Bharat Seed Fund — Bharat Fund | Wisefolio

Bharat Seed Fund

Cat I · Managed by Bharat Fund

Building Companies of Consequence

SEBI-encouraged funds — venture capital, SME, social-impact and infrastructure. Close-ended, generally unleveraged.

Overview

About

Bharat Seed Fund (IN/AIF1/22-23/1163) is a SEBI-registered Category I Alternative Investment Fund registered in November 2022 and managed by CIIE Advisors Private Limited — the investment management arm of CIIE.CO at IIM Ahmedabad. It is a sibling fund to the Bharat Innovation Fund (deep-tech, 2018) and the Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund (fintech inclusion), both also managed by CIIE Advisors. CIIE.CO, incubated at IIMA Ventures, is a leading innovation and entrepreneurship platform that has backed over 14 deep-tech and inclusion-focused startups across healthcare, agri-tech, fintech, edtech, and advanced manufacturing. Bharat Seed Fund extends the CIIE.CO platform's commitment to providing patient early-stage capital to transformative Indian startups. The fund operates autonomously under its own Board and Investment Team, with no government or IIM Ahmedabad control, and is headquartered at the IIMA Ventures Building, IIMA New Campus, Ahmedabad.

Investment philosophy

Consistent with the broader CIIE.CO philosophy, Bharat Seed Fund deploys patient 'valley-of-death' capital at the idea, seed, or pre-Series A stage — the financing gap that most institutional investors avoid. The fund backs fearless entrepreneurs building tech-led companies of consequence from India for the world, combining early-stage capital with deep operational hand-holding, global network access, and strategic guidance to de-risk breakthrough ideas into scalable businesses.

Team2

Kunal Upadhyay

Managing Partner & CEO, CIIE.CO

Kunal Upadhyay is the founding Managing Partner and CEO of CIIE.CO. He founded CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad in 2005 and co-founded Infuse Ventures before launching the Bharat fund platform.

Sanea Vakaliya

Head – Finance, Legal & Compliance, CIIE Initiatives

Sanea Vakaliya is the SEBI-registered contact person for Bharat Seed Fund and leads finance, legal, and compliance functions at CIIE Initiatives. She is a Company Secretary by qualification.

Registration

SEBI registration

SEBI-registered

SEBI registration no.IN/AIF1/22-23/1163

RegisteredNov 2022 (4 years ago)

Valid untilPerpetual

Contact personSanea Vakaliya

AddressCIIE.CO Building IIMA New Campus Vastrapur Ahmedabad 380015, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380015

Investment manager

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Disclaimer

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