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Former Defense Secretary Ajay Kumar ventures into venture capital with an early-stage fund.

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Ajay Kumar, who previously served as India’s defence secretary until his retirement in 2022, has launched a new venture fund called Mounttech Growth Fund to support early-stage startups. The fund aims to invest in startups within the space, aerospace, and deep tech industries. Kumar mentioned to ET that the government's recent initiatives, including the defence ministry's Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) program, have significantly increased opportunities for startups in the defence and aerospace sectors.

Kumar highlighted that nearly two-thirds of defence procurement now comes from domestic companies, creating substantial growth potential for Indian startups. The fund's initial investment will target the space sector.

Mount tech Growth Fund, with an initial corpus of Rs 250 crore, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It has already attracted Rs 280 crore in subscriptions and plans to use the green-shoe option to raise an additional Rs 250 crore. The fund’s first scheme is named Kavach.

Ajay Kumar serves as the chairman of the fund, while Ra-vi Sethia, a former senior executive in the telecom industry, is the CEO. The primary sponsor of the fund is Suryakant Dalmia, a board member of Dalmia Securities, along with other high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and domestic family offices participating as limited partners or sponsors.


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