Venture growth investor Iron Pillar has successfully closed a $129 million round for its first-ever B- and C-stage fund focused on investing in global cloud software companies from India. This fund is one of the second series of funds of Tiezhu Fund.

In addition to Iron Pillar’s existing institutional investors from the US, Europe and the Middle East, the fund has attracted new investors, including two endowments and a foundation.

Anand Prasanna, the managing partner at Iron Pillar, said that no growth-stage funds in India are dedicated to software. In contrast, there is a lot of money in consumer technology in India. The new initiative will help Indian software companies realise their potential.

Prasanna said: “Iron Pillar was founded on a fundamental belief that Indian founders will build large technology companies, not just for India but for global markets. The global cloud opportunity is growing unprecedentedly, and we believe Indian founders will continue to build some generational businesses in this space.”

Since its inception in 2016, Iron Pillar has been an active investor in several global cloud software companies from India, including Uniphore, Servify, CoreStack, Ushur, Jiffy, Sibros and Pando. The fund will continue to focus on backing companies transforming the global cloud ecosystem, focusing on software as a service (SaaS) and cloud infrastructure, covering key investment themes such as cybersecurity and governance, DevOps tools, the future of work and education and automation.

“The cloud ecosystem is growing rapidly, and we are confident in helping entrepreneurs build market-leading companies in India and around the world,” said Mohanjit Jolly, Partner, Iron Pillar.

Prasanna and Jolly lead Iron Pillar’s Global Cloud Fund deployment.

Over the past 7 years since Iron Pillar was founded, the company has built an impressive track record supporting several groundbreaking companies in cloud software and consumer technology, including Uniphore, Servify, FreshToHome, BlueStone, Skill- Lync and Curefoods. The firm has a unique investment model of leading Series B/C rounds in its portfolio companies, followed by investing in breakthrough businesses at 5x to 10x its initial investment. In addition to capital, Iron Pillar’s portfolio companies benefit from the firm’s extensive global network, providing access to potential customers, strategic partners, senior technology executives and other sources of capital. The firm currently has nearly $500 million in assets under management (AUM).

According to Bain & Company, SaaS companies established in India will generate $12 billion in annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) in 2022, four times more than in the past 5 years. They expect Indian SaaS companies to collectively reach $35 billion ARR in the next 5 years and capture 8% of the global SaaS market.

“Iron Pillar is poised to capitalise on this megatrend with our latest fund,” said Anand. “Our limited partners (LPs) are excited about the opportunity in India.”