pi Ventures is in the process of closing its first fund worth $30 million, launched last year, which is dedicated to AI space. That's the new thesis," says Manish Singhal, the founding partner of pi Ventures.Startups enabling healthcare through AI remains the most attractive bet for the firm which is seeing about five to eight AI startups per week. Unsustainable business models of consumer-facing businesses, most of which are running into huge losses, is one of the biggest reasons why newer venture funds are increasingly sharpening their focus towards B2B startups with sustainable models. "Venture investors have been copying investments in large play consumer-focused companies, wherein it is difficult to establish a money making business model. "We stay away from B2C, e-commerce and app-only business models wherein the model is dependent on downloads," said Jatin Desai, general partner, Parampara Capital.

Source: Economic Times February 21, 2017 02:37 UTC