Stellaris Venture Partners: First believers in stellar founders

Stellaris Venture Partners is the seed-stage specialist founded in 2017 by three former Helion Venture Partners executives — Ritesh Banglani, Alok Goyal and Rahul Chowdhri. In November 2024 the firm closed Fund III at $300M, taking total assets under management to more than $600M. Its creed is simple: "it's never too early to talk to us" — the firm says 60% of its investments are made at the idea stage, and it typically positions itself as the first or second institutional investor on the cap table.

Thesis and focus areas

Stellaris calls itself an early-stage, technology-focused, sector-agnostic firm. It backs founders "using technology to solve deep problems in large markets", across consumer tech, enterprise software and SaaS, AI, financial services, B2B commerce, education, mobility and healthcare. Partners emphasise concentrated conviction: the firm does few deals per year and stays invested for the long haul, backing founders who believe there is a hard problem with large market potential that can grow into a sustainable business.

Fund size and cheque size

Fund III closed at $300M with participation from existing LPs and new global commitments from university endowments, foundations, pension funds and funds of funds. It follows Fund I at $90M and Fund II at $225M (2021). The firm plans to invest Fund III across 25-30 startups over 3-4 years, leading seed and Series A rounds. Precise first-cheque ranges are not publicly disclosed.

Notable portfolio

Stellaris was an early investor in Mamaearth (Honasa Consumer, listed November 2023 — on an investment of Rs 25 crore, the firm has realised around Rs 800 crore in exits) and Whatfix (digital adoption platform, a category creator). Other bets: Propelld (education financing), Nestasia (home decor), Zouk (vegan bags and accessories), Kiwi (credit-on-UPI card platform), Dashverse (AI entertainment), Turno (commercial EV financing), Cirkla (sustainable packaging), Flick TV (micro-drama), Arrowhead (voice AI — Stellaris led its $3M round in January 2026), CARPL (AI for radiology), Pibit.AI (AI for insurance) and Atlas. It has already banked exits in Slintel and Mamaearth.

Partners

The founding partners are Ritesh Banglani, Alok Goyal and Rahul Chowdhri, all former Helion Venture Partners investors. Naman Lahoty was promoted to partner in 2024, and AI/ML leader Vardhan Dharnidharka joined as an investment principal.

Programs, credits and perks

Stellaris runs Interstellar, its official podcast featuring operator and founder deep-dives, and publishes thesis-driven investment notes (recent examples cover AI-native services and packaged application testing). The team's calling card is hands-on operating support — founders describe the partners as former entrepreneurs who "roll up their sleeves". No standalone founder credits or perks programme is publicly advertised.

How founders can approach them

Stellaris is built for pre-traction founders: its team page at stellarisvp.com/team literally says to get the conversation started, and 60% of its deals are idea-stage. Pitch them before you think you're ready — that is exactly the window the firm is designed for.