New York-based venture capital firm BAT VC has announced its entry into the Indian startup ecosystem with a bold commitment—a $100 million Fund II focused on AI and DeepTech startups in FinTech and B2B SaaS. The fund aims to back India-linked founders building globally scalable innovations at the intersection of technology and enterprise.
Manish Maheshwari, former Twitter India head, Harvard Mason Fellow, and now India Head at BAT VC, will spearhead the initiative from Bengaluru. “My move to Bengaluru underscores our conviction in India’s potential to lead the next wave of AI-driven global growth,” he said.
The leadership team also includes Aditya M., a serial entrepreneur with leadership stints at Yahoo! and EY, and Ravi Metta, former CTO at Finastra and engineering head at Intuit. “We aim to back Indian founders building globally relevant AI products,” said Mishra. Metta added, “Our technical depth enables us to identify high-impact AI startups early and guide them through global scale-up.”
With India’s AI market projected to hit $23 billion by 2027 and enterprise SaaS growing at 35% CAGR, BAT VC sees a massive opportunity. Despite representing nearly 20% of the global population, India receives only 5% of VC capital—a gap BAT VC is ready to capitalize on. The Tribune
