Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma launches Rs.30-Cr fund for AI, EV startups

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Paytm, has launched his maiden fund called VSS Investment Fund. The sector agnostic fund will have a corpus of INR 20 crore with a green shoe option of INR 10 crore. It will invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicle (EV)-related startups based in India. The fund is sponsored by Sharma-controlled VSS Investco and will be managed by a professional investment manager. Sharma will be the primary contributor to the fund. A portion of the corpus will also be used to fund follow-on investments in Sharma's current portfolio, which includes consumer-focused as well as B2B tech startups working in environment and sustainability domains.