 "Former BharatPe COO Bahl-led Eternal Capital launches Rs 120 crore VC fund")
Eternal Capital, founded and managed by seasoned operator and former BharatPe Chief Operating Officer Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, has launched its maiden venture capital (VC) fund with a target corpus of Rs 120 crore. The fund also includes a greenshoe option of another Rs 120 crore, bringing its total capacity to Rs 240 crore.
Eternal Capital received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) approval for a Category-I Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) in November 2023, and has already received commitments from marquee operators and entrepreneurs such as Suhail Sameer (ex-Chief Executive Officer, BharatPe), Deep Kalra (Founder, MakeMyTrip), Tarun Mathur (Co-founder, PolicyBazaar), Vikas Gupta (Chief Executive Officer, VLCC), Adarsh Menon (President, ZoomCar), Nalin Negi (Chief Executive Officer, BharatPe), Sameer Chugh (Founder, Mosambee), and Saurabh Vashishtha, Kunal Suri, and Amit Bagaria (Founders, SimSim). Sector-agnostic in nature, the fund aims to build a diversified portfolio of “solutions for the future”, and plans to invest in 40 start-ups in their seed to pre-Series A stages, over the next three years.
“We are one of the first and few operator-led VC firms in India. Globally, operator-led funds have outperformed more traditional peers due to their ability to connect easily, engage deeply, and add incremental value to the founders and the ventures they back,” said Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, Founder and Managing Partner, Eternal Capital. “Our approach to date has been no different making us not only a ‘partner of first choice’ for founders but also, the preferred co-investment partner for other funds.”
Eternal Capital was founded by Bahl in October 2023. As a former early-stage angel, Bahl has invested in over 50 start-ups since 2020 by partnering with several prominent funds and angels. Some of his portfolio ventures include Stupa Sports Analytics, Basic Home Loans, ApniBus, Volt Money, DrinkPrime, AdmitKard, GenWise, Vama, and Fleek.
The fund follows a broad co-investment thesis which allows it to counter possible selection biases while expanding its existing network of investors and operators. It prioritises investments in start-ups led by seasoned operators, which are at a post-product-market fit (PMF) stage and can demonstrate profitable revenue potential in the mid to long term.