Venture capital firm WEH Ventures is broadening its startup investment focus towards premiumisation, health and fitness, modern agriculture, IP-led manufacturing and the battery value chain, as investors are becoming more selective about opportunities in sectors such as quick commerce and consumer artificial intelligence.
The early-stage investor, which has backed startups including NOTO, Animall, smallcase, Pratilipi and AppsForBharat since its inception in 2017, made four investments in FY26 and expects to make six in FY27. It has already committed capital to startups in healthcare diagnostics, test-prep education and beauty and personal care, Deepak Gupta, general partner, WEH Ventures, told FE.
The firm expects to make around six to eight investments annually going ahead, focusing on companies where early capital can help establish proof points around products, customer adoption, teams and initial product-market fit. Its investment decisions are based on the size of the market opportunity, founder-market fit and evidence of execution and resourcefulness, Gupta said.
“We try to enter at a stage where the capital can help the company establish important proof points,” he said, adding that the firm also assesses how quickly founders can learn, adapt, build teams and make progress with limited resources.
WEH has also seen progress in its existing portfolio. Cybersecurity startup Mitigata, which the firm backed about two years ago, has expanded from cyber insurance and cybersecurity into the broader cyber-resilience market and recently raised $15 million in a Series B round. Premium fruit farming startup Fragaria Fruits, another portfolio company, has moved from pilot production to commercial-scale farming, demonstrating that technology can enable consistent local production of premium fruits.
Strategic Investment Shifts
The firm, however, remains cautious about the quick-commerce for X model, stating that speed and convenience do not translate equally across categories. It is similarly selective about consumer AI applications, where many products have yet to demonstrate durable engagement, differentiation or monetisation.
Macro Opportunities
“AI where it solves a clear problem and where there is a credible reason for the product to build lasting value” is more attractive, Gupta said.
He expects opportunities to widen across healthcare, advanced manufacturing, climate, agriculture and deeptech, helped by founders emerging from universities and smaller cities. Government and grant-backed support, including the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI framework, could also help technology-heavy startups move from research to investible businesses.
At the same time, Gupta said capital had become more selective, with $100 million-plus funding rounds and unicorn creation no longer at the levels seen during the 2021 funding boom.