Kunal Upadhyay
Founding partner / investment principal
Fund formation, early-stage investing and translating research into companies. Official BIF investment-principal listing retained; LinkedIn headline now Translation Endeavors.
LinkedIn profile ↗India / Direct investor
Backing breakthrough innovations from India.
Early-stage capital for IP-led companies building technology from India for global markets.
Connect NowReported first cheque, Jul 2024$1M-$3M
Official entry stageSeed / Series A
SIDBI-listed Fund I target₹500Cr
Official public directory14 companies
01 / The fund
Science and engineering into companies
Bharat Innovation Fund backs defensible intellectual property and deep-innovation companies. It invests at seed or Series A and stays engaged through the company's development, with capital, market access and technical-commercial networks. It was incubated at IIMA Ventures and operates autonomously, not as a government-controlled fund.
Entrepreneur India’s July 2024 interview with Shyam Menon reports $1M-$3M first cheques, up to $5M per company including follow-ons, and a preference to lead and price rounds. These are dated reported terms, not a newly verified 2026 cheque policy. Earlier August 2023 coverage described plans for larger first cheques and around $8M including follow-ons; those earlier figures are not mixed into the later guidance.
The current SIDBI FFS table lists a ₹500Cr target corpus and ₹100Cr sanction for Bharat Innovation Fund. July 2018 launch coverage describes an approximately $50M first close towards a $100M platform headline; IIMA Ventures later explains that platform covered both deep-tech BIF and the separate Bharat Inclusion Fund. Those figures are not presented as equivalent final-close amounts. November 2025 reporting independently describes Fund I as ₹500Cr with 16 companies, reinforcing that this 14-name public directory is a subset. A second fund was being explored in 2023; a current final close has not been verified.
Official approach ↗ · July 2024 cheque interview ↗ · November 2025 Fund I account ↗ · Dated cheque and exit reporting ↗ · SIDBI commitment table ↗02 / Portfolio
Explore by sector
All 14 companies in the official innovation directory. This is a published subset and includes historical holdings, not a claim that all 14 remain active investments. Sister Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund holdings are not added from blended third-party lists. Sector groups are DTT technology groupings.
BioTech 4
Antibody and immunotherapy platforms that help the immune system target cancer, including a first-in-human solid-tumor trial.
Holding source ↗
Personalized intraocular lenses designed to improve vision after cataract surgery, with optics and materials engineered for each patient.
Holding source ↗
Personalized health and longevity programs that use biological measurements and coaching to improve energy, fitness and long-term health.
Holding source ↗
Molecular computing and AI tools for designing diagnostic assays, helping laboratories develop and process biological tests at scale.
Holding source ↗Physical AI 3
Industrial camera AI that flags safety, security, operating and maintenance risks, then routes alerts to site teams.
Holding source ↗
Physical toys and games paired with augmented reality, adding digital learning activities to objects children can hold.
Holding source ↗
Connected home gyms with built-in workout guidance, strength training and performance feedback.
Holding source ↗Others 7
AI-driven security tests that find exposed systems and verify exploitable weaknesses in web applications and APIs.
Holding source ↗
Alternative-data credit underwriting for borrowers with little credit history. Its supplied domain now redirects to a Prefr employment-verification page.
YourStory reports CRED acquired CreditVidya in November 2022 and identifies it as a fund exit. Current supplied domain redirects to Prefr employment verification; linked destination is that exact page.
Holding source ↗
Consumer-research software that analyzes attention and emotion to test products, user experiences and advertising.
Holding source ↗
Business-intelligence software that turns company data into plain-language analysis and reports. Historical fund description retained.
Fund-supplied phrazor.ai now shows unrelated content. External company link withheld; use the official holding record.
Holding source ↗
Software for distributed 4G, 5G and Wi-Fi core networks, plus AI agents for operating enterprise, public and satellite-connected networks.
Holding source ↗
A gaming platform and developer tools, including a Unity co-pilot and live-operations tools for updating and running games.
Holding source ↗
Sales software combining prospect data, contact enrichment and AI-assisted outreach workflows for business sales teams.
Holding source ↗03 / Team & connect
Investment team
Shyam Menon
Co-founder & General Partner
Early-stage deep-tech investing, fund building and global market development.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Ashwin Raguraman
Co-founder & Partner
Deep technology and IP-led companies, from early technical risk to commercial scale.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Som Pal Choudhury
Co-founder & General Partner
Deep tech, AI, connected systems and semiconductor-sector experience.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Snehitha Nukalapati
Investment team
Financial analysis, company valuation and investment research.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Hemendra Mathur
Venture Partner
Early-stage deep-tech investing, agriculture, climate and food-system innovation.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Priyanka Chopra
Venture Partner
Early-stage investing and founder support; also CEO and Managing Partner at IIMA Ventures.
LinkedIn profile ↗Official portraits and LinkedIn profiles checked. Venture partners are labelled separately from the core investment team. The official site still lists Rohan Choukkar and Shivam Satija, but newer direct employer records confirm Arali Ventures and Flourish Ventures respectively, so neither is shown as a current BIF contact. An older alternate-site listing of Bikramjeet Kapany is also excluded after his current Brand Capital role and ended BIF tenure were checked. CFO, support-only and unverified investment-function roles are excluded. Kunal retains the official investment-principal listing, while his current headline is Translation Endeavors.
Official fund website ↗04 / Fund network
Limited partners
Five named BIF launch backers plus two separately labelled platform-level backers. Institutional records and IIMA-hosted coverage support the entries; unnamed family offices and HNIs are not invented as individual LPs.
SIDBI / Fund of Funds for Startups
Public fund-of-funds LP
Current SIDBI table lists ₹100Cr sanctioned against BIF’s ₹500Cr target corpus. Sanction is not a statement of money drawn or paid in.
Investor source ↗ICICI Lombard
Insurer LP, 2018 first-close record
Named by IIMA-hosted July 2018 launch coverage. No amount or later-fund commitment inferred.
Investor source ↗Philips
Corporate LP, 2018 first-close record
Named by IIMA-hosted July 2018 launch coverage. Not an assertion of Fund II participation.
Investor source ↗Bajaj Electricals
Corporate LP, 2018 first-close record
Named by IIMA-hosted July 2018 launch coverage. Exact commitment not disclosed.
Investor source ↗RBL Bank
Bank LP, 2018 first-close record
Named by IIMA-hosted July 2018 launch coverage. No amount inferred.
Investor source ↗SBI Life
Historical platform backing, vehicle not specified
Named in IIMA Ventures’ March 2023 account, which discusses the combined BIF and Bharat Inclusion platform. Specific deep-tech vehicle allocation is not established.
Investor source ↗Federal Bank
Historical platform backing, vehicle not specified
Named in the same IIMA Ventures platform account. Shown with its vehicle-scope limit, not as verified Fund II or a specific BIF-only allocation.
Investor source ↗