8i Ventures comes with 2nd edition of pre-seed funding Origami programme

8i Ventures, an early-stage venture capital (VC) fund, has launched the second edition of its pre-seed funding initiative, Origami. The program is designed to provide rapid funding to early-stage startups, reducing the time founders spend on fundraising. 

Origami operates as part of the VC firm’s $50 million second fund, which recently raised $25 million in its first close. A $10 million allocation is dedicated to Origami, with plans to deploy it over cohorts in the next two and a half years.

 

“What if we put a gun to our own head and say, decide quickly. That was the thesis behind Origami,” said Vishwanath V, General Partner, 8i Ventures.

 

 

“Mostly you’re pitching, talking, you don’t hear a clear yes or no, and a lot of bandwidth is sucked up in the process of fundraising,” he said. 

In its first edition earlier this year, Origami invested $600,000 across three startups, including Cobalt, a SaaS platform for native app integrations, and Cautio, a fleet dashcam and video telematics solution and another unnamed pre-launch startup.

 

The program guarantees a streamlined funding process, promising a response within a week, a decision in two weeks, and deal closure in four weeks. 

8i Ventures’ portfolio includes companies such as Blue Tokai, Slice, and Easebuzz, which are poised for further growth and potential IPOs in the coming years. 

 

According to Vishwanath, the last couple of years have been difficult for fundraising, especially for business models that postponed profitability for scale. “There is significant funding available today for business models which can demonstrate unit economics within a reasonable timeframe,” he said.