Venkatesh is Managing Director at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors. He has over 20 years of industry experience, including 14 years of venture experience.

Venkatesh has been with Chiratae for over a decade and leads the SaaS / Cloud practice. He has been instrumental in driving several SaaS investments and has over the past three years authored the report on “Indian SaaS Revolution”. Meeting early-stage founders and working closely in their initial journey is what Venkatesh enjoys the most.

Venkatesh has led investments in Deepfence, GetVantage, Healthplix, Hevo Data, Pixis, Questt, Rentomojo, SquadCast and SquadStack and support role in Lenskart. In addition, he has generated exits from investments in Unbxd, Hiree, Hansel.io and Infisecure.

Prior to Chiratae Ventures, Venkatesh has over six years of experience in Venture Capital, Investment Banking and Start-up leadership roles at Reliance Ventures, Credit-Suisse, Adventity and Blue Star Infotech.

Venkatesh is an active CFA charter holder from the CFA institute, USA and holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from VJTI, Mumbai and a Master’s degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS).

Anoop Menon is Principal in the Investment team. He leads the Consumer-Tech sector. He is building the Investor and the Strategic partner network in APAC focused on Singapore, Japan, SEA, Hongkong, Korea and ANZ.

In a career spanning over 18 years across Management Consulting, Family Office VC – leading and managing an early-stage startup portfolio to leading a Media-tech startup as CEO, Anoop has donned multiple hats. Prior to Chiratae, Anoop worked at Accenture Ventures – partnering, investing and acquiring startups with Deep-tech capabilities for its Open Innovation platform in India. He led the organisation’s lone acquisition of a Data-AI startup in India in May 2020. Anoop was responsible for driving Innovation Strategy and Corporate Venturing as a Service for Accenture’s clients and was part of Accenture India’s Investment Committee for its CSR Investments into Social startups. He also conceptualised and launched Accenture’s 2 Centers of Excellence with IISc, Bangalore and IIT-Madras in Advanced Computing and Industry 4.0 respectively.

Taking his interest in early-stage investments forward, he founded the IIM Indore Alumni Angel fund and served on its Fund-1 as an Investment committee member.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from University of Madras and MBA (PGDM) from Indian Institute of Management – Indore.

Investments: PlayShifu, Shopdeck, Tamasha, Railofy, Artium Academy, Oye Rickshaw

Anoop is a foodie and loves playing basketball, badminton and board games.

Amish is a Principal with Chiratae Ventures, leading the Portfolio Growth and Exits. Action oriented, Amish is always on the move. When not interacting and engaging with people he is devoted to his favourite causes.

At Chiratae Amish focuses on developing a network with Investors, Strategic Players and Bankers, to enable growth for the Portfolio in terms of follow-on investments, acquisitions and exits. Amish leads Spotlight – Chiratae Ventures’ flagship platform for enabling discovery and engagement between Portfolio and Investors.

Amish has experience in the consulting and investment banking domain. He started his career with McKinsey & Co. as a Research Analyst. He has over 15 years of experience in the Investment Banking domain with YES Bank and PwC. Experience covers products like M&A, Fund Raise and Capital Markets. At PwC, he established the New Age Digital and TMT vertical for the Corporate Finance and Investment Banking team. Along with deal experience, he brings an extensive network in the ecosystem.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Management from Narsee Monjee College and MBA from IIM Indore.

Amish is actively involved with an NGO, which undertakes Eye Donation and Blood Donation in Mumbai. He has a sweet tooth, and loves spending time with his daughter.

Mandeep Julka is Vice President at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, and leads investing in Seed and Series A deals.

Prior to Chiratae Ventures, Mandeep worked with Ola, where she headed Business Finance for Ola Financial Services, including Digital Lending and Digital Insurance verticals. Before that, she worked in the FinTech investing team at IFC, Washington DC, and at Brightriver Capital, a sector agnostic PE fund, in Singapore. Earlier in her career, she has worked at SBI Capital Markets, Mumbai, where she led fund raising for maritime projects.

Mandeep holds a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical Engineering from PEC, Chandigarh, and has also studied in FMS, Delhi and at the Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago. She is an active CFA charterholder from the CFA institute, USA

Mandeep enjoys reading, travelling, and staying up-to-date with her watchlists.

Kailash is a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures where he focuses on seed stage investment opportunities in early stage tech companies. He supports the team in identifying promising tech ventures, conducting due-diligence and documentation, and post-investment portfolio management and tracking the performance of investee companies.

Prior to joining Chiratae, Kailash was a part of the investment teams at Bharat Innovation Fund, an early stage deeptech focused venture capital fund and Unitus Ventures, an seed stage investor in companies building technology solutions for the masses. He comes with a healthcare management background having started his career and served as the Vice President at the Corporate office of Narayana Health, one of the leading hospital chains in the country.

In 2021, Kailash was recognised as one among the Top Under 40 in the alternative investments space in India by AAAIF and AIWMI.

Kailash has completed his MBA (PGDM) from IIM-Bangalore, holds a bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering from NITK Surathkal and is a CFA Charterholder. Over the years, he has been an active member of Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youth (SPICMACAY). Apart from early stage investments, Carnatic music and Tamarind rice (Puliyogare) with South Indian filter coffee hold special place in his heart.

Chandraneel is a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, where he focuses on evaluating investments in early stage companies. In addition to evaluating new investments, he actively engages in building investment thesis around the sectors and supports the portfolio companies as they grow

Prior to joining Chiratae, Chandraneel worked as an Investment Banking Associate at JP Morgan in the North American Healthcare group, where he was involved on various M&A and equity capital raises

Chandraneel holds a B.E (hons) Electrical and Electronics Engineering degree from BITS Pilani, where he was an elected member of the student council. He has also cleared 2 levels of the CFA program and is currently a Level 3 candidate. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor sport namely badminton and cricket and is a fitness enthusiast

Sarthak has worked in venture investing for over four and a half years with reputed Indian and Global funds, primarily focusing on seed to Series A rounds. His deal-making expertise spans diverse sectors, including Consumer, SaaS, Fintech, and B2B Marketplaces. He has worked closely with founders across fundraising, hiring, and miscellaneous tactical and strategic issues and has been fortunate to see 0-1 playbooks closely as a part of his professional journey. In his previous professional life, Sarthak was an operator, creating and successfully selling Machine Learning Solutions to small businesses.

He holds a BTech degree from IIT Bombay and a PG from Ashoka University, showcasing his strong educational foundation.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Sarthak's interests span the spectrum from music, particularly singing, to watching sports and exploring new culinary experiences.

Naimil is part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, specialising in early-stage investments in SaaS and technology startups. Apart from identifying promising investment opportunities, he dedicates his efforts to supporting portfolio companies and formulating investment theses around sectors.

In his previous roles, he has been an operator and focused on building global-scale products and platforms. Before joining Chiratae Ventures, Naimil served as a Product Manager at Microsoft, contributing to the creation of an employee engagement platform. Before pursuing his MBA, he gained valuable experience working on high-value data platforms and establishing cloud infrastructure for banking and insurance applications at HSBC.

Naimil holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and a B.E. in Computer Science from BITS Pilani (Goa campus). He actively participated in entrepreneurship clubs at both institutions and has been deeply involved with startups and founders for several years.

Beyond his professional endeavours, he finds joy in playing badminton, exploring new musical pursuits, and indulging in non-fiction and poetry reading during his leisure time.

Yash is part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, specialising in Seed to Series B start-ups in B2B and Healthcare space. Apart from identifying promising investment opportunities, he dedicates his effort to supporting portfolio companies and formulating thesis around these sectors. In his previous experience, he was part of the Investment team at Alkemi Growth Capital, an early growth fund focused on Healthcare and Consumer wellness, where he looked at opportunities in these sectors and assisted the fund leadership in fundraising activities. Before Alkemi, He worked as a Management Consultant with PwC India, helping companies across sectors (IT services, Hospitality, Food and Beverages) frame their revenue growth strategy. Before pursuing his MBA, he worked as a consultant with ZS associates, where he helped Fortune 500 pharma companies in long- and short-term financial planning and commercial assessment of M&A opportunities.

Yash holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and a B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from VNIT Nagpur. He is also an active CFA charter holder from the CFA Institute, USA.

In his leisure time, Yash enjoys playing table tennis and badminton and loves dancing.

Thejeswi is a part of the investment team at Chiratae Ventures, where she focuses on early-stage investments in tech startups by building investment theses, conducting diligences and sourcing new companies. Apart from evaluating new investments, she also focuses on actively working with portfolio companies as they build and grow their businesses.

Prior to this, Thejeswi worked at JP Morgan as a Structurer for their EMEA Equity Derivatives desk. As part of the role, she developed structured product solutions for clients such as Banks, Family Offices and HNIs to achieve their investment goals and effectively manage investment risk. She also interned at organizations like MSCI, Deloitte and Halliburton across a variety of sectors.

Thejeswi graduated from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) in 2020 with a B.E. in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Finance. In college she was the Convener of Waves, the annual cultural festival of BITS and an active member of the institute Dance Society, being a trained classical dancer.

Ritu Bansal is Vice President at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, where she leads investor relations and India focused fund-raising through distribution.

Prior to Chiratae, Ritu had rich experience in managing family offices and large investors across multiple regions in India. She headed the B2B business, research and international products at Stockal. Previous to Stockal, she has been a private banker across organizations like Axis Bank, RBS – Coutts, Sanctum Wealth and HDFC Bank across Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore. She is a postgraduate from IISWBM Kolkata. She is an avid photographer, loves gardening and a pet lover.

Amritha heads the legal team at Chiratae Ventures and primarily handles complex portfolio matters, fund formation and documentation for fundraising, commercial agreements and other strategic matters. Amritha considers an efficient and solution-based approach her core professional value and enjoys working towards legally sound solutions that achieve the commercial objective.

She has more than 16 years of post-qualification experience - starting her career as a generalist advising on different areas of law, including corporate transactions, dispute resolution, public policy, intellectual property, real estate, and general corporate advisory before finding her area of interest and specialising in venture and private equity investments, acquisitions, commercial contracts and anti-harassment laws.

As a lawyer specialising in transactions, Amritha advised financial investors, including some of the largest venture capital firms and renowned corporations with their investments in multiple jurisdictions, and businesses and promoters with their fundraising and other regulatory requirements.

Prior to switching to the role of an in-house counsel and joining Chiratae, Amritha worked at leading Indian law firms for about 16 years - spending close to a decade as partner at law firms.

Amritha is a gold medalist with a B.A., LL.B., Law degree from University Law College, Bengaluru.

A fitness buff, her hobbies include travelling to and learning about new places and cultures, trekking the Himalayas and reading.

Abhishek Raj leads the Portfolio Finance function at Chiratae Ventures, joined the firm in 2018 and works with portfolio companies to identify and resolve compliance and governance issues through due diligence and contribute towards fair valuation for financial reporting to investors.

Prior to joining Chiratae, has been associated with Sequoia Capital India, Goldman Sachs and Citi Hedge Fund Services.

Abhishek is a Chartered Accountant with a B.Com (Hons) degree from Banaras Hindu University and is a candidate of CFA Level III.

He is an auto enthusiast and nature traveller.

Raghu leads the whole gamut of administrative responsibilities and guides the activities of the admin team members to provide prompt and efficient services, and ensures 24/7 smooth operations and healthy functioning of the overall facilities. He has been at Chiratae for over 16 years, and nothing escapes his astute purview. He is also the go-to person for all information, events, and activities.

With over 35 years of work experience, he has rich experience in Office Administration, Corporate Communications, Secretarial, Sales and Trading. Prior to joining Chiratae Ventures, Raghu worked for CYIENT (Infotech Enterprises), Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd., SOL Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Hyderabad.

Raghu holds a Master’s Degree in Commerce, Bachelor’s Degree in Law and MBA (HR) from IGNOU, New Delhi.

A deeply spiritual person, he believes that respect has to be earned. He loves movies and acting, and if he weren’t at Chiratae, he would be in the movies.

Vikram serves as the Finance Controller at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors, where he plays a pivotal role in managing fund accounting, investor reporting, financial activities, and ensuring adherence to statutory compliance. He oversees crucial functions such as MIS, financial reporting of entities, and effectively manages audits and tax-related activities at Chiratae Ventures India.

Before joining Chiratae, Vikram was part of KPMG India, where he demonstrated his expertise by conducting statutory audits for a diverse client portfolio. His experience spanned various sectors, including private equity funds, real estate, service companies, manufacturing, and trading companies. Notably, he was involved in engagements requiring reporting compliance under rigorous frameworks such as Ind AS, IGAAP, US GAAP, and IFC.

Vikram is a qualified Chartered Accountant, showcasing his deep understanding of financial management, accounting principles, and regulatory frameworks. He holds a bachelor's degree in Commerce from Kuvempu University.

Outside of his professional commitments, Vikram finds enjoyment in playing cricket during his free time. This hobby not only provides him with a means of relaxation but also reflects his commitment to teamwork, discipline, and maintaining an active lifestyle.

Tanvi Dubey is Manager- Marketing at Chiratae Ventures. She is focused on building and executing the Marketing Strategy of the brand.

She was previously with Sigma Ventures, a VC fund. Tanvi has also worked closely with different ecosystem stakeholders during her time at YourStory. She brings her experience of storytelling, brand positioning, building communities, and leveraging new age media to create value.

Tanvi did her graduation and post-graduation from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.

A pet parent, she is a foodie who can cook and buys books faster than she can read them.

Vineetha is Asst. Manager – Legal at Chiratae Ventures India Advisors.

Before joining Chiratae, she worked at leading Indian law firms such as Samvad Partners and Poovayya & Co., Bangalore. She has advised domestic and international clients throughout her career, including venture capital and private equity funds, startups, MNCs, unicorns, promoters and HNI’s on investment transactions, deal structuring, and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Vineetha is a B.A., LLB (Hons.) graduate from the School of Law, Christ University.

Her interests revolve around cooking, gardening, home décor and travelling.