Mumbai-based private equity firm Kedaara Capital has announced a significant investment of $240 million in Axtria, a company specializing in agentic artificial intelligence (AI) and serving the global life sciences industry. This transaction includes a secondary component designed to facilitate an exit for early investors, alongside a company-sponsored share buyback. US-based Sequoia Capital was among Axtria's initial investors, having injected $2.5 million in a Series-A funding round back in 2010, according to data from Tracxn. Prior to Kedaara Capital’s latest investment, Axtria had secured $150 million from Bain Capital Tech Opportunities in 2021, a deal that valued the company at $850 million. Tracxn data further indicates that the company was valued at over $1 billion in 2021.

Sunish Sharma, founder and managing partner at Kedaara Capital, expressed enthusiasm for the investment, stating, “We are delighted to support Axtria’s talented workforce as they continue to scale as a trusted partner, helping life sciences companies harness the power of technology and Agentic AI.” This marks Kedaara Capital's second investment in an AI and data analytics firm this year. In January, the firm invested over $350 million in Impetus Technologies, a data analytics and AI solutions provider catering to Fortune 500 companies in the US and Europe, with a focus on growing its generative AI and analytics business lines. Kedaara Capital's other investments this year include a $60 million investment in payments platform Juspay and co-leading a $200 million Series F round with Wellington in logistics service provider Porter. In July, the firm fully exited its stake in affordable housing finance company Aavas Financiers, in which it had first invested ₹800 crore in 2023. Kedaara's broader portfolio also includes a $1,500 crore investment in ASG Eye Hospitals in 2022, a $229 million Series D in SaaS fintech player Perfios, and a stake in edtech provider K12 Techno Services.

Interest in agentic AI has been steadily increasing worldwide. This technology is an offshoot of generative AI, distinguished by its ability to adapt and learn autonomously with minimal human intervention. Agentic AI is typically developed for specific, repeatable tasks and has found extensive applications in areas such as customer service and invoicing. Investors are actively supporting this trend, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into companies focused on agentic AI. Earlier this year, health-tech startup Innovaccer raised $275 million from a consortium of investors including B Capital Group, Banner Health, Danaher Ventures, Generation IM, Kaiser Permanente, and Microsoft's venture arm, M12. Innovaccer primarily offers a data platform that unifies patient data but has recently developed AI offerings like Sara AI, which automates repetitive tasks and extracts insights from large medical datasets. Even AI giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic have launched tools to assist developers in building AI agents on their respective platforms. Domestically in India, agentic AI startup Atomicwork secured a $25 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Blume Ventures and Peak XV. Atomicwork’s agentic AI platform focuses on automating routine processes, particularly for IT teams within enterprises.