3one4 Capital.
India's DPI proof-of-concept: Fund I returned full principal inside seven years, among the first Indian VC funds to do it, then stacked Darwinbox at 58x, Kuku FM at 38x and ToneTag at 5-7x, all secondaries, no IPO required.
GW GP Score
3one4 is the counter-argument to the 'Indian VC never returns cash' critique. A Bengaluru seed franchise run by the Pai brothers that engineered DPI > 1.0 on Fund I within a standard cycle, via disciplined secondary sales into later rounds rather than waiting for IPO windows. The 2025-26 tilt into deeptech, semiconductors (AGNIT) and energy transition aligns it with where Indian industrial policy is pushing capital. Smaller book, smaller cheques, but the highest realisation discipline per dollar managed in the cohort.
Re-up candidate: the realised-cash evidence is doing more work than the brand story.
The important signal is not the latest round; it is whether the firm can keep converting marks into distributions.
The market over-focuses on AUM scale and under-credits 3one4's verified DPI discipline; this is the clearest small-manager process story in the cohort.
Fund V first close and LP quality are the proof points for whether the DPI playbook scales into semis, AI and industrial deeptech.
A weak Fund V close or no credible deeptech follow-on syndication would turn the scale-up thesis into duration mismatch.
Fund V unclosed in a market where Peak XV just absorbed $1.3bn of LP appetite: a thin close constrains the deeptech ambition.
Updated with 2026 IFC/Fund V public reporting.
The strongest verified realisation discipline per dollar in the cohort and a policy-aligned sector tilt, held back only by the unclosed Fund V and the duration tension in its new deeptech book.
Four unicorns and a deep seed book, but marks concentrated in fintech/consumer; Koo write-off
Fund I DPI > 1.0 in 7 years; 58x/38x/5-7x full exits in 2025: all without an IPO window
Deeptech/semis/energy tilt aligns with GW sector outlooks and state capital flows
Fund V in market, unclosed; deployment pace deliberately slowed
Founder-led, zero senior departures found 2024-26; institutionalising bench
Portfolio quality 25% · Exit realisation 30% · Sector positioning 15% · Capital velocity 15% · Franchise stability 15%: see the full GP Score methodology · compare this firm →
Positive catalysts and/or re-up evidence exceed the visible risks, but the score should move only after the named proof lands.
Jupiter liquidity clears with credible OFS/block-sale evidence.
Separate broad PE-VC softness from venture AI strength before changing sector-positioning scores.
Fund V first close (~$225M target, IFC $20M proposed): unclosed as of Jul 2026.
If DPI is your religion, this is the cohort's proof asset: a published Fund I full-return milestone and three 2025 secondaries at 5-58x. Size risk is real: diligence whether the secondary-exit playbook scales from $50M funds to $225M.
Fund V unclosed in a market where Peak XV just absorbed $1.3bn of LP appetite: a thin close constrains the deeptech ambition.
Fund V first close (~$225M target, IFC $20M proposed): unclosed as of Jul 2026.
Coverage initiated: inaugural GW GP Score.
Catalyst exposure · latest source pressure
Recent public evidence mapped to this GP. Read this before reading the position table: it is where the score can move next.
Keep the file warm; current events cut both ways or are not yet material enough to move score.
Attribution1 positive catalyst(s), 1 pressure catalyst(s); top driver: India PE-VC value down 5% YoY in H1 CY2026.
The broad private-capital backdrop is selective rather than euphoric; fundraising and mark support now need firm-specific proof.
Score pressureRaises the bar for weak-DPI managers and stale flagship vehicles; rewards funds with fresh closes or visible exits.
Separate broad PE-VC softness from venture AI strength before changing sector-positioning scores.
$676M across 57 AI deals makes AI the cleanest growth pocket in the current venture tape.
Score pressureSupports sector-positioning scores only where AI exposure is backed by credible entry price, ownership and exit path.
Do not reward AI labels without DPI-compatible positions; paper-heavy AI books stay on proof watch.
IFC's proposed commitment gives 3one4's $225M Fund V a visible institutional anchor and validates the scaled seed/Series A mandate.
Score pressurePositive for capital velocity and LP validation, but final close and deployment discipline still decide whether the strategy scales.
Final close, non-IFC LP depth, first Fund V cheques and follow-on syndication into deeptech/AI.
The funds
$750M+ across 3 tracked vehicles.
| Vehicle | Vintage | Size | Stage | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund V (IFSC) | in market | ~$225M target | Seed / Series A | IFC proposed $20M; no first close announced as of Jul 2026 |
| Fund IV | 2023Trough window | $200M | Seed / Series A | Closed May 2023; behind the AGNIT/Exponent cheques |
| IIDEA Fund (with BII) | 2024Recovery / IPO window | $15M | Seed | Under-represented founders; energy transition, agri, health, deeptech |
Closest booksPrime Venture Partners (1 shared) · Z47 (1 shared) · Alteria Capital (1 shared)computed · E
Fund analytics · LP underwriting screen
Computed from the public dossier: vehicle cadence, realised exits, mark drift, concentration and franchise stability. All computed signals are GW estimates.
Latest vehicle is still in market or not publicly closed.
Next liquidityJupiter · Exponent Energy
3 visible exit events since Jul 2024.
Latest vehicle is still in market or not publicly closed.
4 up / 5 flat / 2 down tracked signals.
No senior departure flagged in key people.
4 up / 5 flat / 2 down
3 events since Jul 2024
Largest tracked active exposure
Higher spread = less balanced franchise
Marked overhangOpen · Koo: names with negative 12-month mark or momentum signals in the reconstructed book.
Best entry conditions of the cycle
Exit-led repricing; entry discipline decisive
Consumer neobank
15-minute rapid charging; follow-on Jun 2026
At least one cited source is dated 2026.
3 visible events tracked.
14 representative positions tracked.
No departure signal structured.
Fund-level DPI/TVPI is usually not public; proxy remains estimated.
Peer median 2 · +1
Peer median 2 · +0
Peer median 74 · +16
Peer median 62 · -43
Peer median 0 · +0
Diligence agenda · how this view can change
The live research question, the proof required, and the source standard. This prevents a GP score from becoming a stale label.
The latest vehicle is raising, unclosed or stale against the current deployment cycle.
Current · At least one cited source is dated 2026.
Whether the secondary-exit playbook repeats at larger cheque sizes (AGNIT, Exponent are longer-duration bets).
Track first/final close, LP quality, target-vs-close delta and mandate shift.
Whether the secondary-exit playbook repeats at larger cheque sizes (AGNIT, Exponent are longer-duration bets).
Jupiter: next public-market or secondary print
Evidence quality · source file health
How hard the public record is beneath this view: source mix, freshness, low-confidence fields and the next source action.
No major evidence gap flagged.
7 total sources · 14% primary
At least one cited source is dated 2026.
ETStartup: IFC proposes $20M into 3one4 Fund V (May 2026)
Maintain monthly source check; escalate on fund close, DRHP, OFS, block sale or senior-partner change.
Source tiering follows Gravitywell policy: primary = filing/regulator/company disclosure, secondary = reputable media or research, E = Gravitywell estimate. Evidence score is a GW control metric, not an external rating.
The position book
134 companies backed, ~80 active. 14 tracked below.
| Company | Sector | Entered | Entry stage | Status | 12-mo signal | Latest read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licious | Consumer & Commerce | 2016 | Early | Unicorn | → | D2C meat & seafood |
| Open | Fintech | 2017 | Seed | Unicorn | ▼ | SMB neobanking; fintech marks compressed |
| Jupiter | Fintech | 2019 | Early | Soonicorn | → | Consumer neobank |
| Exponent Energy | EV & Climate | 2020 | Seed | Soonicorn | ▲ | 15-minute rapid charging; follow-on Jun 2026 |
| AGNIT Semiconductors | Deeptech & Space | 2026 | Early | Private | ▲ | GaN semis (Mar 2026, Fund IV): ISM-adjacent bet |
| Dozee | Healthcare | 2019 | Seed | Private | ▲ | Contactless patient monitoring |
| BetterPlace | SaaS & Dev Tools | 2017 | Early | Private | → | Frontline workforce management |
| Kapiva | Consumer & Commerce | 2017 | Early | Private | ▲ | Ayurveda D2C |
| Raise Financial | Fintech | 2021 | Early | Private | → | Investment tech (Dhan parent adjacency) |
| Tracxn | SaaS & Dev Tools | 2016 | Early | Public | → | Listed 2022 |
| Bluecopa | AI | 2026 | Early | Private | · | AI finance-ops (Jan 2026) |
| Zerocircle | EV & Climate | 2026 | Seed | Private | · | Sustainable packaging |
| Evoke | Consumer & Commerce | 2025 | Seed | Private | · | Hair-care D2C (Dec 2025) |
| Koo | Consumer & Commerce | 2020 | Early | Shut | ▼ | Shut down 2024: the book's visible write-off |
Representative tracked positions reconstructed from public disclosures: not the full book. 12-mo signal is a GW estimate of mark direction from round/exit prints (E). Ownership stakes are not shown: not reliably public.
Sector exposure · where the book leans
Share of the tracked active book by normalized sector (GW estimate): read against our sector dossiers for crowding.
New cheques · 2025-26
22 cheques in 2025, slower H1 2026 pace while Fund V is in market. The tilt is unmistakable: semis (AGNIT), energy transition (Exponent, Zerocircle), AI ops, away from the consumer-internet weighting of Funds I-III and toward industrial-policy-aligned deeptech.
GaN: aligned with India Semiconductor Mission wave
AI-native finance operations
Sustainable packaging
Realisation · are LPs getting paid?
Three full exits in 2025 alone, all via secondaries into later private rounds: no IPO dependence. Fund I returned full principal within seven years with ~4x additional unrealised value still on the book. Per dollar of AUM, the strongest realisation record in the cohort.
Third exit of 2025: 38.4x MOIC, ~90% IRR.
Full exit at 5-7x.
Full exit at 58x MOIC, 65% IRR over ~7 years: sold into the $140M KKR/Partners Group round.
Full capital returned inside 7 years: among India's first; ~4x unrealised on top
Darwinbox, Kuku FM, ToneTag: all secondaries
~$225M target, IFC $20M proposed; unclosed as of Jul 2026
Institutional endorsement of governance and process
The one cohort firm with a published, verifiable DPI milestone. GW read: top-decile realisation discipline for its size; the open risks are scale (can the playbook absorb $225M?) and the pivot into longer-duration deeptech, which sits in tension with the fast-secondary exit model. E.
What they're doing
DPI-first brand: serial full exits at high MOIC via secondaries into later rounds: sell to the next investor, don't wait for the exchange.
Fund V tilts into AI/SaaS, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and energy transition: riding Indian industrial policy (ISM, PLI, deep-tech FoF).
Multilateral LP base (IFC, BII): cheaper reputational capital and governance signalling for institutional re-ups.
Stage discipline unchanged: seed/Series A only, no late-stage drift.
What can break
Fund V unclosed in a market where Peak XV just absorbed $1.3bn of LP appetite: a thin close constrains the deeptech ambition.
Deeptech duration mismatch: semis and energy transition compound over 8-12 years; the franchise's exit brand is built on 5-7 year secondaries.
Koo write-off shows the consumer-social sleeve can zero; concentration guardrails matter more at $225M than at $50M.
Fund V first close (~$225M target, IFC $20M proposed): unclosed as of Jul 2026.
Whether the secondary-exit playbook repeats at larger cheque sizes (AGNIT, Exponent are longer-duration bets).
Point-in-time discipline: these are the open items we could not verify at the current vintage. They get resolved: confirmed, corrected or dropped, at the next monthly refresh, never silently.
The takes · one screen, three readers
If DPI is your religion, this is the cohort's proof asset: a published Fund I full-return milestone and three 2025 secondaries at 5-58x. Size risk is real: diligence whether the secondary-exit playbook scales from $50M funds to $225M.
3one4 wins deals by promising founders a clean cap table and early liquidity for angels: a different pitch than brand-name firepower. In deeptech/semis seed rounds they are now the default Bengaluru co-investor to beat.
Their cheques are a leading indicator of industrial-policy beta: AGNIT (GaN semis), Exponent (charging infra), Zerocircle. Where 3one4 seeds, ISM/PLI-adjacent grant and subsidy flows tend to follow within 12-18 months.
Sourcing. Every figure is sourced and dated. We tier provenance: Primary (official, regulatory, exchange or company filings), Secondary (tier-1 industry research and reputable media), and GW estimate (our own reconstruction or opinion, labelled, never presented as external fact). We prefer primary where it exists, reconcile divergent prints to cited ranges, and hold every number point-in-time: dated, and never silently restated; revisions publish as dated changes.
Fact vs opinion. Facts vs opinion: market sizes, official prints, prices, named deals and agency ratings are sourced facts (Primary/Secondary). Scores, grades, purity weights, scenario paths and indicative sparkline points are Gravitywell's analytical opinion (GW estimate): labelled, not presented as external data.
GW GP Scores are research opinions, not investment advice, not a solicitation, and not an assessment under any SEBI regulation. Dossiers are compiled from public sources believed reliable; firms named did not participate and figures marked E are Gravitywell estimates. Point-in-time: dated to the vintage shown and never silently restated.