What Incubate Fund India does

Incubate Fund India, now operating as Incubate Fund Asia, is a Japan-origin seed and pre-seed venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups across India and Southeast Asia. Founded in India in 2016 by Nao Murakami under the parent Incubate Fund (Japan, est. 2010), the firm runs multiple fund vehicles — Fund I (2016), Fund II (2021), Fund III (closed 2024 at $30M), and the SMBC Asia Rising Fund (a CVC partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) — and has backed 27+ Indian/SEA companies and 700+ globally. The firm invests as a lead investor at the seed stage, with stated focus areas including consumer brands, greentech, cross-border B2B e-commerce, fintech, tier 2+ "Bharat" markets, and deep tech/space tech.

The firm operates as a traditional limited-partnership fund manager; technology is not its core product. Its offering to founders is capital plus a structured support stack: a 5-step onboarding process (Initial Meeting → Pitch Deck Review → Team Reference → Number Evaluation → IC Meetup), mentorship, introductions to Japanese late-stage investors, and a portfolio community of 70+ founders across India and SEA. Notable portfolio outcomes include Yulu reaching $30M ARR and EBITDA positive, ShopKirana becoming profitable across all served cities, Captain Fresh scaling as India's largest seafood distributor with 30+ export countries, and Plum reaching INR 100 crore in annual insurance premium. The firm has offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Bengaluru, Mumbai, San Francisco, and São Paulo, and was rebranded from "Incubate Fund India" to "Incubate Fund Asia" in September 2023 to reflect its expanded regional thesis.

Revenue is generated through standard venture capital fund-management economics — management fees on committed/invested capital plus carried interest on exits — across its multiple fund vehicles. Total AUM is reported at approximately $250M (India/SEA operations) and 125 billion yen globally, though management fee and carry terms are not publicly disclosed. The firm does not pursue traditional paid marketing; deal flow is sourced primarily through founder referrals, portfolio introductions, and the partner network, supported by LinkedIn presence, a Medium blog by founding partner Nao Murakami, podcast appearances, and coverage in publications such as The Economic Times, DealStreetAsia, and VCCircle.

Name

Incubate Fund India

Legal name

Incubate Fund Asia

Website

https://incubatefund.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Incubate Fund India (now Incubate Fund Asia) is a Japan-origin seed and pre-seed venture capital firm that leads investments in early-stage startups across India and Southeast Asia, managing ~$250M in AUM across multiple fund vehicles including a CVC partnership with SMBC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Capital Introduction (LP/Family Office/Endowment Matching) (FSAEALAI), Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF)

Keywords

• Seed venture capital
• Pre-seed investing
• Startup funding
• Venture capital fund
• Early-stage investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bengaluru

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Incubate Fund generates returns through equity ownership in early-stage startups. The firm manages multiple fund vehicles (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III, SMBC Asia Rising Fund) targeting pre-seed and seed-stage companies in India and Southeast Asia. Returns are realized through exits, IPOs, and secondary transactions of portfolio company equity.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Incubate Fund India is a seed and pre-seed stage venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia. The firm deploys capital as a lead investor across multiple fund vehicles (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III, and SMBC Asia Rising Fund), targeting sectors including fintech, B2B commerce, supply chain, EV/mobility, consumer technology, deep tech, and space tech. Beyond capital, the firm provides portfolio companies with hands-on mentorship, operational support, and access to its global network spanning Japan, India, and Southeast Asia.

Product overview

Incubate Fund Asia is a Japan-origin seed-focused venture capital firm that operates as a platform providing early-stage investment and strategic support to startups in India and Southeast Asia. The firm offers multiple fund vehicles (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III, and SMBC Asia Rising Fund) targeting pre-seed and seed-stage companies across sectors including fintech, healthtech, B2B commerce, EV/mobility, supply chain, and consumer technology. Beyond capital, the firm provides portfolio companies with mentorship, global networking opportunities, and hands-on operational guidance through its ecosystem approach. The portfolio encompasses 35+ companies including Plum (insurtech), Yulu (EV mobility), Captain Fresh (B2B seafood marketplace), Shopkirana (B2B grocery procurement), M2P (Banking-as-a-Service), and others spanning diverse industries and geographies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SMBC Asia Rising Fund: A corporate venture capital fund co-founded by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Incubate Fund for accelerating business development and partnerships through investments in high potential Asian startups in finance, payments, supply chain finance, banking-as-a-service, AI, and digital assets.

Products and services

• Fund I (India) Inaugural India-focused fund vehicle for seed-stage investments in Indian startups.
• Fund II (India) Second fund vehicle focused on a more diverse set of pre-seed and seed-stage startups in India.
• Fund III (India & Southeast Asia) Third fund vehicle targeting pre-seed and seed-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia with focus on tier 2+ cities, SME enablers, deep tech, and space tech. Fund III closed at $30 million corpus.
• SMBC Asia Rising Fund Corporate venture capital fund co-founded with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) targeting startups in finance and adjacent fields including lending tech, payments, supply chain finance, BaaS, AI, and digital assets.
• Seed and Pre-Seed Venture Capital Investment Core investment service providing pre-seed and seed-stage capital as a lead investor to early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia, combined with hands-on mentorship, global network access, and continuous support through future funding rounds.
• Portfolio Companies Ecosystem Portfolio community of 70+ entrepreneurs across fintech, B2B commerce, supply chain, EV/mobility, healthcare, and consumer technology sectors, providing peer networking, mentorship, and cross-border market expansion support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Incubate Fund has invested in 700+ startups globally and 27+ in India/SEA across four fund vehicles
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Accel India: One of India's largest and most established early/growth VCs operating across seed to Series C. Broad incumbent: Incubate's portfolio companies frequently raise from Accel as a follow-on investor (e.g., Shivalik Small Finance Bank co-investment ecosystem), and Accel sets the competitive bar for India seed/Series A.
• Matrix Partners India: Large India-focused VC covering seed through growth stages. Broad incumbent: Matrix is named as an early investor in Captain Fresh (alongside Incubate), illustrating its role as a natural follow-on partner — and a competitive threat for lead seed cheques at larger ticket sizes.
• JAFCO Asia: Pan-Asia venture capital arm of JAFCO Group, one of Japan's largest VC firms. Broad incumbent: meaningful peer given Co-Founder Masahiko Honma's prior JAFCO tenure and Incubate's Japan-Asia positioning; JAFCO Asia represents the larger incumbent that Incubate's Japan-Asia corridor thesis must ultimately compete against.

Direct peers

• Blume Ventures: India-focused early-stage/seed VC investing across consumer, fintech, health, and deep tech. Blume is the most direct comparable as a generalist India seed/Series A fund targeting similar founder segments and ticket sizes.
• Chiratae Ventures: India-focused growth and early-stage VC investing in technology, consumer, and fintech. Direct peer: comparable sector-agnostic India thesis, similar stage focus, and active co-investor profile in rounds where Incubate participates.
• Kalaari Capital: Bangalore-based seed/early-stage VC focused on India technology and consumer businesses. Direct peer: comparable India seed/Series A orientation, similar portfolio size, and overlapping founder ecosystem in Bangalore.
• Saama Capital: India-focused early-stage VC with strong consumer/fintech orientation. Direct peer: comparable cheque size, sector overlap, and stage focus; one of Incubate's own AVP alumni (Mayank Agarwal) came from Saama, indicating active lateral hiring in the same talent pool.
• Ankur Capital: India early-stage fund focused on agritech and fintech for the next half-billion consumers. Direct peer: co-invested alongside Incubate in Saswat Finance ($2.6M pre-Series A), shares the Bharat/tier-2+ thesis that Incubate champions from Fund III.
• 3one4 Capital: Bangalore-based early-stage VC investing in India tech from seed/Series A. Direct peer: frequently co-invests with Incubate Fund (Pulse $4M seed, Elixiir Foods $9M seed), operates at similar stage and sector-agnostic thesis.

Emerging players

• Better Capital: India-focused pre-seed and seed micro-fund led by Vaibhav Domkundwar. Emerging player: comparable cheque size and stage focus, competing for the same founder pool with a similar 'founder-first' positioning; useful for benchmarking Incubate's pre-seed/seed entry valuations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/IncubateAsia
• LinkedInin.linkedin.com/company/incubate-fund-india

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments47 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Incubate Fund India