SanchiConnect, a deeptech accelerator, has announced a capital raise led by Baring Private Equity Partners India (STPL), Seafund, and 8x Ventures. Other investors who participated in the round are Ogma, Arctic Innovations, and InnovHer.
The investment will be used to strengthen its recently launched software offerings to Indian startups. SaaS-based offerings provided by accelerators and incubators to its startups is a global trend that is now seen emerging in India given the speed of innovation being witnessed.
“With the current fundraise we plan to strengthen our software suite around different formats of startup enablement. We will continue to push our community efforts and strengthen the play with AI integrations to give our users more reasons to engage and derive value. The funds will also be used for regional expansion across APAC and the Middle East,” said Dr Sunil Shekhawat, CEO & Cofounder of SanchiConnect.
“We seeded the idea of SanchiConnect 3 years back to strengthen the early-stage deep tech startup ecosystem. The way it has evolved and made a positive impact in the deep tech startup industry makes us proud to be the founding partner with the team. We plan to continue backing them as they step towards bigger goals for the future,” said Rahul Bhasin, Managing Partner- Baring PE Partners-India.
“We have been closely observing the work SanchiConnect has been doing through startup acceleration and community building. The launch of their SaaS platform and its adoption by top incubators and corporate programs gave us the confidence to join their journey as investors,” added Manoj Agarwal, Managing Partner, Seafund.
“We were early beneficiaries of the SanchiConnect community and got into some interesting partnerships through the network. Our inclination towards SanchiConnect’s vision grew multifold when we met Dr Sunil in 2022. We are delighted to partner with SanchiConnect in powering the enablers of this industry using optimal tech,” said Chirag Gupta, Managing Partner at 8X Ventures.
“SINE EDGE, our community platform powered by SanchiConnect, has been truly transformative for us. We have been able to elevate our engagement with stakeholders to a level that is more productive and efficient. This has enabled us to deliver even greater value-add to our startups. Having worked closely with Dr Sunil and his team, we are excited to see SanchiConnect moving to its next stage of growth by putting more technology in the product and accessing newer markets,” said Shaji Varghese, CEO OF SINE, IIT Bombay.
SanchiConnect which started as a community builder in 2022 later ventured into software and quickly emerged as a leading technology provider to the top incubators, accelerators, and corporate innovation programs across India and South-East Asia. SanchiSaaS, the software product by the company simplifies and automates a large part of the incubation and startup lifecycle allowing program offices to focus on value-added aspects of incubation.
The idea of SanchiConnect was seeded between the leadership of Baring PE Fund-India and Dr Sunil in early 2022. This year the company has undergone major internal restructuring resulting in the promotion of new leadership including Baltej Singh as Cofounder & CTO (formerly CTO in multiple tech startups) and Pushpendra Vishal as COO (formerly Deloitte US, Optiv- a KKR-backed firm) strengthening the company’s technology and operational processes.
