Cactus Venture Partners is an India-focused early-growth venture capital firm that announced the final close of its maiden fund at ₹630 crore (approximately $75.8 million) in December 2023. Founded in 2021, the firm is led by general partners Rajeev Kalambi, Anurag Goel and Amit Sharma, with a team of around 12 across offices in Gurugram, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Its backers include SIDBI, the Self-Reliant India (SRI) Fund and the UP Startup Fund, with roughly 60% of commitments from domestic sources and the rest from family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the US, Singapore, the EU and the UK.
Investment thesis
Cactus invests through its in-house GAP — the Growth Acceleration Playbook — acting as, in co-founder Amit Sharma's words, the wind beneath the wings of star founders. The firm targets the underserved stretch between Series A and Series C, backing companies that have established product-market fit and need help reaching their next stage. It explicitly builds a high-conviction portfolio of 12–15 investments rather than relying on a power-law approach, and looks for purpose-driven founders with critical-mass, recurring revenues and sustainable — not fad-driven — businesses.
Sectors & stages
The firm is largely sector-agnostic but prioritises three areas: climate and clean tech (energy storage, battery recycling, sustainable agriculture, waste management), healthtech (wellness, preventive healthcare, insurance, phygital primary and tertiary care) and enterprise software / B2B SaaS. It typically steps in at late Series A to early Series B, investing in companies with proven product-market fit that are ready to scale and expand internationally.
Fund size & cheque sizes
Fund I: ₹630 crore ($75.8 million), closed December 2023. The firm's GPs have cited investments of $5–10 million at late Series A to early Series B; other press reports cite cheque sizes of $2–5 million. The first 50% of investible capital is reserved for first cheques, with the balance for follow-ons.
Notable portfolio
Portfolio companies include Kapture (customer experience), Vitraya Technologies (healthtech-insurtech intersection), AMPM (lifestyle brand), Auric (Ayurveda for millennials), Lohum (battery recycling) and Rubix Data Sciences. The firm has reported zero write-offs since it began investing and has achieved an early exit at a reported 48% IRR.
Partners & team
The three general partners — Rajeev Kalambi, Anurag Goel and Amit Sharma — bring over 50 years of combined experience across entrepreneurship, investing and operating roles in consumer internet, enterprise software, healthcare and education.
Programmes run
The GAP (Growth Acceleration Playbook) is the firm's investment methodology, not a public programme — no accelerator or cohort has been announced. Not publicly disclosed beyond that.
Credits & perks
No credits or perks programme has been announced. Not publicly disclosed.
How to engage
Cactus is built for founders with established product-market fit who are scaling from Series A toward Series C in climate tech, healthtech or B2B SaaS — founders who want active growth partnership rather than a passive cheque. Founders can reach the firm through its official website.
Why it matters for founders
If you've nailed product-market fit and are staring at the Series A-to-C gap that Indian founders know too well, Cactus was designed for exactly this stretch — concentrated, high-conviction backing, operator-heavy GPs, and a playbook built for scaling. The zero-write-offs record and a 48% IRR exit suggest genuine discipline. But this is not a pre-revenue fund: come with traction and recurring revenue.