Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani launches ₹200-cr fund for new AI startups

The fund, which has already made four investments, will invest in the pre-seed and seed stages, and its focus spans from consumer AI, AI infrastructure, agent tooling to vertical AI applications in sectors such as healthcare and logistics, and make-in-India hardware and deeptech.

“The first cheque size ranges between $200,000 and $400,000 with reserves for follow-ons and the maiden fund will make 20- 30 investments," Malpani, founder of the firm, said in an interview with Mint. Launched earlier this year, the investor mix includes friends, family and personal capital.

The companies invested include SuperHealth – a healthcare delivery startup, Armatrix focused on last metre industrial automation, Piersight – a startup that operates in real-time ocean intelligence via satellites and Knot – an AI-native fashion discovery and logistics platform.

The rationale for these investments is multifold. Malpani explained that it depends on the business model, product, and the industry they operate in. “There are some categories where one needs to show some monetization to prove that there is an addressable opportunity. But there may also be some industries in AI verticals where it takes a long time, and you have to look for other proof points such as technical depth and adoption velocity," she said.

In her previous role, Malpani led Kae Capital’s generative AI thesis and was involved in companies such as Knot, eXlens.ai, Grapevine/ Round1, Supernova, BPR Hub and Fondant.

Malpani said this is the moment to create a pool of capital to catch the AI disruptors early, as there aren’t that many funds specializing at this stage. “The whole ecosystem is so young. There is a need for funds to specialize in AI as the market is moving rapidly. If one isn't keeping track of what's happening, they could be very quickly left behind, both from an investor as well as from a founder’s perspective," she said.

“India is not just catching up, it’s compounding. Talent, infra, and demand are aligning, but founders need conviction capital now. If we don’t move early, we risk losing the window for India to build AI for the world."

Boundless joins the growing list of other early and mid-stage venture capital funds such as Tenacity Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, India Quotient, Prime Ventures, Accel, A91 Partners, Cornerstone VC and Bessemer Venture Partners that have launched new funds in recent months, underscoring a revival in the fundraising momentum.

Broadly, specialized venture funds focusing on emerging niches have risen in India as they compete with larger sector-agnostic peers, in a sign of growing maturity in the country’s startup funding ecosystem.

Last year, Mint reported that several specialized funds have sprung up in sectors such as prop-tech, supply chain, media-tech, STEM and climate-tech. While such strategies have existed in the Indian investment landscape for some time, they are increasingly coming to the fore as investors seek to make more focused bets on sunrise industries to maximize returns.