Prudent Investment Managers founder Prashasta Seth said that the firm has secured commitments of INR 250 Cr from various family offices
The sector-agnostic fund would invest in 10-15 startups with initial cheques of INR 30 Cr to INR 50 Cr each
Prudent, which provides portfolio management and advisory services, has about INR 750 Cr of AUM, and counts startups like The Money Club and Snapmint in its portfolio
Prudent Investment Managers, founded by former IIFL Asset Management CEO Prashasta Seth, has floated a fund of INR 500 Cr (about $57.8 Mn) to invest in early stage startups.
The fund, which will be a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) has already secured commitments of INR 250 Cr from various family offices, Seth told Inc42, adding that the fund will be closed around June this year.
Prudent is in the process of filing an application with SEBI for CAT II licence. Category II AIF includes PE funds, real estate funds, and funds for distressed assets.
Seth said that Prudent has invested about INR 160 Cr in unlisted companies since its inception even without a formal fund structure. Its most recent startup investments include The Money Club, Snapmint, among others.
With the new fund, the firm aims to double down on its strategy of marrying VC and PE investment philosophies.
“We will focus on pre-Series A and Series A startups with sustainable business models and strong unit economics,” Seth said. “Our target is to bridge the gap in early-stage investing by supporting founders who prioritise long-term viability over rapid, unsustainable growth.”
A Disciplined Investment Approach
Prudent plans to take a concentrated investment approach, backing 10-15 startups with initial cheques of INR 30 Cr to INR 50 Cr each. “Unlike traditional VC firms, which spread investments across a broad portfolio, our strategy emphasises significant bets and consistent follow-on funding through multiple rounds,” Seth said.
The fund would be sector agnostic and will focus on startups with “sound unit economics”.
“We don’t compete at the idea stage. Instead, we focus on companies with proven business models, actual revenue, and sound unit economics. Our goal is to deliver predictable returns of 5X to 20X while minimising losses,” Seth added.
Talking about the investors, Seth said that Prudent has about INR 750 Cr of assets under management (AUM) and counts about 25 family offices among its clients.
“This translates to an average check size of INR 20 Cr to INR 30 Cr. On the unlisted side as well, many of these clients have also been investors with us across all the deals we’ve done. Most of these are small family offices—not the well-known ones, but rather family offices with portfolios ranging between INR 50 Cr to INR 200 Cr. They will serve as the anchor investors for us,” he said.
Prudent was founded by Seth after he quit IIFL Asset Management in 2020. It provides portfolio management services and advisory services.
At IIFL Asset Management, Seth claims that the company’s AUM grew to INR 25,000 Cr from INR 500 Cr during this stint.
