New Delhi, Nov. 6 -- Former Wall Street banker Dhruv Jhunjhunwala has launched Novastar Partners, an investment platform aimed at giving global and domestic investors exposure to India's private market opportunities.
The firm will invest across private equity funds and high-growth companies, with a focus on technology and consumer-driven sectors.
Jhunjhunwala, an alumnus of New York University's Stern School of Business, previously worked with RBC Capital Markets in New York, where he evaluated more than a 100 investment opportunities spanning software-as-a-service, e-commerce, gaming, education, and consumer technology. His earlier investments include Capillary Technologies, R for Rabbit, AdmitKard, and Kratos Studios.
Novastar Partners will follow a multi-pronged strategy: investing primarily in select Indian private equity and venture capital funds while also taking direct positions in breakout portfolio companies emerging from those funds. The approach is designed to help investors access a curated set of top-performing managers and high-quality private assets through a single entry point.
The firm's leadership includes Gaurav Sharma, who previously worked with Bridgewater Associates and APL, a Japan-based investment firm. Sharma said, "India is entering its golden age, fuelled by robust macroeconomic growth, rising domestic consumption, and rapid digital adoption." He added: "This is a pivotal moment for private markets, and we're building an optimised gateway for investors to capture the value creation ahead."
Jhunjhunwala said Novastar's approach combines strong industry networks with rigorous diligence. "Our focus is to build a transparent, investor-aligned structure with meaningful GP (general partner) commitment," he said. "We want to provide investors access to the best managers and the most compelling private opportunities in India."
The firm is launching a Rs 350 crore fund ($39.5 million) with a Rs 150 crore ($16.9 million) greenshoe option. It will target investments largely from founders, strategic investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. The fund will allocate about 70% of its capital to funds and the rest to direct investments in growth-stage companies.
People aware of the firm's plans said Novastar intends to back a handful of high-quality managers across stages, rather than spreading capital across multiple funds. It plans to invest in five to six funds and eight to ten companies. It will focus on businesses at the Series B and C stages, where risk is lower and visibility on profitability is clearer.
The firm expects to begin announcing its initial fund partnerships in early 2026. The people cited above added that Novastar's GP commitment, the capital contributed by the fund's own partners, will be among the largest seen in any Indian fund-of-funds structure to date.
The fund's strategy also includes selective exposure to early-stage and secondary opportunities, with a focus on returning capital within six to seven years. Through this structure, Novastar aims to offer investors access to some of India's most exclusive and capacity-constrained private funds that are otherwise difficult to enter, the people said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.