Vijay Shekhar Sharma Founder, Paytm
Berlin · Bengaluru / Est. 2023
For founders building a better world.
Pre-seed and seed checks across India and Europe.
Values-led, sector agnostic. Led by an operator who's been in the seat.
18 companies since 2023 · 5 follow-on rounds · 2 acquisitions
What we believe
Capital with a conscience.
Two lenses we apply to every deal. Sector agnostic on what you build, deliberate on how we choose.
◐ World Positive
Companies that make the world a better place.
Most companies extract value from users to produce returns for investors. We want companies where those two things are the same thing: a better product creates real value for the people it serves, and returns follow from that.
The filter is genuine. We won't back ad-revenue models, zero-sum competition, or products that depend on their users not knowing better. That's a real constraint. It's also why the portfolio looks the way it does.
♀ Gender Smart
The largest untapped opportunity.
Women-led companies and products built for women have been underfunded by venture for decades. The return data doesn't explain that pattern. It contradicts it. We treat that gap as a sourcing edge, not a category.
We are not a women's fund and we don't only back women. We have a strong, active preference for founders and products that serve women well, and we work toward roughly half our capital landing there. By investing here, we are not just backing equality. We are backing what the data says is underpriced.
The first lens applies to every company we back. The second is a deliberate tilt. We aim for roughly half our capital to back women, products built for women, and markets venture has underpriced for decades.
Three years in
Conviction, with receipts.
Eighteen companies since 2023. Two acquired, five raised subsequent capital already, and more than half of allocated capital aligned with the Gender Smart lens. The full list is on record.
2 companies have been
acquired
acquired
5 companies have raised subsequent rounds
48% of allocated capital to woman-founded companies
57% of allocated capital to
Gender-Smart thesis
Gender-Smart thesis
18 investments, since launch in 2023
Backed by
Backed by operator and founder LPs.
Our LP base includes founders and operators who have built at scale. Their capital helps us invest; their judgment sharpens ours; their networks help founders win.
Samar Singla Founder, Jugnoo
Ankush Singla Co-founder, Coding Ninjas
Ambarish Narayan Gupta Founder, Knowlarity, Basis Vectors
Pooja Sharma Goyal Founder, Udaiti Foundation, Avishkaar
Rahul Dash Co-Founder, Purplle
Sudhir Kamath COO, Nazara
Founder notes
In their own words.
The relationship with a founder is the work. A few accounts of what that looks like.
“Sairee and Abhishek have been our strongest supporters from day one. From the very first call, their bias for action, clarity of thought in moving our vision forward and founder friendliness has always shone through. True partners in our journey.”
“Ever since my first conversation with Sairee, and then with Abhishek, I've always felt like I was talking to founders first, not investors. I'm grateful to have Appreciate on our cap table as respectful, honest supporters of our long-term mission.”
“Sairee and the team at Appreciate Capital have been true champions of our success. They're always available to meet, talk, share their knowledge, and help socialise our brand in their circles.”
“Abhishek is one of those early-stage investors who doesn't invest just money, but his quality time and carefully cultivated network. His ability to connect the right people at the right time is what I value most.”
Get in touch
For founders
Send the deck.
Raising pre-seed or seed? Send a deck, memo, or sharp note. Short is welcome.
founders@appreciate.capital For LPs
Fund II conversations.
For institutional LPs, family offices, angels, founders, and operators who share our value system and want to know more.
lp@appreciate.capital Everything else
Useful intros only.
Perks for portfolio companies, useful credits, press, and warm introductions. No forms. Just email.
contact@appreciate.capital