Avaana Capital

Partner with over 15 years of investing experience across venture capital, private equity, and development finance, focusing on agriculture, food systems, biotech, and advanced materials. Previously at Omnivore, Acumen, and the IFC.

Swapna Gupta is an investor and startup advisor with over two decades of experience in venture capital and corporate finance. She has held investment roles at Avaana Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, focusing on deep-tech sectors including semiconductors, defense, mobility, energy, and biotech, and is a member of the Kauffman Fellows program. Her background includes positions at Ernst & Young's investment banking team and Vodafone India, along with an engineering degree from NIT Nagpur and an MBA in finance from FMS Delhi.

Associate Vice President combining investing and entrepreneurial experience. Previously at pi Ventures, Antler Elevate, and Unicorn India Ventures, and founded two startups in mobility and distributed computing.

Kamal Lath is a global CFO with 20+ years of experience scaling and transforming businesses across consumer, climate, fintech, education, and digital media sectors. He has led fundraising exceeding $150 million across multiple forms of capital and has executed finance turnarounds at companies including d.light and K12 Techno Services, where he built financial models, restored investor confidence, and established operational frameworks. A Chartered Accountant and CPA with an MBA from Harvard Business School, Lath has managed P&L responsibilities, capital markets activities, and M&A integrations across operations in India, the United States, and Africa.

Advisor and former civil servant who served nearly four decades in the Indian Police Services, retiring as Director General of Police in Maharashtra. Sits on boards including HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto.

Investment Analyst supporting sourcing, evaluation, and portfolio management across climate-tech sectors. Previously interned at Blume Ventures and worked at JPMorgan Chase and KPMG.

Associate focused on early-stage deep-tech ventures with 8+ years across food tech, bioenergy, and predictive modeling. Holds a PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, where she developed biomass and agro-waste biogas models.

Executive Assistant with 15 years of experience supporting senior leadership at organizations including Microsoft, UTV Media, and Nazara Technologies.

Executive Assistant with over 15 years of experience in executive support, administration, and financial operations, previously with Ashok Piramal Group and Gammon India.

Executive Assistant to the Partner, managing calendars, travel, corporate events, and administrative operations.

Manager supporting the investment team in monitoring and improving portfolio company performance. Previously with Deloitte's M&A Transaction Services team; a Chartered Accountant.

Assistant Manager for finance, operations, and compliance with 10+ years in accounting, treasury, and taxation. Previously at Alpha Alternatives.

Advisor and former Vice Chairman, MD and CEO of Tata Consultancy Services. A Padma Bhushan awardee who advised the Indian Government on the National Skill Development Council.

Four decades of experience across venture capital and entrepreneurship. Co-founded Nexus Venture Partners in 2006 (General Partner until 2021) and earlier co-founded Medusind Solutions and eVentures India.

Leads partnerships and the impact practice at Avaana, driving stakeholder engagement and measuring portfolio impact. Previously worked in private equity, renewable energy, and ESG advisory at Enfinity Global and Kingfish Group.

Aastha Paliwal is a Senior Associate at Avaana Capital. She focuses on early-stage deep-tech venture capital.

Founding Partner investing in technology and innovation-led businesses across energy, advanced materials, mobility, supply chains, and agriculture. Formerly Non-Executive Chairperson of Dena Bank and a Global Partner/Managing Director at TPG Growth PE.

CFO with over 18 years in strategic finance, governance, and compliance. Previously CFO at Avanse Financial Services, with leadership roles at Wadhawan Global Capital and Idea Cellular.

Senior Associate with 8+ years in strategy and investing. Previously a Management Consultant at McKinsey and worked on buy-side public markets teams at Ambit Capital and CRISIL.

Riddhi Vora is a consultant at Boston Consulting Group with an MBA from Columbia Business School. She previously worked as an investment professional at Avaana Capital, an early-stage climate-focused venture fund investing in sustainability and climate technology across energy, mobility, supply chains, and agriculture, and spent time in financial due diligence at Ernst and Young advising private equity firms on BFSI sector transactions. She is a Chartered Accountant with audit experience at PwC and has volunteered with educational and social impact organizations.