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 $4 and former chairman of $4, 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".

"$4 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 $4 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 $4 in the past year, with the biggest bet being the $10-million investment in ShopX, which builds $4.

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)