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VC Victory: Kae Capital's Fund Rakes in Big Returns from Startup Exits!

Published 2 days ago3 minute read
David Isong
David Isong
VC Victory: Kae Capital's Fund Rakes in Big Returns from Startup Exits!

Kae Capital's maiden fund, a $25 million venture, has demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving over a 5x multiple on invested capital across both its India and overseas vehicles. This success follows recent secondary transactions involving two of its earliest investments: Porter and HealthKart. The fund's India vehicle has already made a full exit, delivering a robust distribution to paid-in capital (DPI) of 3.6x as of September 2023. Concurrently, the overseas vehicle is on course to generate returns exceeding 5x, as stated by the firm.

DPI, a critical metric for venture capital funds, signifies the actual cash distributed back to investors relative to their initial commitments. The remarkable performance of Kae's fund is particularly timely, as limited partners (LPs) are increasingly scrutinizing the track records of general partners before committing further capital. This trend has prompted investment firms in India to strategically cash out some of their holdings to return funds to their LPs.

Launched in 2012, Kae Capital's maiden fund's India vehicle concluded in 2023, while its global counterpart has been extended for several more years. Specific portfolio companies have significantly contributed to these returns; Porter alone has returned more than 2x of the fund, and HealthKart independently returned the entire fund, even though Kae Capital still retains stakes in both companies. Sasha Mirchandani, founding partner at Kae Capital, highlighted the firm's foundational goal: "When we raised Fund I, seed investing in India was almost unheard of. Our goal was simple, back extraordinary founders at their earliest stages and stand with them across cycles.” Gaurav Chaturvedi, general partner, added, "Fund I’s DPI is not just a number, it’s a symbol of what’s possible when early conviction meets enduring partnership. We are proud to have played a role in shaping some of India’s most exciting companies, and even prouder of the trust placed in us by our founders and LPs. This is only the beginning.”

Kae's first fund successfully backed 32 companies across India and the US, fostering a portfolio of powerhouses. Beyond Porter and HealthKart, other notable successes include 1MG and Certa, alongside high-multiple exits from companies like Dailyround, Fynd, Airwoot, and Eventifier. The fund's impressive performance was further bolstered by an additional $900 million in follow-on capital invested into its portfolio companies, collectively driving a combined enterprise value of over $2.7 billion.

Built on the vision of identifying bold ideas at their nascent stages and supporting them with patient capital, Kae Capital has since expanded its operations. The firm subsequently launched a second fund of $50 million and a third fund of $100 million. The second fund has already returned its secured amount, having invested in prominent companies such as Zetwerk, Nazara, and Snapmint, and achieving exits in Halaplay, Fynd, and Numberz, with further value still to be realized. The third fund is also demonstrating strong momentum, with investments in companies like Traya, Foxtale, and RecommerceX.

Across its three funds, Kae Capital has proudly supported three unicorns, with its early-stage investments contributing to a cumulative enterprise value of $7.7 billion and attracting over $2 billion in follow-on capital. The firm's initial cheque size has grown significantly, from $500,000 to $1–1.5 million, reflecting its increasing confidence and expanded scale. Currently, Kae Capital manages over $250 million across a portfolio of 90 startups. While remaining sector-agnostic, the firm maintains a sharp focus on seed-stage opportunities within cutting-edge fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), intelligent automation, manufacturing resilience, and deeptech.

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