Trifecta Capital is planning a Rs 1,500 crore-late stage venture capital fund that will invest in new economy companies that are likely to pursue an initial public offering in the medium term. Trifecta Capital has invested in over 70 companies across its two venture debt funds and its present portfolio comprises nine unicorns and 11 soon-to-be-unicorns. These include Big Basket, Pharmeasy, Cars24, Vedantu, Infra.market, Sharechat, Dailyhunt, Urban Company, Cardekho, Blackbuck, Ninjacart, Nobroker, Kreditbee, Dehaat, Turtlemint, Livspace and Bharatpe.

All these startups are backed by the marquee, global venture capital funds and have cumulatively raised USD 8.1 billion in equity with a cumulative value of USD 20 billion. Called the Trifecta leaders fundI, it is an equity fund that will invest in a targeted set of category-leading startups, selected mostly from its own portfolio of venture debt funds where it has a deep relationship with the founders and investors, according to a statement.

The fund will invest USD 15-30 million each in around 10 companies for minority stakes, through primary and secondary investments. It has a pipeline of 20 companies as potential portfolio candidates, the statement issued on Wednesday said. The leadership team of the fund comes from global institutions like Canaan Partners, Accenture and Goldman Sachs and recently onboarded Lavanya Ashok as partner (ex-Goldman Sachs) and Surbhi Garg as a vice president (ex-Reliance Jio strategic investments).

According to a latest Credit Suisse report, the number of unicorns in the country is at 100, up from just five in 2014. Trifecta is in the process of seeking Sebi approval for the fund.

Rahul Khanna, managing partner said that through this new fund, ”we hope to capture value that is expected to accrue from investing in these category-leading companies, one to three years ahead of an IPO”. Nilesh Kothari, managing partner, said it will partner with companies by investing in minority stakes, either as part of a primary raise or secondary round, making it possible for early shareholders, including angels, seed funds, founders and employees, to realise early returns and reinvest capital in the ecosystem.

Founded by Rahul Khanna and Nilesh Kothari in 2014, Trifecta is a leading alternate financing platform for startups across their lifecycle. It also serves market leaders and category creators spanning across domains like B2B, consumer services, consumer brands, e-commerce, mobility, edutech, agritech, fintech and healthcare. As of March 2021, it has raised over Rs 1,500 crore across two venture debt funds.