Elevation Capital closes ninth India-focused fund at $500 million
14 Jul 2026, 12:07 PMThe fund will primarily target seed and Series A startups, with a focus on companies building practical AI-powered applications for consumers and enterprises.
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Elevation Capital, an early backer of companies such as Paytm and Swiggy, has closed its ninth India-focused early-stage fund at $500 million to back startups building AI applications.
The fund will primarily target seed and Series A startups, with a focus on companies building practical AI-powered applications for consumers and enterprises.
The venture capital firm will continue making late-stage investments through its $400 million Elevation Holdings fund, which it raised last year.
Elevation had previously raised its eighth India fund of $670 million in 2022.
The new fund will invest in AI application-layer startups that address real-world consumer and enterprise use cases.
Over the years, Elevation Capital has backed several prominent companies, including FirstCry, Ixigo, MakeMyTrip, Paytm, Swiggy, Meesho and Urban Company.
The firm has also recently generated returns through multiple partial exits from travel-tech platform Ixigo, while trimming its stake in Paytm, where it first invested in 2007.
Other marquee venture capital firms have also raised new funds in recent months. Peak XV Partners raised $1.3 billion across three funds: an India Seed Fund, an India Venture Fund and an Asia-Pacific Fund, in February 2026. Nexus Venture Partners closed its eighth fund at $700 million in December 2025, while Accel raised a $650 million early-stage fund for India and Southeast Asia in January 2025.
Meanwhile, Lightspeed and Z47 are in the market raising new India-focused funds. Former Peak XV Partners executives have also launched new firms: Mettle Capital and Ambition Capital, which are raising their debut funds.
The latest fundraising cycle also reflects a more measured venture capital environment. Several top-tier firms have launched India-focused funds that are smaller than, or broadly in line with, their previous vehicles, compared with the larger funds raised during the market peak in 2021 and 2022.
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