Gruhas: Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai's Fund for the Built World, Climate and Beyond

Backed by Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai, Gruhas has backed 50+ companies and launched a ₹300 crore Earth Fund with Brigade Group. Here's how its seed-to-growth playbook works for founders.

Gruhas, the Bengaluru venture capital fund founded in 2021 by Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai, has quietly built one of India's most distinctive investment platforms. Its motto, "Envision. Engineer. Endure", sums up the ambition: partner with exceptional individuals using technology to positively impact human lives. The fund says it has backed 50+ companies and helped create 3,000+ jobs, investing from seed to growth across the built world, climate tech, AI and deeptech.

Investment thesis

Gruhas describes itself as a partner to founders "committed to practicing their inner dharma, leveraging technology as a conduit to positively impact human lives." In practice, that means capital with conviction in sectors most VCs consider too hard: real estate technology, construction, urban infrastructure, and climate. The firm also operates across debt and special situations, giving founders flexibility beyond a plain equity cheque.

Sectors & stages

Gruhas invests across Climate Tech & Sustainability, Built World Tech (infrastructure, real estate, urban development, construction robotics, smart buildings), Artificial Intelligence, Media & Consumption, and DeepTech (robotics, hardware, space, defence). Stages run from seed to growth, with venture-stage, debt and proptech/cleantech/media special-situation investing reported in press coverage.

Fund size & cheque sizes

The core Gruhas fund corpus is not publicly disclosed. What is public are its affiliated vehicles: the Gruhas Earth Fund — a ₹200 crore SEBI-registered Category II AIF plus a ₹100 crore greenshoe (₹300 crore total), launched on 18 March 2025 with Brigade Group to back proptech and sustainability startups, writing cheques of ₹8–12 crore ($1–2 million) at pre-Series A/Series A across 10–15 investments; and the Gruhas Collective Consumer Fund, a ₹150 crore vehicle with Collective Artists Network focused on consumer brands, investing up to $1 million per deal. A 2022 report also noted plans for a ₹500 crore real estate debt fund, whose current status is not publicly verified.

Notable portfolio

The firm's spotlight companies include EMO Energy, Ossus Biorenewables, Primus Senior Living, Basic Home Loans, Anthriq, Zerund, Matel and IPEC. Press coverage adds Strata, SolarSquare, Rare Rabbit, The 1% Club, Licious, LehLah (a ₹12.5 crore seed round led by Gruhas), Printo and Hatti Kaapi.

Partners & team

Abhijeet Pai (co-founder, ex-Puzzolana) and Nikhil Kamath (co-founder, Zerodha) lead the firm. The Earth Fund adds Nirupa Shankar (Joint MD, Brigade Enterprises) and Mohan Parvatikar (Independent Director, Zoiros Projects).

Programmes run

Gruhas runs Gruhas Aspire, a proptech accelerator in partnership with the DLF Family Office and Anthill Ventures. Earth Fund investees also get integration with Brigade REAP, the Brigade accelerator, offering industry integration, market access, go-to-market acceleration and strategic fundraising support.

Credits & perks

None found — no public credits or perks programme is advertised.

How to engage

Gruhas has a "Pitch us" section on gruhas.com: founders submit a detailed explanation of the opportunity and business idea, plus documentation, presentations or a video introduction, through the site's submission form.

Why it matters for founders

If you're building in the built world, climate, or deeptech — sectors where patient, domain-savvy capital is rare — Gruhas is one of India's few funds that leads with conviction there. Its accelerator tie-ups with Brigade REAP and Anthill Ventures add distribution muscle most seed funds can't offer. Just know the flagship numbers sit inside its affiliated AIFs, so ask exactly which vehicle you're raising from.