z21 Ventures Raises USD 20 Mn in First Close of Second Fund Founded in 2022 by a team of IIT Kharagpur alumni—Raj Singh, Abhinav Shashank, Jyotika Gupta, and Sudarshan Ravi Jha—z21 Ventures is dedicated to investing in the pre-seed and seed stages, focusing on key segments such as artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and healthcare.
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Early-stage venture capital firm z21 Ventures has closed USD 20 million as the first tranche of its ambitious USD 40 million second fund, with significant backing from WestBridge Capital as the anchor investor.
Founded in 2022 by a team of IIT Kharagpur alumni—Raj Singh, Abhinav Shashank, Jyotika Gupta, and Sudarshan Ravi Jha—z21 Ventures is dedicated to investing in the pre-seed and seed stages, focusing on key segments such as artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and healthcare.
The firm's inaugural fund, which totaled USD 5 million, has been fully deployed across 26 startups, demonstrating z21's commitment to fostering innovation in early-stage companies.
"This successful fundraise is a validation of our community-led model and our track record of identifying and supporting promising early-stage companies," stated Raj Singh, Co-founder and Managing Partner of z21 Ventures. He expressed enthusiasm about their mission, stating, "We look forward to supporting entrepreneurs to build and scale purposeful companies by bringing the power of community and capital."
The founders of the venture capital firm are entrepreneurs too. Abhinav Shashank, co-founder and CEO of Innovaccer—a healthcare-focused SaaS unicorn—brings significant industry experience, while Raj Singh also contributed to Innovaccer's leadership. Sudarshan Ravi Jha, co-founder of LetsTransport, adds further diversity to the team's expertise.
The VC firm will look at raising capital from leading operators and experts who will mentor and support founders.
WestBridge Capital Co-founder and Managing Partner Sumir Chadha said, "z21 Ventures is well-positioned to succeed, and their community-focused and operator-led model can provide valuable support for early-stage founders and help build category-defining companies."
"Our limited partner community helps us with early access to incredible founders and provides founders with deep functional and strategic expertise, strong connections, and a supportive ecosystem in their initial journey. We are on a mission to unlock value for founders through a robust ecosystem," said Jyotika Gupta, partner at z21 Ventures.
