Vicus Ventures closes $55 million debut fund with network-focused pitch

Vicus Ventures has closed a $55 million first fund, giving the New York and San Francisco firm capital to back early startups while pitching founders on access rather than check size. Fortune reported that brothers Raj and Sunny Singh Sandhu built the firm around a “village” idea shaped by their family history and their view that founders need more than money.

The brothers started Vicus in 2024, according to Fortune. The firm’s name comes from the Latin word for village, a reference they tied to both their family’s roots in a small Punjabi village and a broader support network for entrepreneurs.

Raj, 31, and Sunny, 27, told Fortune that their family history includes Indian Army and Air Force service as well as farming on ancestral land in Punjab. Although both have spent most or all of their lives in the United States, they said that background influenced how they wanted to build a venture firm.

A smaller fund by design

Before Vicus, Sunny worked as a consultant at Bain, while Raj spent three years at Alphabet’s Verily working on wearables and artificial intelligence, Fortune reported. The brothers have already invested in companies including Avoca, Specter, Pallet and Yuzu Health.

The $55 million fund size is intentional, according to the founders. Raj told Fortune that capital alone is less likely to separate investors when young founders are receiving more term sheets and large checks, so Vicus is trying to compete by taking smaller ownership stakes while offering more targeted help.

The number also carries meaning for the firm, Fortune reported. Punjab is known as the land of five rivers, and Vicus assembled 55 limited partners for the fund.

Those backers include General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, former Amazon executive Jeff Wilke, Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz, Blackstone chairman David Blitzer, Oura CEO Tom Hale and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, according to Fortune. The brothers told Fortune they declined substantially more capital than they raised.

LPs as part of the product

Vicus is making its investor base part of its offer to portfolio companies. Fortune reported that the firm calls the approach “network-as-a-service,” meaning it aims to connect founders with limited partners and other contacts who can help with sales, partnerships and company durability.

Brown told Fortune that he has been watching the surge in AI and viewed the Vicus founders as unusually connected and energetic. He said their relationships, knowledge and early progress made him believe they could perform well.

Specter founder Xerxes Libsch also backed the firm’s hands-on pitch in comments to Fortune. Libsch, who founded a stealth defense startup after working at Anduril, said Vicus had helped change his company’s path and described the brothers as early believers.

The strategy reflects an older model of venture investing, Fortune reported: smaller funds, closer founder relationships and more personal involvement. Sunny told Fortune that the goal is to recreate the kind of support system that helped the brothers, applying that village concept to startups.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.