Karnataka’s venture capital fund Kitven (short for Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund) unveiled a dedicated VC fund of Rs. 20 crores for the AVGC sector, at the fifth edition of Bengaluru GAFX 2024.
Kitven’s CEO P V Harikrishnan made the announcement during the “Investor Speak – Strategies for Staying Relevant and Resilient in the Indian Gaming Startup Ecosystem” panel. This initiative, under Government of Karnataka’s Department of IT, Bt & ST, is designed to invest in companies within the state contributing to animation, visual effects, gaming and comics.
Skill Online Games Institute secretary general Srivastav said, “Karnataka has always been a pioneer and with this launch the state has become the first in India to set-up a fund to encourage the AVGC sector. This is a recognition of the potential in the AVGC sector and especially the enormous potential of online games for innovation and employment generation. Students and aspirants in the AVGC sector can make use of this opportunity to make their start-up dreams a reality!”
Lumikai’s principal VC Kislay Shashwat – who attended the session, expressed his appreciation for the Karnataka government’s active role in nurturing the AVGC sector: “The launch of the Kitven Fund-4 AVGC represents a significant step towards fostering innovation and development in this field. This initiative not only highlights the government’s commitment but also paves the way for potential growth and advancement in the sector.”
Vivek Ramachandran, a VC from Matrix Partners and visiting faculty at the National Institute of Design said, “I welcome the move and encourage aspiring students and ideators to utilise this opportunity to pursue their startup dreams.”
The KITVEN Fund-4 (AVGC) is poised to play a transformative role in supporting startups and fostering innovation, further solidifying Karnataka’s position as a leader in the AVGC sector. Investments in firms will be in the form of equity, preferred capital (convertible/redeemable), debentures, or a combination, following the rules published by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The fund considers shorter time frames while maintaining a normal investment horizon of three to five years.
