Fund launched with an initial fund size of ₹500 crore to invest in India’s next generation of pre-IPO companies across advanced manufacturing, energy transition and emerging technologies.
Steptrade Capital, an Ahmedabad-based SEBI-registered alternative investment fund manager, has achieved the first close of its unannounced CAT II AIF, Chanakya Opportunities Fund II (COF II), securing more than ₹100 crore in investor commitments within just three months of launch.
Launched in February 2026 with a target corpus of ₹500 crore, Chanakya Opportunities Fund II completed its first close through an exclusive initial participation phase. The fund has attracted commitments from ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and sophisticated investors seeking exposure to India’s expanding pre-IPO market. With the first close now complete and capital deployment set to begin in August, the fund is opening its next allocation window to a broader pool of eligible investors.
The first close comes at a time when investor interest in India’s private markets continues to grow. As more companies choose to stay private for longer before listing, investors are increasingly looking to participate in businesses during the final stages of private ownership rather than waiting for public market access.
Chanakya Opportunities Fund II has been launched in the legacy of Chanakya Opportunities Fund I, India’s first SME-Exchange-focused CAT II AIF. CA Kresha Gupta has founded the series. COF I was co-managed by CA Kresha Gupta and Ankush Jain, CFA.
COF II is co-managed by CA Kresha Gupta and CA Akshay Dawra. The fund has been built around three long-term investment themes that are expected to benefit from India’s structural economic transformation.
The first theme is Advanced Manufacturing, covering electronics and ESDM, speciality chemicals, defence and aerospace, and semiconductors. The second is Energy Transition and Infrastructure, including battery energy storage systems, electric vehicle ecosystems, power transmission, transformers, grid modernisation and data centre infrastructure. The third is Emerging Enablers, comprising AI and robotics, digital healthcare diagnostics, bio-manufacturing and rare earth supply chains.
Together, these sectors represent businesses benefiting from policy support, rising domestic manufacturing, global supply chain diversification and accelerating technology adoption.
Unlike traditional listed equity funds, COF II is designed for Pre-IPO and growth-stage companies. At this stage, businesses have typically established commercial scale, while remaining outside the public markets where valuations are often reset following an IPO.
“India’s next generation of listed companies is being built well before they reach the stock exchanges,” said CA Kresha Gupta, Fund Manager, Chanakya Opportunities Fund I and II, and Director, Steptrade Capital. “The response to our first close reflects growing investor conviction that the pre-IPO stage has become an important part of long-term wealth creation. Our focus remains on identifying businesses that are benefiting from structural changes across manufacturing, energy and technology before they become widely accessible.”
CA Akshay Dawra, Fund Manager, Chanakya Opportunities Fund II, said, “The private markets have evolved significantly over the past few years. Investors are increasingly seeking institutional access to companies during their growth phase rather than after they become public. Our investment strategy is centred on identifying businesses with strong fundamentals and the potential to become category leaders over the coming years.”
Chanakya Opportunities Fund II builds on the investment philosophy established under the firm’s first fund, which focused on identifying high-quality private market opportunities across emerging sectors. According to Steptrade Capital, the launch of a fund with a potential corpus of ₹500 crore reflects increasing demand for professionally managed pre-IPO investment strategies.
Industry observers say access to curated pre-IPO opportunities remains limited, particularly in sectors benefiting from India’s manufacturing expansion, energy transition and deep technology ecosystem. As institutional participation in private markets continues to deepen, allocations to pre-IPO assets are increasingly becoming a strategic component of long-term investment portfolios rather than an opportunistic allocation.
With the first close completed and commitments crossing ₹100 crore within three months of launch, Chanakya Opportunities Fund II has marked an early milestone in its fundraising journey as it progresses towards its target corpus.
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