‘We are strongly bullish on AI-first businesses,’ Q&A with Ankita Vashishta, founder, Arise Ventures

Arise Ventures, an early-stage venture capital (VC) firm, has sharpened its focus on companies where artificial intelligence (AI) is not an add-on but integral to the product and business model. Founded in 2021, the firm has invested in more than 50 startups across three funds. It is currently deploying capital from its Rs 500-crore Fund III. The firm has so far invested 30–40% of the corpus, Ankita Vashishta, founder and managing partner of Arise Ventures, tells S Shanthi in an interview. Excerpts: