Angel fund backed by former Credit Suisse CEO and Bridgerton star raises over £8m

An angel fund backed by the former CEO of Credit Suisse and Bridgerton actress Charithra Chandran has raised $10.9m (£8.3m) in its first close.

The Arāya Super Angel Fund, run by Arāya Ventures, is set to invest in up to 60 pre-seed and seed stage founders over the next four years in health tech, fintech, climate, commerce and work.

The fund is backed by a host of City grandees including former Credit Suisse CEO Phil Cutts and former Browns CEO Holli Rogers.

In total, over 80 investors have signed on to the fund, such as Media Zoo founder Rachel Pendered and Cambridge Spark founder and chair Raoul-Gabriel Urma.

Over 15 per cent of the fund is made up of family offices, which invest directly at Series A and B, while at least 65 per cent are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 60 per cent are current or exited founders.

Fund ‘plugs a gap to offer real support’

“This is Arāya Ventures’ first fund and I’m incredibly proud of what we’re able to offer both investors and founders,” said founder and managing partner Rupa Popat.

The fund will invest cheques of $200,000 (£151,968) to $550,000 (£417,912) in companies, and will also give founders access to Arāya’s angel and proprietary scout network.

It plans to make between 10 to 15 investments per year, with a hybrid structure which accommodates both Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and non-EIS investments.

“As a former founder turned investor, I’ve been on both sides of the table and I know that for most early-stage founders, whilst capital is important, it’s also about the additional value and support that investors can provide,” added Popat.

“Our approach is incredibly bespoke and personalised and with this unique structure, we’re optimising not only for performance, but plugging a gap to offer real support to early-stage founders and giving them value beyond the cheque.”