Transition VC Launches Rs 400 Cr Fund to Invest in 40 Cleantech Startups in 3 Yrs

Transition VC, India’s first energy transition-focused VC fund, has launched its Rs 400 crore maiden fund including a green shoe option of Rs 200 crore.
 
With ticket size ranging from $500K to $1 Million, the VC fund would invest seed capital in 40 early-stage startups, over the next 3 years, across sectors undergoing transition such as E-Mobility, Green Hydrogen, Energy Storage, Net Zero journey in Buildings and Climate-tech.
 
Commenting on the fund launch, Raiyaan Shingati, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Transition VC, said, “climate change & energy transition is a business opportunity, as they demand reinvention of every segment of the industry. We are at the beginning of a new era! Major shifts like this don’t come around that often, but we are starting to see one now & it’s going to shape how people consume energy for decades to come.”
 
Bengaluru-based Transition VC recently received its SEBI approval, and is eyeing to mark the first close of the fund by the end of this calendar year. The fund was founded last year by a robust team of marquee entrepreneurs and business professionals such as Raiyaan Shingati, Mohammed Shoeb Ali, Mustafa Wajid, Naresh V Narasimhan, Tejas Goenka, Saif Qureishi, and Rajesh Doshi.
 
The team comes with domain expertise in the energy transition sector, and has extensive experience in operating, building, and selling businesses, coupled with a stellar investment track record.
 
The move came as Transition VC’s maiden Fund is currently seeing growing interest from Indian as well as global HNIs, family offices, and corporates specialized in strategic investments. For its LPs, the fund is looking at an invite-only pool of investors who understand this domain well and align with its vision.
 
“Our objective is to bring together the best engineers, innovators, and like-minded partners who can help build a better future for all. With this fund, we shall ignite and amplify their entrepreneurial capabilities to develop and deploy sustainable solutions that enable a decarbonised world and solve key energy challenges. To support such startup teams at a pivotal juncture in their entrepreneurial journey, we will deploy a unique combination of capital and competencies at seed stages and help them scale up meaningfully,” said Mustafa Wajid, Transition VC’s General Partner.
 
In addition to investments in Indian startups, the fund would also allocate 25 per cent of the fund value for global startups. For its global investments, Transition VC has a concentrated strategy to invest in developed market products that could also be introduced to an emerging market like India.
 
As per Morgan Stanley’s latest report, India would attract USD 700+ Billion in energy investments over the next decade as the country accelerates its energy transition.

On opportunities in India, Shoeb Ali, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Transition VC, said, “We are optimistic and we see an opportunity of more than 12 unicorns coming from India in this decade just in the energy transition & climate tech space.”
 
Transition VC has a wide network of incubators, accelerators, fellow VCs, and corporates in the new energy domain who can collaboratively work with tech startups to run pilots and help them grow. With these networks, the fund aims to add immense value to its overall proposition, and facilitate better GTM, user acquisition, product distribution, hiring, and growth strategy for its portfolio startups.