WestBridge Capital anchors first close of z21 Ventures’ second fund

Early-stage venture capital firm z21 Ventures on Thursday said it has raised $20 million (Rs 167 crore) for the first close of its $40 million second target, which is backed by WestBridge Capital, an investment firm with over $7 billion in assets under management.

The second fund will raise a portion of capital from experts who will also mentor and support founders. “Our community of limited partners helps us provide early access to amazing founders and provides founders with deep expertise and strategic knowledge, strong connections, and a supportive ecosystem as they start,” said Jyotika Gupta, partner at z21 Ventures.

z21 Ventures’ second fund follows the full launch of its $5 million first fund in June 2024. The first fund invested in 26 startups.

The second fund will invest in technology companies across sectors, including artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and healthcare. The fund’s primary focus will continue to be pre-seed and seed-stage investments in companies with strong teams, innovative technologies, and significant market opportunities.

“This successful fundraise validates our community-led model and our history of identifying and supporting promising early-stage companies. We look forward to helping entrepreneurs build and scale purposeful companies using the power of community and capital,” said Raj Singh, co-founder and managing partner of z21 Ventures.

The company was founded by Raj Singh, Abhinav Shashank, Jyotika Gupta and Sudarshan Ravi Jha, all IIT Kharagpur graduates. Singh is the co-founder of RTP Global-backed International Battery Company, while Shashank is the co-founder and CEO of Innovaccer. Gupta was most recently associated with Glassdoor, while Jha is the co-founder of Bertelsmann India Investments (BII)-backed LetsTransport.

z21 Ventures portfolio companies include Truefoundry, inito, Explorex, Money Club, vHub, Zime, Gimbal, and Gaana AI.