Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum Capital Eyes Scale-Up Market as Second Fund Outperforms Peers 

Mumbai, September 11, 2025: Fundamentum Capital, the venture capital firm co-founded by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, is broadening its investment plans after clocking impressive gains from its second fund. The firms Fund II, rolled out in 2022, has been generating an internal rate of return (IRR) of 35%, a level that surpasses the performance of most other growth-stage funds in India. 

 Fund II Delivers Strong Performance 

The second fund of Fundamentum is invested in nine technology centered startups across consumer internet, fintech, enterprise solutions, B2B commerce and new rising sectors. Collectively, these nine firms posted nearly 80% of revenue growth over the past year, reflecting the strength of India’s evolving startup landscape. The results have reaffirmed Fundamentum’s focus on companies in scaling stage and encouraged a change in its strategy. 

Dual Track Investment Strategy 

On the back of Fund II’s outperformance, Fundamentum has planned out a dual strategy game plan. The first plan focus is the relatively overlooked scale-up market, particularly Series B rounds. The second plan is to target high-potential artificial intelligence (AI) and deep technology ventures that are shaping India’s next wave of innovation.  

Scale-Up Focus 

Sanjeev Aggarwal, co-founder and general partner, will spearhead the scale-up investments. Fundamentum points out that this segment still lacks adequate funding, with early-stage deals seeing heavy participation and later stage financing mostly controlled by overseas players. 

Focus on AI and DeepTech 

Ashish Kumar, who co-founded Fundamentum and serves as general partner, will lead the deep tech and AI vertical. This venture will identify and target firms at crucial turning points, backing them with a steady stream of capital and expertise from the firm’s tech-driven investment system. 

Expanding India’s Startup Growth Path 

According to Nilekani, India’s startup ecosystem has reached a turning point where growth-stage firms are scaling quickly and globally relevant AI ventures are clearly emerging. He stressed that both areas require very specialised expertise and long-term focus, something Fundamentum is integrating into its model. The firm also confirmed that Fund II will remain active while continuing to support the current portfolio startups in their next growth stages. 

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