The decarbonisation-focused fund has landed British International Investment as an anchor investor, alongside family offices, fund-of-funds and corporate venture firms.
Theia Ventures, an early stage, thematic venture capital fund based in India, has closed its first vehicle after raising $30m (€26m) from investors. Theia expects to announce a final close by the end of the current financial year.
The Theia Ventures Fund I plans to invest between $500,000 and $1m in up to 20 early-stage startups that are working on developing disruptive technologies that can help decarbonise critical sectors such as heavy industry, manufacturing, material science, mobility and supply chains.
British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, acted as an anchor investor, alongside Allocator One, a German platform and fund that supports first-time venture capital managers, Australian climate-focused investment firm Vitality Capital Partners and Cisco Foundation in the US. The fund also attracted support from Indian and global family offices including the offices of former Citibank India CEO Pramit Jhaveri and Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra.
“Our investment will help accelerate technology development to reduce emissions and enhance climate resilience among low-income groups. This is aligned with our goal of contributing to India’s clean energy transition,” said Shilpa Kumar, managing director and head of Asia at BII.
Solar superpower
A rapid adoption of solar power in the past decade has turned India into the world’s third-biggest solar energy producer after China and the US, with renewables generating more than half of its total installed power capacity, according to a statement on the Indian government website.
“Petroleum or coal-based products and processes are now being rapidly replaced by cleaner fuels and energy sources, which presents a huge opportunity for startup innovation and growth, particularly in emerging sectors such as carbon removal, novel materials, data centres, clean mobility, renewable energy and biotech,” said Priya Shah, founder and managing partner of Theia Ventures.
To date, the Theia Ventures Fund I has invested in an electric air taxi company, a biotech company specialising in precision fermentation and an AI-based energy data modelling firm. Theia, which recently led a pre-seed round in Climitra Carbon, a biocoal company catering to the steel industry, said it expects to announce further investments early next year.
