Zeropearl VC closes ₹159 Cr solo GP fund led by Bipin Shah

Zeropearl VC, a solo GP-led pre-seed and seed fund founded by investor Bipin Shah, has closed its maiden corpus at ₹159 crore (about USD 18 million). The fund was oversubscribed more than 3.5 times its original ₹80 crore target, with commitments reportedly exceeding ₹280 crore before Shah chose a disciplined final close at ₹159 crore.

The fund positions itself to back early-stage startups with a conviction-led, high-selectivity approach. Zeropearl plans to invest in roughly 45 startups across sectors and has already backed 20 companies, seven of which the fund has publicly disclosed: Gully Labs, Cura Care, Zanskar, Catalogus, Akinna, Supply6 and Tryo. The firm says it evaluates more than 800 pre-seed opportunities each month and intends to maintain a tight portfolio to preserve selectivity.

Shah, formerly a partner at Titan Capital, has more than 14 years of investing experience and says he has evaluated roughly 50,000 startups, met 5,000 founders and invested in over 250 companies at the seed and pre-seed stages. On his early exposure to founders, he said: “My five years at the Entrepreneurship Cell, including leading Eureka!, Asia’s largest business plan competition, gave me exposure to multiple founder journeys, helping me develop empathy and belief in their potential. Back in 2012, I saw a huge gap in pre-seed funding in India, and since then, I’ve dedicated my life to supporting founders at this stage.”

Fund structure and investor mix

Zeropearl reports that 52 per cent of the fund’s capital comes from 31 founder LPs, including 18 leaders of unicorn companies and 21 entrepreneurs from IPO-listed or IPO-bound firms. The remaining commitments came from global funds-of-funds and select family offices. The founder-LP presence is a deliberate feature of the fund’s model: beyond capital, these backers are described as providing mentorship and operational guidance to portfolio companies.

Shah explained his funding discipline and intent: “Starting over again wasn’t easy, but this fund is both a fresh beginning and a tribute to the founders who dared to take early risks on themselves. Zeropearl VC is built to back the next wave of leaders shaping India’s future.”

Founder-LPs voiced confidence in the approach. Aman Gupta, Co-founder & CMO of boAt, said:
“I’ve known Bipin for 7 years, and what has always stood out is how deeply founder-friendly he is. At the pre-seed stage, when no one is picking up your call and it’s just you against the world, Bipin is that guy who shows up. Now, as he takes the solo GP plunge, I’m excited to back him and see him build a genuine pre-seed institution.”

Strategy, speed and risks

Zeropearl’s operating model emphasises speed and direct founder access: the fund promises decision clarity within seven days of an application and aims to deploy capital selectively. Shah has set performance targets that align with his prior realised returns; the firm references a target consistent with Shah’s realised IRR of over 50 per cent from the past decade.

The solo GP model and heavy founder-LP composition carry trade-offs. Advantages include faster decisions, closer founder relationships and concentrated access to operator expertise. The model also concentrates key-person risk in a single GP and may limit diversification relative to larger, multi-partner vehicles. Execution will hinge on sourcing high-quality deals, converting first-round investments into follow-on momentum, and preserving alignment with founder-LPs as the portfolio scales.

Zeropearl’s launch comes as India’s startup ecosystem continues to attract early-stage capital across sectors including AI, climate tech and health tech and as entrepreneurial activity expands beyond major metros. The fund’s plan to back startups from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities reflects that trend. With Fund I, Zeropearl expects most portfolio companies to secure meaningful follow-on rounds within 12–15 months, a target informed by Shah’s stated past outcomes.

• Deal flow and sectoral focus for the fund’s disclosed and undisclosed investments.
• Early operational indicators from the 20 companies already backed, including any follow-on rounds.
• How Zeropearl scales founder-LP engagement (mentorship, workshops, peer networks) without diluting investment discipline.
• Any signal hires or institutional partnerships that broaden sourcing and portfolio support capabilities.

Zeropearl VC’s ₹159 crore final close reflects strong founder and institutional interest in India’s pre-seed segment. The fund’s success will depend on maintaining selectivity, translating founder-LP support into measurable founder outcomes, and managing the concentration risks inherent in a solo GP vehicle.