Mumbai, Nov. 18 -- SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd (SVCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SIDBI, has announced the first close of the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund (AVCF) at Rs 1,005 crore.

According to a release by SIDBI, IN-SPACe has committed Rs 1,000 crore as the anchor investor. AVCF is a Category II AIF with a 10-year tenure.

The fund will support Indian spacetech startups at the early and growth stages. It will invest in companies working on launch vehicles, satellites, payloads, in-space and ground services, earth observation, communications and other space-related applications.

This is SVCL's 12th venture capital fund. It supports India's goal of creating a USD 44 billion space economy by 2033.

The full target size of the fund is Rs...