Manish Kheterpal
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Fund strategy and early-stage investments. Personal current role from June 2016.
LinkedIn profile ↗India / Direct investor
Early-stage capital for India-centric founders.
A mixed technology portfolio, including robotics and insect biotechnology.
Connect NowFirst cheque · personal current disclosure$1-3 million
Fund II · November 2021 close$150 million
Entry stageSeed to Series A
Public relationships below34 identities + 2 unresolved
01 / The fund
Patient early-stage capital, not a deeptech-only fund
WaterBridge invests in India-centric founders and the US-India corridor. Its current themes include AI and deeptech, IP-led manufacturing and distribution, and digital economy and infrastructure. Posha's cooking robot and Loopworm's insect biotechnology establish the relevant engineering and science exposure; the much larger software, consumer, commerce and financial-services portfolio is retained rather than recategorised as deeptech.
The current manager site describes $200 million of patient capital, two funds and 70% reserved for follow-ons. These are manager headline claims, not a verified fresh fund close. Sapna Goyal's current personal investment description gives $1-3 million seed and Series A cheques, with follow-ons through Series C. The dated November 2021 Fund II close was $150 million and then quoted $500,000-3 million initial cheques. Historical reporting put Fund I at $30 million. Current fundraising or investible dry powder is not inferred from those old closes.
The manager's AIF register lists WaterBridge Ventures I (IN/AIF2/16-17/0244), WaterBridge Ventures II Trust (IN/AIF2/18-19/0651), WaterBridge Alpha Trust (IN/AIF2/21-22/0983) and WaterBridge Ventures III Trust (IN/AIF2/23-24/1302), all Category II. A registered vehicle is not proof of a completed raise, and the current two-fund headline is not silently rewritten to three closed funds.
Manager mandate and history ↗ · Legal fund register ↗02 / Portfolio
Explore by sector
34 public relationship identities: all 25 named manager cards plus nine off-grid historical or personally disclosed relationships. The current manager headline says 36 investments and five exits; its named grid contains 18 active, five exited and two with no specified status. The nine off-grid additions have individual evidence notes and are not all asserted to be current holdings. The two further database names below remain unresolved, not counted as verified company cards.
Posha is Physical AI and Loopworm is BioTech. Software, advertising AI, legal AI, fintech, education, pharmacies, consumer services and commerce stay in Others. No holding is placed in Quantum, Semiconductors, Space Tech or Energy & Materials merely because a team member has invested in those sectors elsewhere. Own sites were inspected on 2 November 2026; unavailable, parked or repurposed domains use qualified evidence destinations instead. Seven historical cards use clearly labelled name tiles where an authentic current mark could not be obtained.
Physical AI 1
Countertop cooking robot using computer vision and automated ingredient handling to prepare meals. Formerly Nymble; one robotics investment, classified Physical AI.
Holding source ↗BioTech 1
Insect biotechnology converting organic inputs into insect proteins, oils and biomolecules for animal nutrition and other applications. BioTech, not merely a consumer-food marketplace.
Holding source ↗Others 32
Online poker and skill-gaming platform. Manager lists an exit; its old company domain could not be reached.
Original company website unavailable or unconfirmed. Link opens the manager’s portfolio record, not a replacement business.
Holding source ↗
Advertising monetisation software for app and web publishers, using AI to improve yield and reduce latency. Applied AI software, not Physical AI.
Holding source ↗
Enterprise metadata, data catalogue and governance software, providing context for data and AI systems. SocialCops history is not counted as a second investment.
Holding source ↗
Fairside Stories role-playing games that teach children social and emotional skills. The live site retains the Fairside Stories identity.
Holding source ↗
Business-to-business marketplace and supply-chain software connecting apparel and footwear manufacturers with retailers.
Holding source ↗
Business insurance distribution and policy-management platform for Indian companies.
Holding source ↗
Used-car inspections, pricing and dealer auctions. Acquired by Shriram Automall in 2020 according to the manager; old company destination not confirmed.
Original company website unavailable or unconfirmed. Link opens the manager’s portfolio record, not a replacement business.
Holding source ↗
Recruitment marketplace and AI-assisted hiring software for employers and recruitment agencies.
Holding source ↗
Bus ticketing, travel passes, payments and transit-tracking services. A mobility service, not a robotics holding.
Holding source ↗
Online grocery, household goods and fashion shopping for Indian consumers.
Holding source ↗
Retail pricing, assortment and digital-shelf analytics software. Enterprise software, not semiconductor hardware.
Holding source ↗
Education app and website for solving mathematics and science questions. Manager identifies an exited holding; acquisition does not imply a current stake.
Holding source ↗
Live social entertainment, video and creator platform, also presented as elo.tv in financing records. One company identity.
Holding source ↗
Home furnishings and decor sourcing platform. The manager names the current FableRoom brand; its team history also refers to Trampoline and TwentySixDecor.
Holding source ↗
Distribution and procurement platform for retailers and consumer brands, including order and supply-chain tools.
Holding source ↗
Legal research and case-law intelligence software for Indian lawyers and legal teams. Legal AI remains Others.
Holding source ↗
Healthcare financing and medical-treatment discovery platform in the historical manager grid. Current holding status is not specified and its old domain could not be reached.
Original company website unavailable or unconfirmed. Link opens the manager’s portfolio record, not a replacement business.
Holding source ↗
Local-commerce discovery, offers and delivery platform for merchants and consumers.
Holding source ↗
Canadian digital pharmacy offering prescriptions, medication packaging, pharmacist support and delivery. Healthcare delivery service remains Others, not drug discovery.
Holding source ↗
Online education and exam-preparation platform. Manager marks its investment exited; the active education business is not evidence of an ongoing fund position.
Holding source ↗
Gold-backed lending and doorstep loan services, focused on rural and underserved borrowers.
Holding source ↗
Financial-services distribution and credit-building platform. Formerly OneCode; not counted twice.
Holding source ↗
Small-business lending platform. Manager marks the investment exited; current original website could not be reached.
Original company website unavailable or unconfirmed. Link opens the manager’s portfolio record, not a replacement business.
Holding source ↗
Live online learning and creator-led courses. Named in the manager’s Fast Forward history, outside its current 25-card grid.
Original bitclass.live now shows unrelated link-directory content. Manager history is linked instead; no current operation or exit is inferred. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗
Online tuition and learning programmes for schoolchildren. Current own site and Physics Wallah present PW CuriousJr; a current fund stake is not inferred.
Manager Fast Forward history; outside current grid.
Holding source ↗
Youth payments and financial-literacy app. Its own site says the prepaid programme is closed and balances move to Livquik.
Historical investment announced by the manager in January 2022. Programme closure is not an independently verified fund exit. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗
Legal-services marketplace matching individuals and businesses with lawyers and managing legal work.
Manager investment essay dated February 2020; outside current grid. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗
Customer-feedback and online-review automation software for local businesses.
Historical investment reported in July 2019. Original famems.com now shows unrelated gambling content; original company release is linked instead. Database closure status is not treated as manager-confirmed. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗
Healthcare-delivery network connecting patients, pharmacies and doctors through Aayu and digital chemist services. Software and healthcare delivery, not a drug platform.
August 2018 round names WaterBridge. Database reports a 2025 exit but no manager exit confirmation was found.
Holding source ↗
Spiritual knowledge, meditation, yoga and wellbeing content app, not a biological treatment business.
Company announced a WaterBridge-led seed round in June 2022; outside current grid. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗
App-based discovery and shopping for direct-to-consumer brands, founded by Jaydip Biniwale and Abhishek Doshi.
Database-sourced investment, supported by manager founder podcast identity. Old thedowntown.club is parked; link opens the manager podcast listing, not a live shop. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗
Insurance-claim processing, hospital discharge support and cashless-claim financing software. Healthcare workflow and financing, not drug discovery.
Named in current investment professional Kartik Mehta’s personal portfolio and corroborated by CB Insights; not in the current manager grid. Name label, not an original logo.
Holding source ↗Unresolved historical names
PitchBook's exit table separately names Aequm (September 2025) and Yo Hindi (April 2023). No adequate manager or company record was found to bind Yo Hindi to a specific product or current domain. Aequm records conflict between the 99RetailStreet retail platform and an ERP automation business at aequmindia.com. They are preserved as unresolved database leads, without guessed logos, company destinations, sectors or assertions of fund ownership. They are not used to claim a fully reconciled 36-company portfolio.
Database history record ↗Prior and personal track record
Manish's earlier global private-market investments and the team's work at other firms are not added as WaterBridge holdings. Posha/Nymble, ZET/OneCode, FableRoom/Trampoline/TwentySixDecor and Atlan/SocialCops history are deduplicated. DcodeAI was investigated but no WaterBridge relationship was established, so it is excluded. Former staff on older pages do not become current contacts.
03 / Team & connect
Investment team
Ashish Jain
Co-Founder & Partner
Personally confirms early-stage tech investing; also leads fund operations, finance, compliance and portfolio governance. Portrait from the official manager only: personal profile has no main photo for a visual match.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Anjali Sosale
Partner
Consumer and fintech investments, including digital inclusion and commerce. Personal current role from January 2020.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Kartik Mehta
Principal · Investments
Investment selection, manufacturing, medtech and materials themes. Personal current investment role from January 2022.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Raj Nayan Datta
Investment Professional
Early-stage investments and portfolio work. Personal current role from August 2023.
LinkedIn profile ↗
Sapna Goyal
Principal · Investments
AI and deeptech investments, $1-3 million seed/Series A entry with follow-ons. Personal current role from October 2023.
LinkedIn profile ↗Six current investment contacts checked against their own personal experience on 2 November 2026. Five official portraits visually matched personal photos; Ashish has no main portrait on his personal profile, so his image is official-manager-only and explicitly qualified. Fund-operations-only contacts Abhishek Jha, Anubha Jaiswal and Karan Kapoor are excluded. Ashish is retained because his personal role confirms investing alongside his operational responsibilities.
Official team and contact route ↗04 / Fund network
Limited partners
SIDBI Fund of Funds for Startups ↗
Institutional commitment register
SIDBI's current official register lists ₹25 crore sanctioned to WaterBridge Ventures I Trust and ₹110 crore sanctioned to WaterBridge Ventures II Trust. These are sanctions, not a statement of amounts disbursed or remaining. No individual's portrait is substituted for an institution.
Database-only LP records
PitchBook names PDS Ventures and Surat Trade and Mercantile as Fund II limited partners, dated 22 November 2021. Their primary commitment evidence was not established in this review, so they are disclosed as database-sourced records only, not confirmed LP cards or inferred individuals. No guessed company or personal profile is linked.
Database Fund II record ↗November 2021 reporting describes an unnamed Asian fund of funds and Middle East sovereign family office. It also refers to unnamed executives of BigBasket, EXL, IndiaMART, RateGain and Teleperformance, and senior partners of KKR, GIC, TCV, Providence and Vitruvian. Those employers are not themselves established LPs. No person is invented from an affiliation.
Publicly verified and separately qualified as of 2 November 2026. No complete LP register is claimed.