Startup funding in India has a new operator-led fund on the way. Unacademy founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are raising Longshot Capital, a ₹700 crore venture capital fund focused on AI and deeptech startups, less than two months after upGrad acquired Unacademy.

A ₹700 crore fund with ₹300 crore already committed

Longshot Capital has secured commitments of about ₹300 crore so far and is targeting its first close in January 2027, after which it plans to start investing. It is the pair's first institutional fund. Roman Saini will lead the fund full-time, while Gaurav Munjal, who continues to head Unacademy, will be involved part-time.

What Longshot Capital will back

The fund aims to back 25-28 seed and pre-Series A startups with initial cheques of $500,000 to $1.5 million, focusing on AI, manufacturing, space, defence and robotics. The thesis leans on operator experience: Munjal and Saini have made more than 200 angel investments between them, deploying over ₹25 crore, and they follow other founders such as Snapdeal's Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal in moving from operating to fund management.

Why now

The timing follows a clean exit. On 1 September 2026, upGrad completed its all-stock takeover of Unacademy, valuing the edtech firm at about ₹1,955 crore — roughly 94% below its 2021 peak of about $3.44 billion. The deal cleared the Competition Commission of India in July 2026. Munjal and Saini co-founded Unacademy in 2015 with Hemesh Singh, so the new fund turns a decade of company-building into a vehicle for the next generation of technical founders.

For AI and deeptech founders raising an early round, Longshot Capital is one to watch: a first close in January 2027 means its first cheques could land just as the new year opens.

Why it matters for founders

Operator-led funds often move faster on technical bets because the partners have built in the space themselves. If you are building in AI, space, defence or robotics and raising a seed or pre-Series A round, Longshot Capital's $500,000-$1.5 million cheque range and January 2027 first close make it a realistic target for your next fundraise — start the conversation before the close, not after it.