What EMVC does

EMVC (legal name: Emphasis Ventures) is a fintech-focused venture capital firm founded in 2018 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices in New York, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. The firm invests in early-stage companies building next-generation financial and commerce ecosystems, with India positioned as its primary market and laboratory for global fintech innovation. EMVC's investment thesis spans payments, lending, banking, insurance, wealth management, and digital commerce, with a portfolio that includes notable companies such as Slice (unicorn, $220M round), M2P (Banking-as-a-Service, $102M Series D led by Helios in 2024), Bureau (fraud prevention, $30M Series B led by Sorenson Capital with PayPal Ventures in 2024), Khatabook ($600M valuation), Jar, Flash, Monnai, Wealthy, Klub, and GramCover. The firm sources deals through founder networks, industry referrals, conference relationships, and proactive origination, and operates with a lean team of 1-10 employees.

EMVC does not develop proprietary technology products; its core "platform" consists of capital deployment, market intelligence, industry expertise, and a global network of Fortune 500 partners and co-investors including Tiger Global, Sequoia Surge, Insight Partners, Visa, PayPal Ventures, Sorenson Capital, Advent International, Bertelsmann India Investments, Point72 Ventures, Helios Investment Partners, and GMO Venture Partners. The firm's business model follows standard venture capital economics—management fees on committed capital (typically 2%) and carried interest on fund profits (typically 20%)—though EMVC does not publicly disclose its fee structure, fund size, or AUM.

The firm is led by CEO and Founding Partner Melissa Frakman, recognized as Global Fintech Person of the Year at the 2024 Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai and named on the Innovate Finance Women in Fintech Powerlist 2023. The advisory bench includes AP Hota (founding CEO and MD of NPCI who led UPI development), Sandeep Patil (MD of India at Truecaller, ex-Flipkart/Capital One), Nitin Sharma (ex-founding Principal at Lightbox and NEA), and Alex Acree (former MD & General Counsel at Fenway Summer). EMVC markets itself through thought leadership content, conference keynotes (Singapore Fintech Festival, Money2020, Milken Asia Summit), and media appearances including Nasdaq Trade Talks. The firm has no parent company, is privately held, and remains actively operating as a venture capital fund.

Name

EMVC

Legal name

Emphasis Ventures

Website

https://em.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EMVC (Emphasis Ventures) is a fintech-focused venture capital firm founded in 2018 that invests in early-stage financial and commerce startups in India and other emerging markets. The firm provides capital, strategic guidance, and global connectivity to founders across payments, lending, banking, insurance, wealth management, and digital commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Fintech Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Fintech venture capital
• Early-stage investments
• Emerging markets
• Fund management
• Portfolio advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: VC funds typically charge management fees on committed capital (typically 2% of AUM) and carry on profits from successful exits (typically 20% of returns above the hurdle rate).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

EMVC (Emphasis Ventures) is a fintech venture capital fund that invests in early-stage companies building next-generation financial and commerce ecosystems, primarily in India and other emerging markets. The firm provides portfolio companies with capital investment, strategic guidance, and access to a global network of Fortune 500 partners and fintech ecosystem participants. Investments are typically made at seed, pre-Series A, and Series A stages across payments, lending, banking, insurance, wealth management, and digital commerce.

Product overview

EMVC (Emphasis Ventures) is a fintech venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies building next-generation financial and commerce ecosystems in emerging markets, particularly India. Rather than offering a unified product platform, EMVC provides capital, strategic guidance, and global connectivity to portfolio companies. The firm does not develop or offer its own standalone product modules or SaaS offerings; its investment thesis centers on backing exceptional founders across payments, lending, banking, insurance, wealth management, and commerce infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early-stage fintech venture capital fund
• Portfolio advisory and strategic support services

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio includes Slice (unicorn), M2P ($102M+ raise), Khatabook ($600M valuation), and multiple other successful fintech companies
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AP Hota (NPCI)coreOthers · 21 December 2019Founding CEO and MD of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) serves as advisor. Led development of India's landmark UPI which crossed 1 billion transactions in October 2019.
• Sandeep PatilcoreOthers · 21 December 2019Venture Partner with experience in credit risk and financial services. MD of India at Truecaller, previously at Flipkart (including Walmart acquisition), Capital One Bank, McKinsey.
• Nitin SharmacoreOthers · 21 December 2019Venture Partner, experienced India/US investor and founder of Incrypt Blockchain. Previously founding Principal at Lightbox ($400M AUM).
• Alex AcreecoreOthers · 21 December 2019Advisor with fintech and legal expertise. Previously MD & General Counsel at Fenway Summer fintech VC, global law firm experience.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Quona Capital: Specialist fintech/financial inclusion venture firm investing in emerging markets, including India. Directly comparable as a sector-focused VC targeting similar stages and themes as EMVC (embedded finance, lending, insurtech).
• Flourish Ventures: Fintech-focused VC backing early-stage companies globally with an emphasis on financial health, equity, and inclusion. Closely comparable to EMVC on stage, sector focus, and emerging-market orientation (co-invested with EMVC in GramCover).
• Better Tomorrow Ventures: Fintech-specialist seed VC investing globally, including in India. Directly comparable as a fintech-focused early-stage fund; co-invested with EMVC in Monnai's seed and Series A rounds.
• Anthemis Group: Fintech-focused investment platform and venture builder with deep roots in UK/US digital finance. Comparable as an established fintech specialist with similar network-driven value proposition to EMVC's Fortune 500 consortium approach.
• Saison Capital: Early-stage fintech and emerging-markets investor backed by Credit Saison. Comparable as a fintech-dedicated fund deploying into similar geographies and stages as EMVC.

Broad incumbents

• Accel (India): Long-standing India-focused venture firm with significant fintech exposure. Comparable as an incumbent investor in the same Indian fintech opportunity set, but operating as a broader multi-stage, multi-sector firm rather than a fintech specialist.
• Sequoia Capital India: Premier India venture franchise with large fintech exposure. Overlaps with EMVC in Indian fintech deal flow but operates at much larger scale and broader sector mandate.
• Tiger Global: Mega-stage global investor with significant Indian fintech allocation. Repeated co-investor with EMVC (Jar, Slice) and representative of the larger funds competing for the same assets.

Emerging players

• Omidyar Network India: Impact-oriented investor with substantial fintech/financial inclusion focus in India. Comparable mission alignment (financial inclusion, insurtech) and co-investor alongside EMVC in GramCover.
• Lightbox: India-focused venture firm with consumer/tech orientation, where EMVC Venture Partner Nitin Sharma was previously founding Principal. Comparable as a competing India venture investor with adjacent thematic overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/emvc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments27 records

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

Frequently asked questions about EMVC