In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Rahul Chowdhri, Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, highlighted that the firm is particularly excited about three key investment themes for its third fund – AI driven startups, consumer businesses and firms related to India’s digital public infrastructure.
“AI as a theme is something that we have been extremely positive about. Even in our second fund, there have been multiple companies that are AI-first businesses. On the software side, we have a company like OrbitShift. On the consumer side, we have companies like Dashtoon. In healthcare, we have companies like Carpl and so on. So AI is one broad theme that both on the enterprise and the consumer side we stay excited about,” Chowdhri stated.
For the third fund, Stellaris will continue its core investment strategy of supporting early-stage companies, from seed to Series A. This approach has been central to the firm’s success over the last eight years. Chowdhri confirmed that Stellaris will maintain this focus moving forward, ensuring that the fund remains aligned with the firm’s long-term strategy.
Stellaris Venture Partners has supported the growth of major brands like Mamaearth and Whatfix in its previous funds.
With the closing of this new fund, Stellaris now manages more than $600 million in assets. The firm plans to continue its strategic focus on backing early-stage technology companies, with plans to invest in 25-30 startups over the next three years.
In a separate development, Bengaluru-based rapid food-delivery startup, Swish, has successfully raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by Accel. This investment will enable the company to accelerate its growth, expand its footprint, and further scale its rapid-delivery model.
By March 2025, the startup plans to scale operations significantly, targeting the opening of 150 delivery centres across major areas in Bengaluru. The company has also set its sights on expanding into other tier-I cities in the near future, as it looks to capture the growing demand for fast, convenient food options.
Aniket Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of Swish stated, “With this fundraise, we plan to expand to all the major tier-I cities very, very soon. The plan is to start in a couple of more cities in the next three months. We will need to adapt to the unique consumer preferences for food and taste in every city that we launch.”
Swish’s model, which focuses on delivering food in 10 minutes or less, has already gained traction in its initial areas of operation. Currently, the startup is live in three areas of Bengaluru and is actively working to expand to other regions in the city. In the next four months, Swish plans to roll out 150 centres each designed to serve quick, high-quality meals to customers at any time of the day, including midnight cravings or quick office snacks.
Additionally, Blitz, a logistics platform focused on quick commerce, has secured ₹51 crore in its Series A funding round, led by Ivycap Ventures Advisors Private Limited. The round also saw participation from existing investors India Quotient, Alteria Capital, and a range of angel investors, including Ramesh Bafna of Zepto and Siddharth from Snitch.
Launched in 2020, Blitz facilitates 60-minute deliveries from local stores and same-day shipments from urban warehouses, connecting brands with consumers. In a conversation with CNBC-TV18, Yash Sharma, Co-Founder of Blitz, discussed how the company plans to utilise the funds.
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