New Delhi, Jan. 16 -- New Delhi-based venture capital firm Kairon Capital has completed the first close of its debut consumer-focused venture capital fund, after raising over 60% of its targeted corpus of Rs 150 crore (around $16.6 million)for the fund, with an additional Rs 50 crore greenshoe option.
Kairon Capital was founded by Deepankur Malhotra, former Olympus Capital and Amazon executive.
VCCircle had exclusively reported the launch of Kairon Capital in August last year.
The limited partner base for the fund includes founders from India's consumer ecosystem, along with family offices and strategic corporate investors. Some of its limited partners include Rohit Chawla of Innovist, Rishubh Satiya of Plix, Saurabh Jain of Livspace, Yogesh Kabra of XYXX Apparels, and Emami Limited, among others.
"This is a very intentional LP base," Malhotra said. "These are people who have built, scaled, or enabled consumer businesses firsthand, along with family offices and strategic corporate capital that deeply understand brands, distribution, and scale. Their participation reflects alignment with how we want to partner with founders."
Investing strategy
Kairon Capital plans to build a concentrated portfolio of around 14-15 companies, investing across seed to early Series A stages, with cheque sizes ranging from Rs 2 crore to Rs 14 crore (around $220,000 to $1.55 million). The fund will reserve capital for follow-on investments in high-conviction portfolio companies.
The firm will focus on early-stage consumer businesses that have demonstrated product-market fit and are building toward sustainable scale. While remaining category-agnostic within consumer, Kairon Capital will prioritise opportunities where strong brands, differentiated products, and disciplined unit economics intersect.
"The segment we're focused on sits between early experimentation and scaled up institutional capital," Malhotra said. "There are many consumer businesses that have figured out what works but are still underserved when it comes to thoughtful, founder-aligned capital at the right stage."
Malhotra is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore and has close to 14 years of experience across investment banking, private equity, and venture investing. His past investments include Innovist, FreshToHome, XYXX, and Nat Habit. He has also been involved in investments in Uber and Aster DM Healthcare during his private equity career. At Amazon, he was part of the corporate development team focused on investments in emerging consumer brands.
"That experience shapes how we think about brand durability, distribution leverage, and long-term exit pathways," he said. "Founders increasingly want investors who understand both early-stage execution and later-stage institutional expectations."
Beyond capital, Kairon Capital plans to work closely with founders on go-to-market strategy, distribution expansion, brand and growth decisions, selective hiring, governance cadence, and downstream fundraising readiness. The firm also plans to leverage its LP base as a strategic resource for portfolio founders.
The firm's sourcing strategy will be research-led and proprietary, combining category mapping with direct founder outreach and referrals from operators and industry networks.
"The objective is to surface opportunities early, often before companies formally enter fundraising mode," Malhotra said. "Some of the most compelling consumer businesses are being built quietly, with strong fundamentals and capital efficiency."
With the first close completed, Kairon Capital has begun active deployment and is currently evaluating multiple opportunities across consumer categories. The firm expects to announce its initial investments over the coming months.
"India's consumer opportunity remains deeply compelling," Malhotra said. "What founders increasingly need is patient, aligned capital that understands the nuances of building enduring consumer businesses. That's the platform we're building with Kairon Capital."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.