What Arkam Ventures does

Arkam Ventures is a Bangalore-based, early-stage venture capital firm that deploys $1M-$5M cheques into Indian startups at pre-Series A and Series A stages, writing 6-8 investments per year from a pipeline of approximately 1,000 reviewed founders. The firm is legally structured as Unitary Investment Management LLP, operating two SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds - Unitary Fund (effective March 8, 2019, IN/AIF2/18-19/0644) and Unitary Fund II (effective June 30, 2023, IN/AIF2/23-24/1303) - with the second fund targeting a $180 million corpus. Co-founded and led by Managing Directors Rahul Chandra (Stanford, IIT Kanpur alumnus, 20+ years in VC) and Bala Srinivasa (former Wall Street analyst and two-time founder/operator), Arkam pursues a founder-first, high-conviction thesis investing in non-consensus founders across fintech, AI, deeptech, manufacturing tech, and consumer tech categories.

The firm's core product is its investment program: equity capital plus long-term, single-partner support across go-to-market, pricing, hiring, and board dynamics, structured around five thesis-driven sector lenses (Consumer AI, Enterprise AI, Fintech, Deeptech, Manufacturing, Cleantech). It complements the funds with a content platform (Arkam Insights Hub), proprietary research reports ('India AI: The Asymmetric Opportunity', 'India's Space Odyssey'), the 'Tech & Temples' podcast, founder mixers in Bengaluru and Delhi NCR, and the Arkam Annual Meet. Notable portfolio includes two 2026 unicorns - KreditBee (digital lending, $1.5B valuation) and Skyroot Aerospace (India's first spacetech unicorn, $1.1B valuation) - alongside Jar, SpotDraft, Ringg AI, Chara Technologies, Hyperbots, Mirana Toys, TransBnk, Wint Wealth, and 91Trucks among 30+ companies.

Arkam's business model is conventional venture capital fund management: revenue is generated through management fees on committed/deployed capital across its AIF vehicles and, prospectively, through carried interest on portfolio exits. Distribution is direct-to-founder (Pitch-to-Us portal, founder mixers, network-driven sourcing) rather than through third-party channels. Recurring co-investment syndicates with Accel, Bessemer Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Eight Roads, Rainmatter, and Sherpalo indicate institutional validation, while limited partners include sovereign-wealth and global asset managers such as GIC and BlackRock at the portfolio-round level. The firm competes in India's middle-tier of conviction-led VCs against larger generalist funds, differentiating on selectivity, sector depth, and partner continuity from first cheque to exit.

Name

Arkam Ventures

Legal name

Unitary Investment Management LLP

Website

https://www.arkamvc.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arkam Ventures is a Bangalore-based, early-stage Indian venture capital firm writing $1M-$5M cheques in fintech, AI, deeptech, manufacturing, and consumer tech via two SEBI-registered AIFs (Unitary Fund and $180M-target Unitary Fund II), backing 6-8 founders annually from a high-conviction, non-consensus thesis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early-Stage Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Early-stage investing
• Startup funding
• Seed to Series A
• Founder-first investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangalore

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund management and carry: Manages SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds (Unitary Fund and Unitary Fund II). Generates revenue from management fees charged on committed/deployed capital and carried interest (carry) on successful exits from portfolio companies. Second fund targeted at $180 million (announced 2023).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Arkam Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests $1M–$5M cheques at pre-Series A and Series A stages into Indian startups across fintech, AI, deeptech, manufacturing tech, and consumer tech. The firm operates two SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds (Unitary Fund and Unitary Fund II) and provides high-conviction, founder-first capital with deep partnership support in GTM, pricing, hiring, and board dynamics. It backs no more than 6–8 companies per year out of approximately 1,000 reviewed, with a 30+ company portfolio including two unicorns.

Product overview

Arkam Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm whose core offering is its founder-first investment program executed through two SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Funds—Unitary Fund (effective March 8, 2019) and Unitary Fund II (effective June 30, 2023). The funds are managed by Unitary Investment Management LLP and deploy $1M–$5M cheques into Seed to Series B startups across consumer AI, AI, fintech, deeptech, manufacturing tech, and cleantech in India. Supporting the funds, the firm operates the Arkam Insights Hub, a content platform that publishes research reports such as 'India AI: The Asymmetric Opportunity' and 'India's Space Odyssey', blog articles including 'India's Agentic Finance Moment' and 'QR Code Revolution in India', the 'Tech & Temples' podcast, and the 'Arkam Annual Meet'. The portfolio comprises more than 30 companies including KreditBee, Jar, Smallcase, Skyroot, TransBnk, SpotDraft, Wintwealth, Signzy, Vaya, Jumbotail, Eccentric, 91Trucks, Trential, Ringg AI, Chara, Mirana, Optimist, Jai Kisan, Mudrex, Hyperbots, Fyno, Karkhana, Smartstaff, BharatAgri, Binocs, Cusmat, Invact, and BestDoc.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Unitary Fund SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund through which Arkam Ventures deploys pre-Series A and Series A equity cheques ($1M-$5M) into Indian startups; managed by Unitary Investment Management LLP with Vistra ITCL (India) Limited as Trustee; effective March 8, 2019; for limited partners seeking exposure to early-stage Indian startups.
• Unitary Fund II Second SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund with a targeted $180 million, deploying $1M-$5M cheques at pre-Series A and Series A stages across fintech, AI, deeptech, manufacturing tech, and consumer tech; managed by Unitary Investment Management LLP with Orbis Trusteeship Services Private Limited as Trustee; for limited partners seeking exposure to early-stage Indian startups.
• Arkam Founder-First Investment Program Early-stage venture capital investment service writing $1M-$5M cheques as lead or co-lead at Seed to Series B stages, backing no more than 6-8 companies per year; provides non-prescriptive founder support across go-to-market, pricing, hiring, and board dynamics with a long-term, single-partner continuity model; for non-consensus Indian founders with lived insight and execution focus.

Quantifiable outcome

• Backs 6-8 companies per year out of ~1,000 reviewed (~0.7% selection rate)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor event partner and flagship governance partner.

• Snowflakeminor event partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 April 2026Co-hosted a mixer event with AWS in Bengaluru on April 24, 2026, bringing together founders, investors, and operators. Arkam VC participated on a panel discussing agentic AI adoption, data quality frameworks, and shift from experimental AI to production-ready systems.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)minor event partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 24 April 2026Co-hosted mixer event with Snowflake and Arkam Ventures in Bengaluru. Showcase of Snowflakes AI and data cloud platform tools including Cortex AI, Cortex Code, and Snowflake Intelligence.
• Unitary Investment Management LLPflagship governance partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerActs as both Investment Manager and Sponsor to the Fund. Sister entity Unitary Sponsors LLP is co-sponsor. The GP manages capital deployment, fund operations, and portfolio oversight.
• Vistra ITCL (India) Limitedflagship governance partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrustee to the Unitary Fund. Independent fiduciary oversight for the Fund's SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF).
• Orbis Trusteeship Services Private Limitedflagship governance partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrustee to Unitary Fund II. Independent fiduciary oversight for the second Fund (registered June 2023 as Category II AIF).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Blume Ventures: Blume is one of India's most active early-stage VCs, writing Seed/Series A cheques across fintech, SaaS, and deeptech. Direct competitor for the same founder pool and same syndicate seats, with a longer track record (founded 2010).
• Kalaari Capital: Kalaari is a Bangalore-based early-stage VC with comparable Seed/Series A cheques, deeptech and consumer tech focus, and similar founding-team-led thesis. Direct peer in the early-stage India VC category.
• Lightspeed India Partners: Lightspeed is a top-tier India-focused early-stage VC with similar Seed/Series A cheque sizes, deeptech and consumer/fintech coverage, and a multi-stage follow-on model. Directly comparable on founder-first profile and portfolio overlap.
• Vertex Ventures SEA & India: Vertex led Wint Wealth's Series B and co-invested in SpotDraft's Series B alongside Arkam. Comparable on stage (Seed/Series A), India focus, and the B2B SaaS/fintech investment thesis.
• Fundamentum Partnership: Fundamentum is a follow-on-focused India VC that co-invested in TransBnk alongside Arkam. Comparable in B2B fintech/enterprise focus, though typically larger cheque sizes; useful peer for understanding Arkam's syndicate dynamics.
• Eight Roads Ventures: Eight Roads co-invested in Wint Wealth alongside Arkam. A global VC with a long-standing India franchise, comparable on stage, fintech/enterprise focus, and institutional LP-backed fund structure.
• 3one4 Capital: 3one4 co-invests with Arkam (Wint Wealth, Fyno). A Bangalore-based early-stage VC writing $1-5M cheques across fintech, SaaS, and consumer — highly comparable on stage, geography, and check size.
• Prime Venture Partners: Prime VP is a Bangalore-based early-stage VC writing $1-3M Seed/Series A cheques in fintech, healthcare, and consumer — overlapping with Arkam on stage, geography, and check size.
• Bessemer Venture Partners (India): Bessemer co-led TransBnk's Series B alongside Arkam. Both are global-origin VCs with active India franchises investing in B2B SaaS, fintech, and AI. Comparable on stage, sector, and the institutional LP base they court.
• Accel India: Accel is one of Arkam's most frequent co-investors (Vaya, Optimist, Mirana Toys). Both funds are early-stage VCs in India writing cheques at Seed/Series A, with similar fintech/consumer/enterprise software theses. Directly comparable on stage, geography, and deal overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/rahulchandra
• YouTubeyoutu.be/y83mhwfS5n8
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arkam-vc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments46 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arkam Ventures