Sadev Ventures is an early-stage, operator-led venture capital fund with an India-first strategy and a memorable self-description: capital has three forms, financial, social and intellectual, and success comes when the three converge. Launched in mid-2024 as Eternal Capital by former BharatPe chief operating officer Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, it rebranded in August 2025 as Sadev Ventures, aligning the fund with its family office identity.
Thesis
The thesis is sector-agnostic but stage-focused, and built around operators rather than financiers. Sadev Ventures says venture capital should play only one role, to help create and scale transformative businesses, and that returns follow only when that is done consistently and sustainably. It therefore backs post-product-market-fit startups with an eye on profitable revenue trajectories and long-term potential, offering what it calls the colour of money: capital blended with founder empathy and access to high-impact networks.
Sectors & Stages
Sadev Ventures invests between seed and pre-Series A, and is sector-agnostic across business sectors. Its portfolio already spans skincare, manufacturing platforms, specialty chemicals, manufacturing technology, spiritual technology, nutrition, tax planning and stock market insights, illustrating the breadth of the mandate. The unifying filter is stage and traction rather than sector: companies past product-market fit that can show a profitable revenue trajectory.
Fund & Cheque Size
Sadev Ventures writes cheques of Rs 2-6 crore at seed to pre-Series A. At its August 2025 rebrand, it reported a corpus of Rs 120 crore with a greenshoe option of an additional Rs 120 crore, having deployed about half the corpus across 20 startups. By May 2026, press coverage reported that it manages a corpus of Rs 240 crore, and plans to scale assets to Rs 1,000 crore over 18 to 24 months, alongside venture debt and a second equity fund.
Notable Portfolio
Sadev Ventures' portfolio includes Asaya, a skincare brand, Bidso, a manufacturing platform, Atomgrid, a specialty chemicals startup, Cleevo, a manufacturing technology startup, Vama, a spiritual technology platform, Gladful, a nutrition brand, Prosperr, a tax planning platform, and Liquide, a stock market insights platform.
Partners & Programs
Sadev Ventures is founded and led by managing partner Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, former chief operating officer of BharatPe, and describes itself as an atypical, operator-led fund whose diverse investor base is a major strength. Its advisory tribe includes Suhail Sameer, former chief executive of BharatPe, Miten Sampat, president at CRED, Nikhil Bhandarkar, managing partner at Panthera Peak, Suraj Malik of Legacy Growth, Sunil Chawla, former partner at Jacob Ballas Capital, and Aakrit Vaish, co-founder and chief executive of Haptik.
How to apply for funding
Founders should apply through sadev.ventures, which invites ventures to share their game-changing details under its interesting section, promising a response within two to three working days. A pitch should be built for an operator-led, post-product-market-fit investor: lead with traction, revenue trajectory and unit economics, explain why the business can become a generational institution rather than a quick exit, and be specific about how the tribe's operating experience can help.
Why it matters for founders
Sadev Ventures matters because it pairs a first institutional cheque of Rs 2-6 crore with an operator network that has actually built and scaled Indian consumer and fintech companies. For a seed to pre-Series A founder with product-market fit and a profitable revenue path, that combination of capital, empathy and high-impact networks is a credible alternative to a larger, more distant fund.