Caret Capital, Ev2 Ventures merge, launch USD 50 mn fund

Two venture capital funds – Caret Capital and Ev2 Ventures – on Thursday said they have merged and launched a USD 50-million India-focussed fund that will invest in early-stage businesses in the sustainability sector.

The new fund, called Caret Capital Fund II, will invest in pre-Series A startups across three sectors - mobility, distribution, and employment, as per a statement.

The fund has secured its anchor investors, and will be led by managing partners Pankaj Bansal, Karan Mittal and Prajakt Raut, the statement said.

Bansal is also cofounder and group chief executive of human resources tech company PeopleStrong. Raut founded Caret Capital in 2020, before which he was cofounder of Applyifi and a vice-president at Indian Angel Network, among other roles.

Mittal, general partner at Ev2 Ventures, said in a statement, "Given the size and scale of the opportunities that India has, it was crucial to expand our resources. Combining the collective power of both teams with an outstanding track record gives us the right foundation to create value supporting our thesis."

Ev2 Ventures is a pre-Series A Venture capital fund that has invested in companies such as electric commercial vehicle maker Euler Motors, logistics aggregator Cogos Technologies and electric vehicle financing and asset intelligence startup Alt Mobility.

Caret Capital's portfolio, as per its website, includes Celcius, an asset-light cold supply solution provider; Stylumia, an artificial intelligence-enabled demand forecasting software for fashion brands; and Mooofarm, a dairy-focussed agritech startup. Caret Capital was formerly called Supply Chain Lab.