9Unicorns is the accelerator fund of Venture Catalysts (1). It has raised 100 crore INR to invest in over 100 early-stage startups that solve India’s problems.
The startup, Venture Catalysts, was built along sides accelerator fund Y Combinators of Silicon Valley. The firm has a strategy to provide seed funding to early-stage startups. Per startup, 9Unicorns will provide allocations of 100,000 USD for 5-7% equity in the first round.
Once startups are shortlisted, they will go through a three-month acceleration program. They will also get mentorship from successful founders. Top-performing startups will be eligible for a follow-on round of 500,000 to 2 million USD of funds by Venture Catalysts Network syndicate and global VC funds.
Dr. Apoorva Sharma, Anil Jain, Anup Golecha, and Gaurav Jain are founding Venture Catalysts. They also launched the fund for the VCats. 9Unicorns is targeting an aggregation of 300 crore INR. The team is also aiming to write their first external cheque.
Venture Catalysts: Angel Investors are Now Betting on Indian Entrepreneurs
Sharma added that today is the right time to bet on Indian entrepreneurs. There is a surge in Indian startups focusing on solving problems of India and the world. These startups are born from different parts of the country. Sharma is also an angel investor in SoftBank, which backed Oyo Rooms.
Venture Catalysts had backed over 75 local startups such as BharaPe, PeeSafe, Beardo, and Fynd. In these home-grown startups, Vcats was an investor in the seed-stage.
Most startups struggle to raise funds during their first-round in India. The process is accelerated further in the crisis of COVID-19. It is especially true for startups belonging to tier 2, 3, 4 cities of India.
9Unicorn is determined to provide capital to such firms while also helping them get more customers, distribution partners, and synergies. The Venture Catalysts aims to fulfil it via leveraging its already wired network of over 4000 investors, founders, and executives from its ecosystem.
