Chiratae Ventures was founded in 2006 by Sudhir Sethi and TC Meenakshisundaram as IDG Ventures India, rebranding in 2018 to reflect its evolution into an independent Indian institution rather than a foreign firm's regional arm. Sethi's own account of the founding is telling: the firm's first fund was anchored by $150 million from Patrick McGovern's IDG and Bruno Raschle's Adveq, but when IDG dissolved globally mid-fundraise for Fund II, Chiratae rebuilt entirely around domestic Indian capital rather than folding - a bet on the conviction that Indian investors would back Indian entrepreneurs more durably than foreign LPs. That bet paid off: the firm now manages $1.3 billion across seven funds, has made more than 135 investments with 60 exits including five IPOs (FirstCry, Lenskart, Newgen, PolicyBazaar, and Yatra), and has backed eight unicorns including Flipkart, Myntra, and Lenskart.
PolicyBazaar's 2021 IPO on the NSE and BSE - Chiratae was an early backer of the Indian insurance aggregator, one of five IPOs the firm has taken portfolio companies through