New York-Based BAT VC Announces India Entry With $100 Million AI-focused Fund II

NEW YORK — May 14, 2025 – BAT VC, a prominent New York-based venture capital firm, announced its entry into India, unveiling plans to invest up to $100 million through its second fund targeting India-linked startups specializing in AI and DeepTech disruptions in FinTech and B2B SaaS.

Fund II builds on BAT VC's successful track record of identifying high-potential startups early, demonstrated through investments in Wand AI, StockGro, Nickelytics (acquired), Accern (acquired) and Uptiq AI from its previous fund.

India’s AI sector is entering a golden era, growing at 32% annually and projected to reach $23 billion by 2027. The country now boasts a pool of 450,000+ AI/ML professionals and an ecosystem ripe for global scale. In parallel, India’s enterprise SaaS market surged to $8.7 billion, growing at a 35% CAGR—twice the global average. U.S.-India cross-border AI investments grew 180% to $4.7 billion in 2023, and the convergence of talent, capital, and market access has created a uniquely compelling investment landscape.

The new India-focused initiative will be spearheaded by BAT VC’s three General Partners:

Manish Maheshwari, ex-Twitter India head, Mason Fellow at Harvard University and former Flipkart executive, whose AI venture, Fanory.ai, was recently acquired.

Aditya Mishra, who achieved a successful entrepreneurial exit with FaceLogique and has held executive roles at Yahoo!, G/O Media, Accenture, and EY.

Ravi Metta, former CTO at Finastra and product engineering leader at Intuit, brings deep technical expertise and a proven track record of driving innovation.

"My move to Bengaluru underscores our conviction in India's potential to lead the next wave of AI-driven global growth," said Manish Maheshwari, General Partner and India Head at BAT VC.

"We aim to back Indian founders building globally relevant AI products, supported by capital and perspective from both the US and India," said Aditya Mishra, Managing Director and General Partner.

"Our technical depth enables us to identify high-impact AI startups early and guide them through global scale-up," said Ravi Metta, General Partner.

India’s startup ecosystem has grown significantly, with funding doubling to $27 billion, a 3x increase in scaled startups (>$10M revenue), and over $36 billion in public tech exits over the past five years—driven by momentum in fintech, SaaS, and digital innovation.

Yet, India remains under-allocated: it receives just 5% of global VC capital despite representing nearly 20% of the world’s population. This gap represents an arbitrage opportunity.

The firm has garnered substantial interest from institutional investors and family offices in both the US and India, reflecting growing global confidence in India's potential. These stakeholders increasingly recognize India as the next big venture capital opportunity, especially as China-related risks grow and capital looks for alternative high-growth markets. Fund II reflects BAT VC’s belief that India is no longer a frontier, but a core allocation for forward-looking global LPs.

About BAT VC

BAT VC, an early-stage fund headquartered in New York, offers unique bidirectional - , helping visionary founders scale across both ecosystems. Its AI-first approach empowers innovative AI, Fintech, and Enterprise SaaS startups with global ambitions. It provides a hands-on partnership during the founders' critical product-market fit journey drawing on significant operating experience of its general partners.

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