Bengaluru, Oct. 29 -- Blume Ventures, the 15-year-old venture capital firm, has made the first close of its fifth fund at $175 million and is on track to complete a final close of up to $275 million by early 2026, according to a top official. Furthermore, Blume is intensifying its focus on artificial intelligence without creating a separate vertical, and is eager to explore smaller Indian initial public offerings (IPOs).

Blume views AI as a horizontal capability that improves products across categories-such as AI‑powered features in software as a service (SaaS) to streamline operations, AI in fintech risk and service, and AI in medical and healthcare workflows.

"We are strong believers that there will be application areas rather t...