Equirus InnovateX Fund Announces Final Close of Debut Enterprise Tech Fund at ₹166 Crore

Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF), the early-stage venture arm of Equirus Group, today announced the final close of its maiden B2B tech fund at ₹166 crore. The fund’s first close was announced in February 2024.

EIF backs seed and pre-series A companies building in Deep Tech, SaaS and Fintech - typically teams that are post-product and working toward product-market fit. The fund aims to partner with founders solving hard problems with clear distribution and defensibility, and who are building for long-term sustainability from day one.

The close attracted both domestic and global investors who bring operational experience and market access in addition to capital. True to its ethos - “by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs” - EIF counts a number of founders and operators among its backers, including Girish Gaitonde (Founder & Board Member, Xoriant), M.R. Jyothy (Chairperson & MD, Jyothy Labs), Dhimant Bhayani (Founder & CEO, iRevo), Raj P. (Founder & Executive Chairman, Zaggle), Shankar Vailaya (Former Director & Co-Founder, Sharekhan) and Nitin Seth (Vice Chairman, GD Foods).

The Fund is led by Krishna Jha, Sunder Nookala and Sadhika Agarwal, experienced founders and investors with strong operational backgrounds, and responsible for driving investments and managing the portfolio across the fund’s focus areas.

Sunder Nookala, Partner, Equirus InnovateX Fund, added: “At the seed and pre-series A stage, capital alone is not the differentiator - context and conviction are. Having built and backed companies ourselves, we understand the inflection points founders face around product-market fit, enterprise access and organisational build-out. With Fund I fully closed, our commitment is to work closely with portfolio companies to help them scale responsibly, strengthen fundamentals and build institutions that stand the test of time.”

EIF has deployed over one-third of the corpus, backing seven startups from Fund I, with a target portfolio of up to 15 companies. Active investments include Pointo, Datazip, GreenStitch, CtrlB, Consuma AI, RSPL and NeverInstall. The remaining capital is expected to be deployed over the next 12-18 months.

Krishna Jha, Partner, Equirus InnovateX Fund, said: "As India's startup ecosystem matures, we are seeing a new generation of audacious founders solving structurally complex problems. As a firm of ex-operators, our focus is on partnering with these founders as they walk the long road from early idea to enduring, category-defining company."

Beyond capital, EIF partners with founders on enterprise access, regulatory navigation, senior hiring, and capital-raising preparedness. The fund emphasises strong governance and long-term value creation rather than short-term value maximisation.

With the maiden fund now fully closed, EIF will focus on scaling its existing portfolio, selectively adding new companies, and deepening relationships with founders and long-term capital partners as it lays the groundwork for its next fund.

Notable angel investments of partners – Ajay Garg, Krishna Jha and Sunder Nookala – include Druva, Kwench, Adpushup, Sirona, Wow Momo, Credgenics, and GoComet.

About Equirus InnovateX Fund

A ₹166Cr SEBI-registered Category-I AIF focused on early-stage investments from Seed to Pre-Series A. The fund backs founders building in SaaS and DeepTech and Fintech, typically at post-product, pre-PMF stage. The Fund has invested in high-impact businesses across sectors, including: Pointo (Energy Efficiency: Battery Lifecycle Management), Datazip (Composable Lakehouse platform), GreenStitch (Fashion & Retail Focused ESG SaaS), CtrlB (Observability SaaS), Consuma (AI for Market/Consumer Insights) and RSPL (Semiconductor) and Neverinstall (Virtual Desktop Infra).

Founders Backing Founders: True to our ethos - “A fund for founders, by founders, and of founders,” Equirus InnovateX Fund is built with a deep understanding of what it takes to build at the earliest stages. We are on a mission to back bold ideas, brilliant minds, and transformative tech - supporting passionate founders who are building the future.

Website: https://www.equiruswealth.com/eif

About Equirus Group

Equirus Group is a leading full-service financial services firm specializing in investment banking, institutional securities, wealth and asset management, HNI broking, NBFC, and insurance solutions. With a “client always first” approach and a proven track record of delivering value creation, Equirus has built impeccable credentials across domains and sectors. Equirus has completed more than 330+ transactions across M&A, PE, IPOs, QIPs, Rights Issues, and Structured Finance, raising USD 15 billion in the process across sectors over the last 18 years, and has created a differentiation for itself through its ability to structure and deliver transactions in line with the client’s requirements.

Website: https://www.equirus.com/

Equirus InnovateX Fund Backs Cloud PC Startup Neverinstall to Disrupt Legacy VDI

• Neverinstall enables secure, low-latency cloud desktops on any device, eliminates expensive hardware, vendor lock-in and complex VDI deployments.
• Funding to accelerate Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI), BYOI model, and an enterprise secure browser for BFSI and healthcare use cases.
• The company records 3x growth in FY26, serves enterprises like Tally, Porter and Primebook, addresses a $21–23Bn VDI, DaaS and GPU virtualisation market.
• Ramesh Gopal Krishna joins as CRO, strengthening go-to-market execution for India and global enterprise expansion.

Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF), an early-stage venture fund backing next-generation enterprise and infrastructure technologies, has participated in the seed round of Neverinstall, a Cloud PC platform enabling enterprises to stream any application to any device directly through a web browser. Founded in 2021 by Ram and Lakshman Pasala, Neverinstall decouples the operating system from hardware, allowing organisations to access virtual desktops and applications through any device—browsers, thin clients, mobile apps, or native desktop clients.

The investment reflects a broader enterprise shift away from traditional VDI platforms, which are increasingly costly, complex, and restrictive, often exceeding $2,000-3,000 per user annually while delivering limited flexibility and user experience. Neverinstall tackles these gaps with a cloud-native, protocol-agnostic platform powered by its proprietary CloudLink architecture, enabling secure virtual desktop access across web browsers, mobile applications, thin clients, and zero clients without local installations, ideal for GPU virtualization, VDI workloads, application streaming, developers, designers, BYOD setups and distributed teams.

The seed funding will be deployed to accelerate deep-tech infrastructure development and strengthen enterprise security capabilities. Key focus areas include the development of Neverinstall’s Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) platform, enabling a “Bring Your Own Infrastructure” model on commodity hardware, and the launch of an Enterprise Secure Browser with an embedded eBPF-based security layer for compliant workflows including in regulated sectors such as BFSI and healthcare.

Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF) focuses on backing post-product companies building core enterprise, infrastructure and deep-technology platforms. The fund invests in founders solving structurally complex problems with clear technological defensibility, distribution advantages and the potential to become long-term category leaders, particularly in markets undergoing fundamental transformation.

Commenting on the investment, Mr. Sunder Nookala, General Partner, Equirus InnovateX Fund said,“The enterprise desktop market is going through a fundamental reset. As hybrid work becomes the default, organisations are questioning the cost, rigidity and complexity of legacy VDI platforms. Neverinstall stands out for its browser-native, cloud-agnostic approach that materially lowers total cost of ownership while improving performance and user experience. This aligns strongly with EIF’s focus on backing founders who are re-architecting core enterprise systems for the next decade.”

The VDI and DaaS market is undergoing a structural reset as enterprises move toward multi-cloud environments and browser-first experiences, while legacy platforms remain single-vendor by design and dependent on static provisioning models. This gap has created an opportunity for cloud-agnostic platforms that combine enterprise-grade security with consumer-grade simplicity.

Mr.Lakshman Pasala, Co-Founder and CEO, Neverinstall, added, “Traditional desktop virtualisation is broken for modern enterprises—it’s expensive, inflexible, and complex to run at scale. We took a different path by building a unified stack from the ground up, backed by years of deep R&D across streaming, infrastructure orchestration, and security. EIF’s investment validates our belief that enterprises want technology that truly works, without vendor lock-in. With Ramesh Gopal Krishna joining us, we’re combining deep technology with strong go-to-market execution to build enterprise infrastructure for the next decade.”

Neverinstall is seeing strong enterprise momentum, recording threefold growth in FY26 and building a growing enterprise pipeline for FY’27. The platform is already being used by organisations such as Tally, Porter, Alliance Broadband and Primebook, supporting thousands of employees and validating its ability to deliver high-performance cloud desktops at scale over consumer-grade internet and affordable hardware. With a $21-23 billion total addressable market across VDI, DaaS and GPU virtualisation still largely untapped, EIF believes the company is well positioned to disrupt enterprise desktop provisioning at scale.

To support its next growth phase, Neverinstall has appointed Ramesh Gopal Krishna, a 25+ year sales leader from Microsoft, Meta and Salesforce, as Chief Revenue Officer. The company is now focused on scaling its enterprise presence across India and global markets while evolving into a full-stack workspace orchestration platform.

About Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF)

Equirus InnovateX Fund (EIF) is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on backing founders building next-generation enterprise, infrastructure and deep-technology companies. The fund invests in post-product startups working toward product-market fit, with a strong emphasis on defensible technology, scalable distribution and long-term sustainability. EIF partners closely with founding teams that are re-architecting core enterprise systems across cloud infrastructure, SaaS and applied AI for the next decade.

Website: https://www.equiruswealth.com/eif

NeverInstall

Neverinstall is a next-generation virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform that delivers cloud desktops, virtual applications, and digital workspaces to any device—browsers, mobile apps, thin clients, or desktop clients—without downloads or installation. Our cloud-native VDI solution eliminates hardware limitations through desktop virtualization, application streaming, and GPU virtualization technologies, making virtual desktop access truly universal. With Neverinstall, organizations can deploy secure virtual workspaces, remote desktop services, and cloud-based desktop infrastructure without the complexity of traditional VDI deployment or on-premises data centers.

Website: https://neverinstall.com

Raana Semiconductors Secures $3M Seed Funding to Build Indigenous Silicon Ingot Systems

Raana Semiconductors Pvt Ltd, a Tamil Nadu-based deep-tech startup, has raised $3 million in a seed funding round led by Equirus Innovatex Fund and Artha Venture Fund, with participation from IvyCap Ventures, PointOne Capital, CIIE Initiatives (IIMA Ventures), and angel investor Garimella Laxminarayana. The funds will accelerate R&D and product development of indigenous silicon ingot growth systems.

Key Highlights of the Funding Round

• Amount Raised: $3 million (Seed round, pure equity)
• Lead Investors: Equirus Innovatex Fund, Artha Venture Fund
• Other Participants: IvyCap Ventures, PointOne Capital, CIIE Initiatives (IIMA Ventures), Garimella Laxminarayana (angel investor)
• Advisory Partner: Prequate Advisory served as the sole strategic advisor

Company Profile

• Name: Raana Semiconductors Pvt Ltd (RSPL)
• Location: Tamil Nadu, India
• Sector: Deep-tech, semiconductor manufacturing equipment
• Specialization: Czochralski (CZ)-based crystal growth systems and single-crystal materials
• Experience: Over a decade in semiconductor technology

Strategic Use of Funds

• Product Development: Building indigenous Czochralski monocrystalline silicon ingot growers capable of producing 10–12 inch diameter silicon ingots.
• Applications: Defence, semiconductor, solar, and medical technologies.
• Roadmap:
  • Short-term: Solar-grade silicon ingots.
  • Long-term: Semiconductor-grade wafers for chip manufacturing.

Why This Matters

• Reducing Import Dependence: India relies heavily on overseas suppliers for silicon ingot growth systems. RSPL aims to localize this critical technology.
• Boost to Semiconductor Ecosystem: Aligns with India’s national semiconductor mission to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity.
• Cross-Sector Impact: Vital for renewable energy (solar panels), electronics, defence systems, and medical devices.

Quick Comparison: RSPL vs. Global Context

Aspect	RSPL (India)	Typical Global Players
Funding Stage	Seed ($3M)	Series A–C, often $50M+
Focus	Indigenous CZ ingot growers	Advanced wafer fabs, lithography
Market Gap	Local equipment manufacturing	Mature ecosystems in US, Taiwan, Korea
Strategic Value	Reduces import reliance	Expands global dominance

AI Startup Consuma Secures $1.3M to Disrupt Traditional Research Methods

Mr Abhilash Madabhushi

• The round also saw participation by prominent angel investors like Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Mekin Maheshwari (Flipkart), Harsh Shah (Fynd), Arnav Kumar (Leap Finance), Shiv Kapoor (Titan Winner’s Fund) and others
• The funds will be allocated for technology development and market expansion - both domestically and globally.

Consuma, an AI startup that is disrupting traditional research methods like surveys & focus-groups, today announced that it has raised $1.3 million (INR 11.16 Crore) in seed funding led by Equirus InnovateX Fund. The funding round also saw participation by prominent angel investors Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Mekin Maheshwari (Flipkart), Bhavik Dholakia (Swatantra Wealth), Harsh Shah (Fynd), Arnav Kumar (Leap Finance), Shiv Kapoor (Titan Capital), Biswa Kalyan Rath (Comedian) and several others.

Founded in 2021 by Abhilash Madabhushi during his second year at PES University, Consuma is transforming the consumer research landscape by helping brands derive faster, deeper insights from digital behaviour data — at scale. In less than six months since its public launch, the company already works with over 35 global brands, including Godrej and Britannia.

Speaking on the development, Abhilash Madabhushi, Founder of Consuma, shared, “Consumers are changing faster than ever before, and brands need research methods that keep up with this rate of change.

Unfortunately, traditional research methods have become sluggish and outdated. Relying on surveys in 2025 is like relying on smoke signals in the era of satellites.

At Consuma, we are building technology to bring consumer research into the age of AI - driving differential insights in minutes, not months.

We already see this with our customers, but in the not-too-distant future it will be clear that brands that use Consuma will outperform their competitors that do not.With this round, we can accelerate our journey towards that mission.”

Sadhika Agarwal, Equirus InnovateX Fund Principal Officer, shared "In a world of quick commerce where consumer expectations evolve in real time, shelf life of insights is low. Brands can no longer rely on million-dollar research projects that run into months. Consuma AI’s exceptional team and platform brings that decision intelligence into the moment. This investment round will help scale faster, deepen the tech, and enable delivery of insights from source to strategy, in minutes, not weeks."

Today, with Consuma’s AI Engine, brands can perform research in 30 minutes instead of 2-3 months, at 1/10th the cost, all while analysing 1000x more data.

About Consuma

Consuma is an AI startup revolutionizing how brands conduct consumer research. By replacing traditional surveys and focus groups with AI-driven analysis of digital behaviour, Consuma enables brands to access faster, richer, and more cost-effective insights. Founded in 2021 by Abhilash Madabhushi, Consuma already works with leading brands such as Britannia, Foxtale, and Godrej, and is redefining how businesses understand and act on consumer intelligence.

For more information, visit: https://consuma.ai/