How was Ventana Ventures' exit from a two-year-old bet?

New Delhi, May 12 -- Udupi-headquartered venture capital firm Ventana Ventures, which primarily invests in early-stage gaming and interactive media startups in India, has exited a two-year-old investment, VCCircle has learnt.

The firm, founded in 2021 by Shylaja Rao, has backed companies such as Metashot, Brewed Games, Norian Games and Qila Games. It has now exited AI-powered sports technology platform SportVot.

Ventana Ventures had invested in SportVot in March 2024 in a pre-Series A funding round in which the startup raised Rs 9.4 crore. The round was led by Omidyar Network India and also saw participation from Anicut Capital, StartupLynk, Capital A, Ankur Capital, SucSEED Indovation Fund, and Marwah Sports.

The VC firm has now exited the investment through SportVot's recently concluded funding round, in which the startup raised Rs 32.7 crore ($3.4 million). The round was led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from Anicut Capital, LetsVenture, Capital A, SucSEED Indovation, and Garima Vohra and Gaurav Chanana of Lucifer Circus and Lucifer Sports.

Ventana Ventures said the exit delivered a multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of more than 2x and an internal rate of return (IRR) of over 45% at the deal level, marking the first exit from its Fund I portfolio.

In India, most VC firms typically target annual IRRs in the 20-30% range in rupee terms, while early-stage and seed investors often aim for higher returns because of the greater risk profile.

Founded by Sidhhant Agarwal, Shubhangi Gupta and Yash Bhagwatkar, SportVot builds digital tools for grassroots and amateur sports in India, including live-streaming, scoring and athlete identity solutions.

Ventana Ventures said SportVot was at an early stage, with limited revenues and an early product, when it first invested. The investor added that it worked closely with the startup on operations, strategy and early infrastructure-building during the holding period.

Ventana Ventures said it chose to exit as SportVot entered a stage where larger and more specialized investors could support the next phase of growth.

The VC firm invests up to $130,000 in pre-seed and seed-stage gaming startups. It helps portfolio companies through beta testing, early-stage operational guidance, and securing capital for subsequent funding rounds.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.