Nilekani joins hands with Helion's Sanjeev Aggarwal to fund mid-stage startups

Here’s some good news for startups. At a time when most of the startups are struggling with getting funds, Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of IT giant Infosys and former chairman of UIDAI, has decided to collaborate with venture capital investor Sanjeev Aggarwal to set up an investment firm. The newly formed firm will invest in mid-stage startups, said four people in the know.

The firm, worth at least $100 million, will mostly have personal capital brought in by both Nilekani and Aggarwal, while some amount would also come from "friends and family".

"Nandan and Sanjeev are expected to contribute 30-40% of the corpus, and they are also looking to rope in a third partner," a source told ET.

There is a tradition in the venture capital industry, that the fund pays 2% of the total corpus as annual management fee to fund managers; however, this new fund would do nothing of this sort.

Nilekani has invested in over half a dozen startups in the past year, with the biggest bet being the $10-million investment in ShopX, which builds technology for small retailers.

Sanjeev Aggarwal, the cofounder of Helion Venture Partners, has been the founder of business process outsourcing firm Daksh, which IBM acquired for $150 million in 2004.

(Image source: International Business Times)