Bharat Fund

Kunal Upadhyay is co-founder of Translation Endeavors and co-founder of IIMA Ventures, which he established in 2007. He has led India-focused investment funds and platforms including the Bharat Fund, Infuse, and IIMA Ventures' Seed-fund, with combined assets exceeding $100 million focused on climate-tech, deep-tech, and inclusion-focused early-stage companies. He has also established accelerator and ecosystem platforms supporting entrepreneurs and has advised the Asian Development Bank on early-stage climate investments across emerging Asia.

Sanjay Jain is Director of Digital Public Infrastructure at the Gates Foundation, where he leads initiatives to develop inclusive digital systems in partnership with governments and technical partners. Previously, he held roles at IIMA Ventures and the Bharat Inclusion Initiative focused on digital innovation and inclusion in low- and middle-income countries. His career includes work as Chief Product Manager at the Unique Identification Authority of India on the Aadhaar system, contributions to the design of UPI, involvement with the India Stack through the iSPIRT Foundation, and leadership on Google Map Maker.

Shyam Menon is a co-founder and general partner at Bharat Innovation Fund, bringing over 25 years of experience in technology investing and ecosystem development across the US, Middle East, Europe, and India. He has co-founded multiple venture funds managing over $100 million in assets and previously held positions at the World Bank, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and several venture and industrial firms. His focus areas include deep science, climate technology, and artificial intelligence.

Somshubhro Pal Choudhury is Co-Founder and Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund, a pre-Series A/Series A fund focused on deeptech and IP-driven startups in India. He previously served as Managing Director of Analog Devices India and held roles in product management, marketing, and engineering at companies including NETGEAR and Cadence Design Systems. Choudhury holds an MBA from Wharton and engineering degrees from IIT Kharagpur and North Carolina State University, and serves on multiple boards and advisory committees including the US-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund and India's Ministry of Electronics and IT semiconductor initiatives.

Saras Agarwal is a venture capital and private equity professional with 15 years of experience investing in companies across platforms, financial services, SaaS, e-commerce, deeptech, and sustainability sectors. He previously served as managing partner at Earth Fund and held investment roles at Bharat Fund and VenturEast. Agarwal has held board positions or observer roles at multiple companies including Setu, Kaleidofin, Riskcovry, Manch Technologies, Mymobiforce, Bandhoo, Seclore, and Kissht.

Hemendra Mathur is a venture capital and private equity professional with 29+ years of experience investing across early-stage and growth companies, with prior roles including Venture Partner at a deep-tech fund and Managing Director of a private equity fund focused on food and agribusiness supply chains. Since 2016, he has worked at the intersection of startups, government, and policy, focusing on developing policy frameworks and platforms for scale in rural India across agritech, climate, and food systems. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years in management consulting and investment banking, advising corporations and the Government of India on strategy, M&A, and policy frameworks in the food, agribusiness, and consumer sectors.

Rohan Choukkar is an investment professional at Arali Ventures focused on deep technology and climate technology sectors. He has experience evaluating early-stage companies addressing scientific and engineering challenges, supported by educational training in materials chemistry, energy technology, and finance.

Abhishek Malani is a Christ University graduate working in the founder's office at Dexif and supporting cleantech investments at Bharat Innovation Fund. His experience includes internships at Stanford Angels, Goldman Sachs, INSEAD, and the UN V-Force team, as well as roles as an academic mentor and management festival organizer.