Udtara Ventures, the family office of Rajiv Chaurasia, part of a Delhi-based business conglomerate, has launched a growth fund to back companies operating in defence, deep-tech, and frontier engineering, a top executive told VCCircle.
The firm, which has deployed over Rs 100 crore ($11 million) across direct and indirect investments between 2020 and 2025, is targeting a corpus of Rs 250 crore for the new fund, said Ankit Lakhotia, founder of Udtara Ventures.
The fund intends to back 8-10 startups developing patented and commercially deployable technologies across defence, aerospace, and dual-use domains. It will take meaningful ownership stakes and work closely with founders, supporting them from the experimentation and prototyping stage through to global expansion.
“Breakthrough technologies require more than capital—they demand patient execution, engineering discipline, and a clear path from innovation to commercially viable products,” said Lakhotia. “Udtara is designed to work hands-on with founders to convert advanced science into production-grade systems.”
The fund, structured as a private investment entity rather than an alternate investment vehicle with a fixed tenure, will operate as a long-term partner. It will help portfolio companies with operating expertise, industry relationships, and execution capabilities across manufacturing readiness, supply-chain development, regulatory alignment, and global market access.
Founded in 2019 by Lakhotia, Udtara specializes in seed and Series A investments in high-growth, technology-enabled Indian startups.
Until now, the firm has had a sector-agnostic investment approach in tech and tech-enabled businesses, with cheque sizes ranging between Rs 1-10 crore for about 5-15% stake. It has made 16 direct investments.
Its current portfolio includes the National Stock Exchange of India, fintech startup OneStack, consumer brand DSLR Technologies, and cross-border e-commerce management services provider Assiduus Global. It has also expanded its focus to indirect investments and backed early-stage investor Venture Catalyst and venture debt funds Trifecta Capital and Alteria Capital, among others.
However, the new vehicle will capitalize on whitespace in the deep-tech sector.
“We have realized there is a market gap for a lot of IP-led businesses which either lack sales and distribution capability or manufacturing capability, or lack scale due to working capital issues,” said Lakhotia. ”Hence, we think that given our leverage of a wide professional network, distribution partners and capital allocation, we can help these companies at an early stage to create large outcome opportunities.”
Around 40% of the fund’s capital will go towards initial cheques, with the remaining reserved for follow-ons rounds. “Our intent is to do strategic investment, therefore we would wish to participate higher in the follow-on rounds to acquire a majority stake in the company,” Lakhotia said.
Udtara plans to double down on these companies, acquiring more stake, and helping them scale into a business with a few hundred crores of revenue. Average cheque sizes across rounds will range between Rs 40-50 crore. The fund will invest in early-stage businesses that have established a product-market fit and have a confirmed order book. “(For us to invest), PMF is critical, wherein the product is either ready to be commercialized or the company has received initial work orders,” he added.
Udtara currently has a five-member team with presence in Bengaluru and Delhi.