Who is Elevation Capital?
Elevation Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Gurugram and Bengaluru 5. It was known as SAIF Partners India until October 2020 3. It has backed Paytm since 2007 and was an early investor in Swiggy, Meesho and Urban Company, all of which have since listed 13172019. In July 2026 Inc42 reported that it had 159 portfolio companies and 27 exits 12.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Roots | SoftBank Asia Infrastructure Fund, 2001 1 |
| India investing since | About 2002 34 |
| Renamed | Elevation Capital, October 2020 3 |
| Leaders | Ravi Adusumalli and Mukul Arora, co-managing partners 6 |
| Latest fund | Fund IX, $500 million, July 2026 12 |
| Late-stage vehicle | Elevation Holdings, $400 million, 2025 7 |
From SAIF to Elevation
The firm traces its roots to the SoftBank Asia Infrastructure Fund, a $400 million fund set up in 2001 with SoftBank as general partner and Cisco as its only investor. In 2005 SAIF’s partners became independent of SoftBank and launched a second fund of $643 million 1. Business Insider reported that SAIF originally stood for SoftBank Asia Infrastructure Fund and that the firm dropped the name because it no longer reflected its values 2.
The India team began investing around 2002; its first well-known investment was Sify 3. AVCJ reported that SAIF India spun out of Hong Kong-based SAIF Partners in 2011 4. The rebrand to Elevation Capital was announced on 19 October 2020, with the close of its seventh fund 3.
Who runs Elevation Capital?
Ravi Adusumalli is managing partner. Mukul Arora, who joined in 2010 and led investments including Meesho, Swiggy and FirstCry, became co-managing partner in January 2022 6. Mridul Arora is a partner 7. Vivek Mathur, partner and chief operating officer, left after 14 years in 2025, and partner Mayank Khanduja stepped down in January 2026 89.
Funds
| Fund | Size | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Three India funds | $350 million each | 2011 to 2017 4 |
| Fund VII | $400 million | October 2020 3 |
| Fund VIII | $670 million, its largest | April 2022 10 |
| Elevation Holdings | $400 million, late stage | August 2025 7 |
| Fund IX | $500 million, AI-focused seed and Series A | July 2026 12 |
The firm managed more than $2 billion when it rebranded in 2020 3, and had deployed about $2 billion across more than 150 companies by 2022 11. Elevation Holdings plans to back 10 to 15 companies heading for an Indian listing, with cheques of $20 million to $50 million 7. We did not find a current total for assets under management.
Major investments
| Company | Entry | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Paytm | 2007 13 | Listed; selling down in stages since 2025 1416 |
| Swiggy | 2015 Series A 17 | Sold shares worth over ₹288 crore in the 2024 IPO, about 34 times cost 17 |
| Urban Company | 2015 18 | Sold shares in the 2025 IPO at about 19 times cost 19 |
| Meesho | Led the $3.4 million Series A, October 2017 20 | Held 13.6% before the December 2025 IPO and sold shares worth ₹263.9 crore 21 |
| MakeMyTrip, Justdial, IndiaMART | Earlier funds | Listed portfolio companies 3 |
Paytm. The original investment cost ₹12.88 crore at ₹15.4 a share 13. In November 2025 Elevation sold about 1.19 crore shares at ₹1,305, cutting its stake from 15.33% to about 13.47% 14; YourStory put the return on the oldest shares at about 85 times 13. It sold more shares in May 2026, with reports differing on the amount 15, and about 1.49 crore shares worth ₹2,038 crore in August 2026 16. Elevation says it has put more than $100 million into Paytm 5.
Meesho. Elevation paid an average of ₹3.04 a share. At ₹111 a share its Meesho holding was worth about ₹6,433 crore 21.
Setbacks
In January 2024 the Reserve Bank of India restricted Paytm Payments Bank, and Paytm’s shares fell to a record low of ₹317 by May 2024 before recovering 13. We found no public statement from Elevation on the episode; it began selling Paytm shares after the recovery 1314. We found no other reported write-offs.
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