Merak Ventures
Venture capitalNew Delhi · Pre-Seed–Series A · 9 people tracked
Investment thesis
Merak Ventures invests in seed-stage B2B and emerging-technology startups tackling meaningful problems with the potential for large-scale impact. It focuses on very early companies at the idea, prototype, or proof-of-concept phase, and is comfortable investing pre-revenue. Typical first cheques range from USD 0.5-1.5 million, with a sweet spot around USD 1 million, and follow-on investment of up to USD 5 million in later rounds. The firm is largely sector-agnostic within B2B and avoids B2C. Its mandate is strictly India-centric, requiring companies to have essential operations or strong ties to India, since it invests only in geographies it understands well.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 9 people
from public directories
What they invest in
from 18 of 28 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×8SaaS ×5Advanced Manufacturing ×4Cleantech ×3Marketing Tech ×3Climate Tech ×2Consumer ×2Data & Infrastructure ×2
HQs:India×8United States×2
Who they back
founder profiles across 12 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×22 founders×83 founders×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 12 founders with career history
Hyperloop India ×2LightSpeedAI Labs ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 28 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathNeoSapien makes Neo 1, an AI-native wearable pendant that records and transcribes conversations and meetings, generates summaries, extracts to-dos and reminders, and stores them as searchable memories accessible through an app and other AI chat tools.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerHardwareBengaluru, IN
Dhananjay Yadav(Co-founder)Aryan Yadav(Co-founder)
Co-investorsAnupam Mittal
4baseCare develops AI-powered precision oncology tools that combine genomic data, clinical history, and real-world evidence to support cancer treatment decisions, molecular tumor board collaboration, biomarker discovery, and clinical trial design.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDigital Health
Hitesh Goswami(CEO)Kshitij Rishi(COO)Puneet Pantane(CDO)
Co-investorsFirst In VenturesMount Judi VenturesSeason Two VenturesYali Capital
AbleCredit provides AI-based credit risk software for lenders' risk teams, generating proprietary risk signals, Vision AI-based in-field fraud detection, and automated post-disbursal Loan Utilisation Checks and Early Warning Signals.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaS
Co-investorsNSRCEL
Atomgrid is a chemical manufacturer and supplier based in India, producing chemicals for industries such as pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, and consumer goods.
Advanced ManufacturingNew Materials
Co-investorsUpsparks Capital
Building a modern defence company in India
Co-investorsCactus Venture PartnersFirst ChequegrowX VenturesInflexor VenturesPavestone
Cell Propulsion develops full-stack technology for electric and autonomous commercial vehicles, including EV powertrains, energy storage systems, fleet management software, and vehicle autonomy.
CleantechMobility & TransportationRoboticsBengaluru, IN
Nakul Kukar(CEO & Co-Founder)inParas Kaushal(COO & Co-Founder)inSupratim Naskar(Chief Technical Officer)in
Co-investorsIIMA VenturesCapital-A
CynLr builds a hardware and software machine-vision platform ("Object Intelligence") that lets robots see, grasp, and orient unknown objects without pre-training, and offers robotic systems such as CyRo, CyNoid, and Mantroid for manufacturing and logistics.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningRobotics
Gokul N A(Founder)in
Co-investorsAnicut CapitalAthera Venture PartnersIIMA VenturesPavestoneRedstart LabsSpeciale Invest
Farmtheory connects restaurants with fresh vegetables from Indian farms that don't meet cosmetic standards for retail sale, establishing a direct supply chain for produce that would otherwise go unsold.
Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainMarketplacesBengaluru, IN
Arpit Agarwal(Founder)inSakshi Agarwal(Founder)in
Co-investorsSupermorpheusY Combinator
IDO Devices designs and manufactures consumer electronics including true wireless stereo earbuds, Bluetooth headsets and neckbands, feature phones, smartphones, WiFi routers, IP cameras, smart speakers, and telematics devices.
Advanced ManufacturingConsumerHardware
Lemnisk offers a composable Customer Data Platform that unifies customer data and uses AI to power real-time segmentation, personalization, and journey orchestration across channels such as email, SMS/RCS, WhatsApp, push notifications, and Google and Meta ads.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureMarketing Tech
Co-investorsAthera Venture Partners
LightSpeed Photonics builds modular optoelectronic processors and optical interconnects aimed at bandwidth-intensive computing workloads.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechMedia & EntertainmentBangalore, IN
Rohin Yelurpati(CEO)inDinesh Natesan(Cofounder)inRohin Kumar
Co-investors500 GlobalEntrepreneur Firstpi Ventures
Co-investorsSprint Vc
Pixxel builds hyperspectral satellite systems and software to monitor Earth's ecosystems, resources, and atmosphere for environmental management and climate action.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningCleantechClimate TechData & InfrastructureDeep TechSpace TechPalo Alto, US
Awais Ahmed(Founder)inKshitij Khandelwal(Founder)in
Co-investorsAditya Birla VenturesAthera Venture PartnersInventus Capital PartnersRadical VenturesSeraphim SpaceTechstars+3 more
Pallavi Shrivastava(Founder)in
Co-investorsCreation Investments Capital ManagementGemba Capital Venture PartnersPeak XV PartnersWhiteboard Capital
Satleo Labs operates a constellation of low Earth orbit microsatellites with onboard edge computing and machine learning to capture high-resolution thermal (MWIR, LWIR, and visible band) imagery and temperature data.
AI & Machine LearningClimate TechSpace TechAhmedabad, IN
Shravan Bhati(Founder)
Co-investorsIIMA Ventures
UNICEL Greens recycles lithium-ion and other batteries using hydrometallurgical and mechanical processes to recover materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, and graphite for reuse in the supply chain.
Circular EconomyCleantechEnergy
Wellthy Therapeutics provides a digital health platform that enables healthcare organizations to develop and deploy patient engagement solutions using a clinically validated front-end and regulatory-compliant backend.
Digital HealthHealthtechSaaS
Co-investorsSaama Capital
Work Advantage offers an AI-powered employee experience platform covering rewards, recognition, incentive compensation management, wellbeing, loyalty programs, sentiment analysis, and employee communities.
Future of WorkHR TechSaaS
Zuddl provides a unified platform for organizing and running webinars and events across virtual, hybrid, and in-person formats.
Enterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Bharath Varma(Founder)inVedha Sayyaparaju(Founder)in
Co-investorsAlpha Wave GlobalQualcomm VenturesY Combinator
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioLemniskacq. by Affle
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesPixxel · newsbytesapp.com · Jul 7, 2026
Atomgrid · entrepreneurindia.com · Jan 15, 2026
Zuddl · salestools.io · Sep 7, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Merak Ventures made?
- Merak Ventures has 28 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
- What stage does Merak Ventures invest at?
- Merak Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Merak Ventures's typical check size?
- Merak Ventures typically writes checks of $500K – $1.5M.
- What sectors does Merak Ventures focus on?
- Merak Ventures focuses on Biotech, Deep Tech, Enterprise Software, Fintech, FoodTech, New Materials, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Merak Ventures located?
- Merak Ventures is headquartered in New Delhi, IN.
- Does Merak Ventures lead rounds?
- Merak Ventures typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Merak Ventures co-invest with?
- Merak Ventures most often shares deals with Athera Venture Partners, IIMA Ventures, Pavestone, among 33 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamManu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures
BioSpectrum India · Manu Rikhye
Co-investors · 22
Techstars is a startup accelerator and early-stage investor that funds ambitious founders and provides capital, mentorship, and access to a global network of investors, operators, and corporate partners.
Qualcomm Ventures is the corporate venture investment arm associated with Qualcomm, backing technology companies from early to growth stage across multiple sectors.
Peak XV Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm that partners with founders from seed through venture and growth stages.
Inventus Capital Partners is an early-stage venture firm that leads seed rounds for Silicon Valley startups and supports them toward Series A milestones.
An early-stage and growth-stage B2B venture capital firm investing across technology, fintech, and healthcare sectors with a founder-centric approach.
GV (Google Ventures) is a venture capital firm that has invested in artificial intelligence and machine learning since its early days, building a global portfolio of more than 100 AI companies across infrastructure, life sciences, and applications.
Uber is a technology company operating multisided platforms that connect consumers with ride services, transit, delivery of food and groceries, and freight shipping across more than 70 countries and 15,000+ cities.
Coatue Management is a technology-focused investment firm that invests in innovation across both public and private markets with responsible risk management.
.jpeg){kind=logo}
B Capital is a global investment firm backing early to late-stage technology innovators across technology, healthcare, and energy & resilience sectors.
Innovation Endeavors is an early-stage venture fund that invests in founders and supports venture creation through pre-team and pre-idea programs. The firm provides portfolio companies with access to mentors, advisors, and an entrepreneur ecosystem.
Ribbit Capital is a venture firm that partners with founders challenging incumbents across areas such as AI, global commerce, infrastructure, wealth management, money movement, identity, data, and energy, with a strong emphasis on brand-building.
Sherpalo Ventures is an early-stage investment and mentorship firm that partners with entrepreneurs to help turn disruptive ideas and defensible technology into successful businesses.
▶10 more co-investors
Coinbase VenturesBlume VenturesStripeVenture Catalysts | India's First Integrated IncubatorLightspeed India PartnersBerkeley Angel NetworkKaedan CapitalFractal Growth PartnersSRI CapitalAudacity Venture Capital
Firms observed investing alongside Merak Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Merak Ventures's recorded portfolio.
Similar investors
DCVC (Data Collective) is a deep tech venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs using computational approaches to solve large-scale real-world problems across many industries.
Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm, backed by a community of founders and operators as LPs, that writes early checks (including pre-seed) into startups across many sectors and geographies.
MPG Fund is an early-stage venture investor backing technology startups.
SeaX Ventures is a globally focused venture capital fund backing early-stage companies developing exponential and deep-tech technologies, with a strategic emphasis on bridging the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
Impera Alfa Alternatywna Spolka Inwestycyjna is a Polish venture capital fund managed by three partners that invests in R&D projects with support from the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) under the BRIdge Alfa programme.