Backing Breakthrough Innovations From India
Bharat Innovation Fund (BIF, IN/AIF1/16-17/0282) is a SEBI-registered Category I Venture Capital Fund (registered November 2016) managed by CIIE Advisors Private Limited — the asset management arm of CIIE.CO (Innovation Continuum) at IIM Ahmedabad. Launched in 2018 with a USD 100 million corpus, BIF is India's first and largest early-stage deep-tech and IP-driven venture capital fund. It is a public-private-academia partnership co-created with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, DPIIT, DST, and Tata Trusts. The fund was fully closed at USD 100 million with commitments from institutional investors including SIDBI, ICICI Lombard, SBI Life, RBL Bank, Federal Bank, Philips, and Bajaj Electricals, alongside global entrepreneurs, family offices, and HNIs. BIF has deployed capital across 14 investments including FireCompass, CreditVidya, Detect Technologies, Entropik Tech, PlayShifu, vPhrase, Zumotor, Nayam Innovations, A5G Networks, Human Edge, Terra, Algorithmic Biologics, Portl, and Clodura — spanning cybersecurity, fintech, IIoT, emotion AI, edtech, spacetech, biotech, and advanced manufacturing. BIF is incubated at IIMA Ventures and operates as an autonomous initiative guided by its Board and Investment Team, with offices in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.
Kunal Upadhyay
Managing Partner & CEO, CIIE.CO
Kunal Upadhyay is the founding Managing Partner of Bharat Innovation Fund and CEO of CIIE.CO. He founded CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad in 2005 and co-founded Infuse Ventures (cleantech VC) in 2013 before launching BIF in 2018. He is the driving strategic force behind CIIE.CO's entire fund platform including BIF, Bharat Inclusion Seed Fund, and Infuse Ventures.
Shyam Menon
Partner
Shyam Menon is a co-founder and Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund. He co-founded Infuse Ventures (cleantech VC) with Kunal Upadhyay in 2013 and exited in 2017 before co-founding BIF.
Ashwin Raguraman
Partner
Ashwin Raguraman is a co-founder and Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund. He previously set up India Innovation Fund (a deep-tech micro-VC) in 2010 and served as its COO, exiting successfully in 2017 before joining BIF.
Som Pal Choudhury
Partner
Som Pal Choudhury is a Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund. He was formerly Managing Director of Analog Devices, India, bringing deep expertise in semiconductors, hardware, and advanced technology sectors.
Rohan Choukkar
Investment Principal
Rohan Choukkar is an Investment Principal at Bharat Innovation Fund, listed under the Investment Principals team on the BIF website.
Shivam Satija
Investment Principal
Shivam Satija is a member of the Investment Principals team at Bharat Innovation Fund.
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Snehitha Nukalapati
Investment Principal
Snehitha Nukalapati is a member of the Investment Principals team at Bharat Innovation Fund.
Hemendra Mathur
Venture Partner
Hemendra Mathur is a Venture Partner at Bharat Innovation Fund, listed under the Venture Partners & Support Team section of the BIF website.
Priyanka Chopra
Chief Operating Officer, CIIE.CO
Priyanka Agarwal Chopra is the COO of CIIE.CO and is closely involved in the Bharat Inclusion Initiative. She oversees operations across the CIIE.CO platform.
Sanea Vakaliya
Head – Finance, Legal & Compliance, CIIE Initiatives
Sanea Vakaliya leads finance, legal, and compliance functions at CIIE Initiatives (the not-for-profit entity under CIIE.CO). She is a Company Secretary by qualification and has extensive experience working with CIIE's portfolio of funds and operations.
Vipul Patel
Venture Partner / Support Team
Vipul Patel is listed under the Venture Partners & Support Team section on the BIF website.
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