Jul 18, 2025

Sameer Brij Verma, the former managing director at Nexus Venture Partners, has secured USD 150 million for his new solo general partner (GP) fund, Northpoint Capital, according to people familiar with the matter. Northpoint Capital will focus on early-stage investments, aiming to back between 15 and 20 startups with initial investments ranging from USD 1 million to USD 8 million. A person aware of the development said, "The primary focus will be on early-stage startups, but the firm will remain open to investing selectively in follow-on rounds." The fund will concentrate on companies that are integrating emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, across key sectors such as financial services, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and consumer goods. "The firm sees an opportunity emerging from technology and AI becoming deeply embedded across sectors," the person added, noting that Northpoint Capital aims to support category-defining startups from their earliest stages. Approximately 90 percent of the capital raised has come from international investors, with the remainder contributed by domestic family offices and individual investors. Although the fund has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, it is still awaiting certain regulatory approvals required to start onboarding limited partners. Verma spent 13 years at Nexus Venture Partners, where he was involved in more than 80 startup investments across consumer tech, SaaS, healthcare, enterprise software, and B2B commerce. His portfolio at Nexus included well-known startups such as Postman, Unacademy, and Infra.market. The launch of Northpoint Capital comes at a time of notable leadership changes in the Indian venture capital landscape. Senior figures like Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand, and Piyush Gupta have exited Peak XV Partners, while Ashish Dave and Anand Chandrasekaran have left Mirae Asset India Venture Investments and General Catalyst respectively. This new fund adds to the growing pool of capital being assembled for Indian startups, although deployment has remained cautious. Recent fundraises include Accel India with USD 650 million, Bessemer Venture Partners with USD 350 million, Stellaris Venture Partners with USD 300 million, and Cornerstone Ventures with USD 200 million. A report by DC Advisory noted that fundraising conditions have grown more competitive. "Limited partners are placing more emphasis on large, established funds with a history of strong performance," it stated. "Funds that struggled to demonstrate strong DPI will likely continue to face difficulties raising new capital." DPI, or distribution to paid-in capital, is used to assess the actual profits returned to investors by a fund.