Speciale Invest set to launch ₹1,600-crore deeptech fund

Fund will issue $5-8 million cheques, with rounds up to $20 million alongside 2-3 investors

- Rwit Ghosh

(From left) Arjun Rao, founding partner; Vishesh Rajaram, founding partner; and Vijay Jacob, general partner, Speciale Invest.

Deeptech-focused venture capital firm Speciale Invest is set to launch its second growth-focused fund, with a target of ₹1,400 crore-1,600 crore ($177 million), according to top executives.

With Speciale Invest Growth Fund II, the firm will look to write larger cheques of $5 million-8 million, in addition to leading funding rounds. Over the course of the fund, it plans to invest in 12 to 15 companies. While Speciale hasn't announced the first close, the firm will do so sometime in 2026, co-founder and managing partner Vishesh Rajaram said.

While 60% of the fund will be for new investments, 40% is being allocated to follow-on rounds in new and old portfolio firms.

"The cheque sizes will also improve over the second and third year of the fund. It allows us that 3x leverage where we'll be able to do round sizes of up to $20 million with just two or three investors," he added.