MUMBAI, June 25 -- Early-stage venture capital firm JSW Ventures is preparing to raise its third fund, targeting a corpus of Rs.400-500 crore as it looks to back a concentrated portfolio of startups and write larger cheques in a competitive funding market.

The firm, an investor in startups including StayVista, Purplle and Vetic, is currently seeking the necessary approvals before beginning fundraising, managing partner Sachin Tagra told Mint in an interview. The fund is expected to launch over the next quarter and reach a final close within 18 months.

"We plan to build a concentrated portfolio of 14-16 companies at Pre-series A to Series A+ stages. In fact, we will write larger cheques and add capital in follow-on rounds based on the re...