Kunal Bahl’s Titan Capital announces final close of Rs 333 crore winners fund

Titan Capital, an early-stage investment firm co-founded by Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, has made the final close of its Winners Fund at Rs 333 crore.

The new fund will primarily support the firm’s existing portfolio companies during later-stage rounds of funding. Titan Capital raised Rs 200 crore for the fund in August 2024 but opted to increase its size by exercising a greenshoe option due to strong investor interest.

Targeting existing portfolio startups

 The Rs 333 crore fund will focus on providing follow-on investments for nearly 20 companies from Titan Capital’s portfolio. According to Bahl, each company will receive an average investment of Rs 15 crore.

Titan Capital, which has invested in over 280 startups since its inception in 2011, is targeting companies in the pre-series A and series A stages. Some of the notable startups that Titan Capital has backed include Razorpay, Ola, Mamaearth, Urban Company, and OfBusiness. 

First fund with external capital

This is the first time Titan Capital has raised external capital for a fund, marking a shift from its earlier model where investments came from the personal wealth of Bahl and Bansal.

The Winners Fund has attracted contributions from a range of investors, including Indian family offices, senior executives from large companies, and founders of Titan Capital’s portfolio startups.

The founders aim to build an ecosystem of well-networked investors to support these startups in their growth journey.

Recent investments and returns

Titan Capital has already made investments in three startups through the new fund. These include Convin, an AI-powered tool for customer-facing teams; Beco, a direct-to-consumer eco-friendly home products brand; and Simplismart, a SaaS-based platform.

Bahl noted that two or three additional deals are in the final stages of completion. The firm has seen significant returns on its early investments, such as its Rs 57 lakh investment in Urban Company, which yielded a return of Rs 111 crore.

Similar high returns were achieved in startups like Ola, OfBusiness, and Credgenics.

Lower risk, lower returns expected  

The Winners Fund represents a strategic pivot for Titan Capital as it moves towards later-stage investments where the risk profile is typically lower compared to early-stage ventures.

Bahl explained that while the potential returns may be lower in later stages, the loss ratios are expected to decrease as well. He added that many of the firm’s early investments came with higher risks because of the unproven nature of the businesses, but later-stage investments benefit from clearer signals of success.

By expanding its focus and bringing in external capital, Titan Capital aims to strengthen its support for its portfolio companies while reducing investment risk.