z21 Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage technology investments, announced the successful first close of $20 million for its $40 million Fund II from lead investor WestBridge Capital, a global investment firm recognized for its strategic approach and strong portfolio.
The fund follows z21’s successful deployment of its first fund of $5 million in June 2024, which backed 26 startups across a range of sectors.
Supporting disruptive technology startups
Fund II is designed to continue z21 Ventures’ mission of investing in disruptive technology companies.
It will focus on sectors such as artificial intelligence, enterprise software and healthcare, maintaining a priority on pre-seed and seed-stage startups with strong leadership, innovative technologies and substantial market potential.
The new fund will help startups, particularly those with ambitious visions, scale quickly.
“We are thrilled to announce the first close of our second fund and welcome WestBridge Capital as our lead investor,” said Raj Singh, co-founder and managing partner of z21 Ventures.
“This successful fundraising campaign is a validation of our community-led model and our track record of identifying and supporting promising early-stage companies. We look forward to helping entrepreneurs build and scale their purpose-driven businesses by harnessing the power of community and capital.”
WestBridge Capital’s role as lead investor
WestBridge Capital’s participation as a lead investor underscores its confidence in z21 Ventures’ approach to early-stage investing.
Sumir Chadha, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at WestBridge Capital, expressed his excitement about the partnership. “We are excited to partner with z21 Ventures and support their mission of investing in innovative technology companies. z21’s community-focused, operator-led model offers significant value to early-stage founders and we believe it can help build category-defining companies,” Chadha said.
WestBridge Capital, a firm with over $7 billion in assets under management, has invested in several notable companies including Innovaccer, KPN, Rapido and PhysicsWallah, highlighting its strong track record of identifying and supporting successful companies.
Community-led model and support for founders
One of z21 Ventures’ unique features is its community-focused approach, which allows it to leverage its network of limited partners (LPs), comprised of industry experts and successful operators of leading companies such as Google, Cisco, and Apple. These experts not only contribute financially, but also advise and guide startups, providing them with strategic expertise and essential connections.
“Our limited partner community helps us gain early access to amazing founders and provides them with deep functional and strategic expertise, strong connections, and a supportive ecosystem on their early-stage journey. We are on a mission to unlock value for founders through a strong ecosystem,” said Jyotika Gupta, Partner at z21 Ventures.
Who are the founders?
z21 Ventures was founded by Raj Singh (formerly Innovaccer, McKinsey and co-founder of IBC) and Abhinav Shashank (co-founder and CEO of Innovaccer), with Jyotika Gupta (formerly Glassdoor) and Sudarshan Ravi Jha (co-founder of LetsTransport) as partners in the fund. All four are IIT Kharagpur alumni and bring a wealth of experience and a shared mission to invest in the future of technology.
“AI is already revolutionizing the entire B2B SaaS stack, from infrastructure, data, and middleware to applications and agents that will be deployed in almost every organization in the coming years. We have seen the era of systems of record (Salesforce and SAP), systems of intelligence (Innovaccer and Palantir), and now we will see enterprises emerge as systems of action where multiple workflows will be deployed at scale,” said Sudarshan Ravi Jha.
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