Former Venture Highway Investor Aviral Bhatnagar Introduces AJVC to Support Early-Stage Indian Startups With a deep understanding of the enterprise software and artificial intelligence sectors, Bhatnagar's experience is set to drive AJVC's focus on pre-seed investments, filling a critical funding gap in India's startup ecosystem.

Aviral Bhatnagar, a former lead investor at Venture Highway, has launched AJVC, a new venture capital (VC) firm with an INR 100 crore fund aimed at backing early-stage Indian startups.

With a deep understanding of the enterprise software and artificial intelligence sectors, Bhatnagar's experience is set to drive AJVC's focus on pre-seed investments, filling a critical funding gap in India's startup ecosystem.

Bhatnagar's decision to launch AJVC came after recognizing the significant challenges that early-stage founders face in securing initial funding. During his tenure at Venture Highway, Bhatnagar observed that many promising startups struggled to raise even INR 1 crore, often requiring pitches to over 20 investors. This arduous process frequently led to the abandonment of potentially successful ventures.

I aim to address this issue by creating a fast, approachable, and founder-friendly pre-seed investment firm," Bhatnagar shared in a LinkedIn post. AJVC's goal is to simplify the funding process and support startups in their earliest stages. Our first fund has already received SEBI approval and is committed on launch day. I intend to leverage my decade of experience as an investor to build AJVC.

The venture capital landscape in India is witnessing a significant shift as seasoned fund managers and partners depart established firms to launch their own ventures. This trend is exemplified by the recent merger of US-based General Catalyst with Delhi-based Venture Highway, a move designed to solidify General Catalyst's presence in India. The merger prompted the exit of Aviral Bhatnagar, a key investor at Venture Highway, shortly after the resignation of Samir Sood, a co-founder of the firm, who stepped down as a partner months earlier.

Venture Highway, founded in 2015 by Sood and Arora, has backed unicorns such as Meesho, CRED, and Moglix. Bhatnagar's departure signals a broader trend where experienced VC professionals are branching out to establish their own funds.

Atul Gupta, a former partner at Premji Invest, is another notable example of this trend. He recently launched Trident Growth Partners (India), a fund targeting investments across diverse sectors, including consumer goods, financial services, and healthcare. Similarly, Piyush Gupta, who exited Peak XV in April, has started a secondary-focused fund, highlighting the growing interest in niche investment areas.

Lightspeed India also experienced a reshuffle, with venture partners Vaibhav Agrawal and Abhishek Nag leaving the firm to explore new opportunities. Meanwhile, Sameer Brij Verma, who served as managing director at Nexus Venture Partners, has launched a multi-stage fund, further underscoring the momentum of this trend.