We are a SEBI registered Cat II AIF who invest in deep technology and deep science sectors. Focusing on early stage investments, we invest from pre-seed to pre-series A rounds of startups.
We follow a multi-step process to identify potential winners:
01. Discovery: We leverage our extensive network, research-driven investment thesis, and industry insights to build a strong pipeline of deep tech startups in India.
02. Analysis: Our team conducts rigorous due diligence, evaluating market trends, product innovation, and founder expertise to ensure strategic investments.
03. Investment: As an early-stage venture capital firm, we actively invest in promising deep-tech startups, providing financial backing and strategic mentorship.
04. Portfolio Management: Beyond funding, we work closely with founders, offering hands-on support to help them scale and transition from 0 to 1.
Our portfolio companies receive comprehensive support and funding for startups, including tailored growth strategies, product reviews, market access, and marketing guidance. With our hands-on approach, we enable early-stage startups to navigate challenges and achieve exponential growth.
“Seafund is more of a partner than investor. Always by your side to help you navigate through complex challenges across functions. They not only backed us during early days but also stood by our side during rainy days. We are blessed to be associated with Manoj and Mayuresh”
“For us, Seafund wasn't just an investment. The stage at which they invest, founder’s value the hands-on advice equally or more, than the check. The support and mentorship given to us through experts at Seafund on financial planning and strategy has been of immense value to us while building Genrobotics!”
“Seafund has been one of the first believers in what we were trying to do for brands using technology and productising customer engagement. From the initial few customers, to bigger corporates, in India to begin with, then Asia and finally now in the US they have been a pivotal partner in our journey from Seed to Series A and now we firmly believe, beyond. They are always just a phone call away to help us founders in our transitions and key decision points.”
“Seafund’s support for our idea and all aspects of our business has been unwavering since the first day we met. We got a quick confirmation from them and the investment came in without any hassle. This was unlike other VC stories that we had heard.One crucial aspect for our business was finding an apt NBFC lending partner after our initial lending partner backed out. We got one through Manoj who was able to get a stable and trust worthy lender to back us immediately.Since the first day, Manoj and Mayuresh continue to give critical feedback about our business and market conditions on a frequent basis. It is great to know that our investors at SEA Fund have our back always !!”
“I first met Manoj and Mayuresh at our office when Pupilfirst was still an idea. Girish Mathrubootham had written the first cheque towards building our vision for the future of classroom education.I have a chequered entrepreneurial history with some successes and a bunch of failures and distinctly remember the call where they said they had done their due diligence, have taken feedback from the market and decided to write a check. Ever since, Seafund has been a strong pillar of support, a great team to bounce draft directional ideas and non-intrusive in operational matters.”
"SEA Fund has been a great supporter of BestDoc from the Day One of their investment. Over the years, we have benefitted immensely from their role as a sounding board for strategic decisions. SEA Fund has been unique in terms of ease of accessibility (always available), nimbleness (being able to quickly access situations and suggest relevant actions) and entrepreneur-friendly win-win investor mindset (we are there to support you till you make it big) - these qualities helped me move faster and better without having to worry about 'managing the board'. We are thankful for the multiple introductions that Manoj, Mayuresh and the SEAF team has done for us, be it clients, investors and other enablers in the healthcare ecosystem across India and abroad. I will gladly send any early-stage entrepreneur their way now!"
Seafund is an early stage investor. We typically invest in startups raising their pre-seed, seed and pre-series A rounds of funding.
At Seafund we apply a proprietary method of evaluation where we look at a combination of various factors including founder background, market depth and product readiness. Additionally, we assess the exit opportunities, competitive positioning and revenue model of the company.
We typically invest between $300K to $750K in the first round of investment. For follow ons, we reserve upto $2M per company.
We are more than pure financial investors, so we typically take a seat of the board to work closely with the founders in their entrepreneurial journey. As a lead/co-lead investor, we take all the major rights standard in a deal, but these vary depending on the round construct.
No, we have a focused strategy of investing in early stage ventures in India for the current fund.
We believe in backing early stage startups building businesses in deeptech and deepscience such as Semiconductors, AI, ML, Cybersecurity, Space technology, Biotechnology, Robotics, Medtech, EV, Alternate fuels etc. These are typically startups building in areas where they can build a sustainable IP on their products.
Our partners have a collective experience of over 80 years working in senior leadership roles across the various deeptech sectors globally. This enables a birds eye view of the industry and its trends, enabling the partners to support in GTM strategy, product development, customer success and revenue model optimization.
Startups looking to raise funding from Seafund are requested to apply via the Pitch form on the website. Additionally, you can reach out to either of the partners through our contact details on the website. Upon receiving the deal, the investment team will reach out to relevant startups with next steps as described above.
From the first call with an analyst till the final investment decision, typically it takes about 4-8 weeks. This may vary depending on the evaluation needed per company.
We prefer to invest in deep technology backed businesses. These could be either B2B or B2C focused.
We typically do deep due diligence on the founder background and technical feasibility of the product. Pre deal closure, there is financial and legal due diligence carried out by reputed firms respectively.
Absolutely, in today's world great founders do not have a lack of access capital. We believe our true value add is in the exposure that we bring having been operators previously. The entire investment team has years of experience running businesses, investing in and advising companies in the deeptech and deepscience domains which enables us to offer key insights to our portfolio founders.
We follow a comprehensive PE like approach when in comes to investing, backed our experience working across investment landscapes. Even before investing in a company, there is a detailed exit plan outlined which is often followed up with during the life of the portfolio. Designated member focus on timely exit for the fund to maximize returns.
We understand our investments are deeptech ventures which require patient capital and have long gestation periods. Thus, success is monitored by the milestones outlined with the company which could be across product development, customer pilots or even patent applications. These KPIs are discussed and outlined at the beginning of the year with the founders.
Yes, 100%. We believe in backing businesses early and for the long term, which is why typically we follow on in the next 2-3 rounds of the fundraise of selective startups.
Of the startups that apply, our analysts reach out and have the first round of conversation with the ones that the team is interested in basis our thesis. Then there are two rounds with the principal and two more with the partners to cover the various aspects of the business and future growth. This process takes between 4-8 weeks.
