While most of Indian venture capital chased software and marketplaces, a99 went the other way — to the shop floor. Founded in 2021 by Vignesh Shankar, the Chennai-based firm is a SEBI-registered AIF built on a simple conviction: if India wants to compete globally, institutional capital must return to manufacturing and infrastructure.
Shankar isn't a career financier. He spent over four years running plants and product lines across Asia for Stanley Black & Decker's Industrial division, managing a half-billion-dollar P&L — then quit in 2021 to invest his own money full-time. That operator DNA shapes everything a99 does.
The firm calls its mission "Powering India's Industrial Century" — early to late stage investments across the manufacturing spectrum. Its strategy rests on four pillars: IP and R&D-driven manufacturing; the "shovel strategy" (backing ancillary and enabling-technology businesses that sunrise industries like semiconductors, nuclear and solar absolutely need, rather than the capital-heavy industries themselves); digitisation of manufacturing; and infrastructure plus infra-led ancillaries.
The capital story is straightforward. Fund I (vintage 2020) was a $1 million proprietary fund from Shankar's own pocket — 4 companies, 1 exit: a 7X return when Futurice UK (subsidiary of Finland's Futurice) bought out its stake. Fund II (launched 2022) targeted ₹50 crore and was upsized to ₹105 crore after exercising its greenshoe; the official site now lists it at $12M / ₹104.6 crore, investing seed to pre-Series A across 15 companies, with 1 partial exit. Fund III is live — a $100M+ / ₹1,000 crore vehicle (vintage 2026) writing ₹20–80 crore cheques from pre-Series A to Series B, with $30 million in soft commitments, a planned first close in April 2026, and 20% reserved for follow-on rounds.
Portfolio highlights
Fund II's portfolio shows the thesis in action: Aditya Avartan (rare-earth-magnet-free motors), Raptee (electric two-wheelers), Innocule (specialty chemicals), Intangles, EzeRx and Lyzr.ai. Fund I backed Vajro, Intents Mobi and Sarva, alongside the Futurice exit. Notably, a99 has said it is no longer actively looking outside India — the bets are all on Indian soil.
One housekeeping note for founders: you may find the firm under its old name, Artha99. After an August 2026 Madras High Court interim order in a trademark dispute with the Mumbai-based Artha Group, the firm rebranded to a99 and its site now lives at a99.vc. The firm runs no public accelerator program and publishes no founder credit/perk stack — pitching is direct via the contact page.
Why it matters for founders
If you're building factories, supply chains, industrial tech or infrastructure in India — especially between pre-Series A and Series B — a99 is one of the very few cheques that speaks your language. Most early-stage VCs want you to be asset-light; Shankar has run a P&L that wasn't. With Fund III live and ₹20–80 crore cheques on the table, founders with real IP and real hardware have a genuinely operator-led partner to talk to.