In a resounding vote of confidence for early-stage innovation amid a tentative VC rebound, Silicon Valley heavyweight Nexus Venture Partners has closed its eighth fund, Nexus Ventures VIII, at a robust $700 million. Announced on December 4, 2025, this capital pool mirrors the size of its 2023 predecessor, signaling a deliberate strategy to maintain firepower without chasing bloated valuations in a maturing market.
Founded in 2006 by entrepreneurs Naren Gupta, Sujan Patel, and Sandeep Singhal, Nexus has long bridged the innovation corridors of the Bay Area and India, managing a whopping $3.2 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm, now helmed by general partners like Abhishek Sharma and Jishnu Bhattacharjee in the US, alongside Anup Gupta and Sujan Patel in India, has a storied track record: over 30 exits, including high-profile IPOs, and a portfolio that’s birthed category-defining players in AI, enterprise software, consumer, and fintech.
“With Fund VIII, we’re doubling down on visionary entrepreneurs solving the hardest problems and shaping the next wave of global innovation,” the partners declared in a statement. True to form, the fund will deploy at the earliest stages—inception, seed, and Series A—with initial checks ranging from a nimble few hundred thousand dollars to around $1 million. This hands-on ethos has powered bets on disruptors like Neysa (AI infrastructure), Slikk (quick-delivery fashion), and Snabbit (on-demand services), proving Nexus’s knack for spotting scalable tech amid hype.
The fund’s thesis? A balanced assault on transformative sectors: AI (from developer tools to agentic systems), enterprise software (cloud-native stacks), consumer (next-gen experiences), and fintech (embedded finance revolutions). Roughly half the corpus is earmarked for India, where Nexus sees untapped synergies between local talent and global markets—think Indic-language LLMs meeting US hyperscalers. “Nexus’s integrated approach, with depth of experience and relationships across the Bay Area and India, enables it to focus on the two largest startup ecosystems in the world,” the firm noted.
Backed by a loyal cadre of limited partners—many onboard since Nexus’s nascent $100 million debut fund—the close arrives as global VC deployment inches upward, buoyed by AI’s “unprecedented pace” of adoption. It’s part of a mini-renaissance: Just weeks ago, A91 Partners locked $665 million, Accel $650 million, and Bessemer $350 million for India plays. Domestic peers like Fireside Ventures ($253 million) and Cornerstone ($200 million) echo the sentiment—early-stage bets are back, but with disciplined sizing to maximize returns in a post-winter landscape.
Nexus isn’t all-in on AI mania; it’s surgically allocating to resilient verticals. Recent wins include Neysa’s $20 million seed and Snabbit’s $1 million round, underscoring a playbook honed over two decades: Engineer-led diligence, operational embeds, and IPO grooming. “The last few years have been surreal for the technology world,” partners reflected, nodding to generative AI’s ripple effects across every segment.
As India’s startup ecosystem—valued at $500 billion+—eyes 2026 IPO surges, Nexus stands poised to mint the next Razorpay or Postman. With an eight-member team spanning continents, this $700 million isn’t just capital; it’s rocket fuel for founders rewriting the AI stack, from open-source infra to battle-tested fintech agents. In a world of frothy funds, Nexus’s steady hand could define the decade’s winners.
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Last Updated on Friday, December 5, 2025 4:25 pm by The Entrepreneur Today Desk
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