seed stage, boasting a quadrupled valuation and a doubled team size.
Arya Ventures is also exploring investments in several other promising startups, including those backed by well-known investors like Y Combinator.
Why Invest?
Siddharth Shankar, the Global COO of Komerz, shared his excitement: “Indian-origin founders have shown amazing talent for creating groundbreaking companies. This fund allows us to tap into that talent and invest at a pivotal moment for innovation.”
Some prominent entrepreneurs with Indian roots in the tech world include Mohit Aron (Nutanix and Cohesity), Jyoti Bansal (AppDynamics and Harness), and Ashutosh Garg (Bloomreach and Eightfold.ai).
Meet the Team
Anmol Goel, the Founding Partner of Arya Ventures, has a strong background from JP Morgan, KPMG, and MMC. He has successfully helped scale 36 startups and raised over £52 million at various funding stages. The fund plans to invest in around 20 companies, expecting to hold investments for five to seven years.
“Success in early-stage venture capital often comes down to finding outstanding founders,” said Goel. “Our findings show that 85% of the most educated founders come from the Indian diaspora, and an impressive 32% of Fortune 100 founders are of Indian origin.”
