Mumbai-based early-stage microVC, Artha Venture Fund (AVF), announced a notable partial exit from fleet management company Everest Fleet, realizing a 19x return on its investment.
Everest Fleet recently secured $20m in a Series B round spearheaded by Uber and Paragon Partners. Within this backdrop, AVF’s partial exit from the venture has (so far) materialized an IRR of 105%. Moreover, multiple LPs who initially invested in the Everest Fleet alongside AVF have also opted for partial exits in this round.
Artha Venture fund is backed by LPs like SIDBI, Shuchi Kothari, SAT Industries, Narendra Karnavat, Techno Electric & Engineering, Rajiv Lakhotia and BLA Group who have invested in AVF.
Anirudh A Damani, Managing Partner at Artha Venture Fund, said, “Our association with Everest Fleet stands distinct. The venture confronted seemingly insurmountable challenges during the pandemic, facing a substantial setback. Yet, the resilience and innovative mindset of the founding team shone through. Their pivot to an asset-financing model unlocked considerable capital and enabled them to transition to an asset-light model in a traditionally capital-intensive sector. Today, Everest Fleet isn’t just a leader in its domain but has also maintained profitability for two consecutive years.”
Initially, Everest Fleet didn’t align with the conventional venture capital investment mould. However, its focus on sustainable profitability, augmented by the founder’s vision, piqued AVF’s interest. AVF’s sustained commitment across three investment rounds in Everest Fleet underscores this belief.
Damani elaborated, “Our association with Everest Fleet wasn’t typical. Our faith was in their robust business model, not just the technology-first approach. This exit underscores our philosophy that startups need not only rely on tech; addressing tangible human challenges holds immense value.”
Initiating its journey with Everest Fleet in 2019 as the primary institutional seed investor, AVF has witnessed the firm’s evolution firsthand. A modest fleet of a few hundred cars burgeoned to an impressive 11,000+, a testament to the company’s agility and strategic pivot.
This exit from Everest Fleet adds to Artha Group’s growing tally, marking its 31st exit from a diversified portfolio encompassing over 100 startups. As AVF commemorates this milestone, Artha Group is channeling its energies towards the imminent launch of its next early-stage microVC, Artha Venture Fund II.
The Group, with investments spread across India, the US, Israel, Africa, and the UK and managing assets worth over Rs 1,000+ crore, serves as the parent entity for Artha Venture Fund, Artha India Ventures, Artha Select Fund, and the newly unveiled Artha Continuum Fund – a curated initiative targeting family offices and UHNIs, aiming to facilitate their direct participation in the bridge rounds of growth-centric enterprises.
