Nilekani steps down as Fundamentum GP, stays anchor investor in new fund

Nandan Nilekani is stepping down as a general partner at Fundamentum Partnership as the firm launches its third fund, a roughly $200 million vehicle. He will remain an anchor investor, adviser and mentor to portfolio founders. Sanjeev Aggarwal called the change “just a title thing.” Nilekani will remain integral to the firm’s next phase.

The new fund will be led by Aggarwal, Prateek Jain, Mayank Kachhwaha and Sanjay Chaturvedi, and is set to back about eight to ten startups in consumer technology, fintech and AI. The firm expects initial checks of about 100 crore, or roughly $10.5 million, per company and plans to finish fundraising over the next 12 to 18 months. The target corpus is Rs 2,200 crore, including a Rs 400 crore greenshoe option. Nilekani’s commitment to Fund III is his largest-ever investment in a venture capital fund.

Fundamentum backs companies that have already found product-market fit but still need help scaling. Alongside capital, the firm offers operating support on organization design, governance, hiring and go-to-market strategy.

Founded in 2017 as a $100 million fund, Fundamentum later raised a $227 million second fund in August 2022. That earlier vehicle planned to lead or co-lead $25 million to $40 million rounds and invest in four to five startups a year. Its portfolio has included PharmEasy and Spinny, while the broader platform also counts Kuku FM and AppsForBharat among its bets. Portfolio companies have collectively raised more than $1 billion in follow-on funding.

Nilekani, 71, brings a rare mix of operating prestige and policy influence. He co-founded Infosys, led the creation of Aadhaar and has been one of the most visible champions of India’s digital public infrastructure, including UPI and ONDC. Ashish Kumar will head Fundamentum Frontier Advisors, the firm’s separate AI and deeptech platform with a planned Rs 3,000 crore corpus.