Caret Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Caret Capital is a sustainability-focused, thematic venture capital fund based in India, founded in 2023. The firm invests in category-building startups across three interconnected sectors it believes have the strongest tailwinds in India's growth story: Distribution & Supply Chain, Jobs & Livelihood, and Smart Mobility. Caret frames its mission in explicit impact terms: to help its portfolio companies create 10 million jobs, reduce carbon emissions by 10 million metric tonnes, and meaningfully optimize India's supply chain and logistics sector, alongside financial returns. The firm tracks three parameters across its portfolio: startup growth, investor returns, and impact for India. Caret sizes its combined sector opportunity at USD 1.2 trillion by 2030.
Sector Focus
- Distribution & Supply Chain: logistics, warehousing, last-mile delivery, freight-tech
- Jobs & Livelihood: employment platforms, workforce management, skilling, gig-economy infrastructure
- Smart Mobility: EV and mobility platforms, fleet operations, transportation infrastructure
Stage Focus
Caret invests from pre-seed (via its in-house accelerator) through seed and selective Series A. The main fund's sweet spot is seed-stage, category-building startups, with Series A reserved for follow-ons into existing portfolio.
Check Size
Caret states it invests up to Rs. 15 crore (approximately USD 2 million) in seed-to-Series A startups from its main fund. Separately, the Caret Accelerator writes smaller checks: startups that graduate from the program receive Rs. 1 crore (approximately USD 120K) in seed capital, with meaningfully increased odds of follow-on investment from the main fund.
Lead Tendency
Caret frequently leads or co-leads the rounds it participates in. Public reporting shows the firm leading seed rounds in PeakAmp (September 2025), Arthum (January 2026), and Milo Drive (July 2026, co-led with Antler India).
Recent Activity
Caret has been actively deploying its second fund, which reached a first close of roughly INR 160 crore (approximately USD 18.6 million) around mid-2025. Recent disclosed investments include:
- Milo Drive (EV mobility / ride-hailing platform) — $2.4M seed round, co-led with Antler India, July 2026
- Arthum (blue-collar workforce and financial inclusion platform) — Rs 10 crore seed round, led, January 2026
- PeakAmp (EV battery circularity and recycling) — Rs 12 crore seed round, led, September 2025
Portfolio company RoshAi (a Kochi-based deep-tech autonomy startup) also raised a Rs 22 crore follow-on round led by IAN Group's Alpha Fund in April 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
Caret's public portfolio spans roughly 20 companies across its three sectors, including Celcius (cold-chain logistics), Vahak (trucking marketplace), SuperProcure, JustDeliveries, Citrus Freight, and Freightify in supply chain and logistics; Arthum, Awign, Unstop, and TraqCheck in jobs and workforce; and Eveez, Milo Drive, and RoshAi in smart mobility. Enmovil, TheBioHackers, AOCR, Stylumia, Omnivio, and Youvah round out the roster across the three themes.
Team
- Prajakt Raut — Co-founder and Managing Partner; entrepreneur and entrepreneurship evangelist, sector focus Supply Chain and Distribution
- Pankaj Bansal — Co-founder and Managing Partner; serial entrepreneur, built and exited PeopleStrong (Goldman Sachs) and Wheebox (ETS), sector focus Employment and Employability
- Karan Mittal — Managing Partner; 18 years of PE, VC, and M&A experience, founded India's first EV-focused fund, sector focus EV and sustainable mobility
- Manoj Kohli — Chair, Caret Capital Investment Committee
- Ketika Singhal — Head of Caret Accelerator, leads Supply Chain and Distribution sector investments
- Ravtej Singh — Investment & Portfolio Management, sector focus Supply Chain and Distribution
- Yukta Kelkar — Investment & Portfolio Management, sector focus EV and sustainable mobility
- Aman Khan — Alliances & Investments, sector focus Employment and Employability
- Tanvi Rastogi — Head of Legal
- Nidhi Bhatia — Assistant Manager (Legal)
- Rajesh Batra — Advisor, seasoned finance professional
Decision Process
Caret operates a formal Investment Committee chaired by Manoj Kohli, alongside a partnership of three co-founders and managing partners (Raut, Bansal, Mittal), each aligned to one of the fund's three sectors.
Founder Preferences
Caret's accelerator materials describe a conviction-first approach: backing founders with deep, independent belief in a thesis over market consensus or hype. The firm favors B2B, category-building founders in its three focus sectors and is explicit that it works with a small, selective set of founders per cohort to allow for deeper engagement.
Geographic Focus
India-only. Caret is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, and its "Born Thematic" positioning is explicitly tied to India's growth story across jobs, supply chain, and mobility.
Additional Programs
Caret runs the Caret Accelerator, a cohort-based, B2B-focused program (applications open annually May 20 through August 1) offering pre-program assessment, anchor mentorship, group learning sessions, a Rs. 1 crore seed investment, investor-readiness support, and customer and investor introductions, in exchange for 1-3% advisory equity.