z21 Ventures announces first close of $40 Mn Fund II

Venture capital firm z21 Ventures focused has announced the first close for a $40 million Fund II from anchor investor WestBridge Capital at $20 million.

Fund II follows the announcement of the full deployment of the venture capital firm’s first fund of $5 million in June 2024 which empowered 26 startups.

According to z21 Ventures, Fund II will continue to support disruptive technology companies across various sectors, including artificial intelligence, enterprise software and healthcare. The fund’s primary focus will continue to be pre-seed and seed-stage investments in companies with strong teams, innovative technologies and large market opportunities.

z21 Ventures says that it has taken a community-first approach to enabling accelerated growth for founders. Fund II will raise part of its capital from leading operators and experts who will mentor and support founders. 

Co-founded in 2022 by Raj Singh and Abhinav Shashank, z21 focuses on early-stage technology investments. The firm invests in companies across various sectors, including artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and healthcare. Jyotika Gupta and Sudarshan Ravi Jha are partners in the fund.

WestBridge Capital is a US-India investment firm with over $7 billion in assets under management. The firm invests in private and public companies across software, consumer and financial services. Some of its investments include companies like Innovaccer, KPN, Rapido, PhysicsWallah, Indigo Airlines, Star Health, Turing and many more.