Upekkha Raised Investment $9 Million From WestBridge

Upekkha Value SaaS Accelerator, a US-based AngelList-style early-stage investment organization, has secured $9 million from WestBridge Capital for its rolling fund, which will aim to invest in about 50-60 firms this fiscal year. This is the first alternative investment fund (AIF) of its sort in India.

In a rolling fund, the investor will invest in firms that use a revenue-based, rather than debt-based, financing strategy. In January 2021, a software as a service (Saas)-focused investing business was launched. It usually invests between $100,000 and $200,000 in businesses.

According to a senior firm official, it financed roughly 10 startups in 2021 and also participated in a Series A investment of one of its portfolio companies.

“UP Funds will invest in 60 businesses across three cohorts of the Upekkha accelerator program this year,” stated Shekar Nair, co-founder, and partner of Upekkha.

“We aimed to assist Indian entrepreneurs to go worldwide when we founded WestBridge 20 years ago.” Prior to Upekkha, India lacked a solid ecosystem and platform dedicated to assisting early-stage SaaS innovators in building profitable and huge enterprises. “We see Upekkha as a vital partner today, bridging the gap for early-stage SaaS startups who want to go global while remaining based in India,” said Sumir Chadha, co-founder and managing director of WestBridge Capital.

According to Upekkha’s Nair, India SaaS will be the next great growth storey. “We’re already witnessing it. In the last five years, India’s SaaS market has exploded. It is expected to generate $30 billion in sales by 2025 and treble its worldwide market share to 8%.”

“In contrast to Vanity SaaS, which focuses on helping founders build a Revenue Flywheel engine for capital-efficient growth without first addressing unit economics, Value SaaS focuses on helping founders build a Revenue Flywheel engine for capital-efficient development.” This gives founders more influence over their business’s growth trajectory, allowing them to decide whether to go high-scale (VC), take a smart exit, or stay Founder Forever.

Over the course of four years, Upekkha has accelerated 72 businesses, with seven of the first ten profitable.