Speciale Invest Continuity Fund I

Vishesh Rajaram is the Founding Partner at Speciale Invest and the torchbearer of our deeptech mission. With over two decades of experience across finance, entrepreneurship, and venture capital, he has become one of the most visible champions of India's spacetech, semiconductor, robotics, and climate tech ecosystems. A Chartered Accountant with an MBA from ISB, Vishesh's journey reflects conviction and craft: from corporate banking at ICICI, to leading his family's pharma business to a successful exit, to honing his venture skills at Ventureast, one of India's earliest VC funds. In 2017, he co-founded Speciale Invest with a bold belief that India's future will be defined by frontier technologies, and that founders building IP-led innovation deserve patient, conviction-driven capital. At Speciale, Vishesh is more than an investor. He is a strategic partner and ecosystem builder, working with founders from seed to scale. His philosophy is rooted in first-principles thinking and contrarian insight, enabling him to back ideas long before they become mainstream. He brings not just capital but sharp strategy, global networks, and a relentless commitment to helping founders transform breakthrough science into enduring companies. Curious, collaborative, and future-focused, Vishesh thrives on engaging with entrepreneurs who challenge the status quo, and making sure that technologies of tomorrow are born, built, and scaled from India.

Arjun Rao is a tech entrepreneur turned venture investor who bridges product-building grit with deeptech investing conviction. With over 15 years of experience building engineering-first teams and scaling startups, Arjun brings a rare blend of product, technology, and growth expertise to Speciale Invest. He co-founded Travelyaari, where he scaled the company to $40M in revenues and raised $12M across seed to Series B, while leading product, technology, and fundraising. Before that, he held product roles at Yahoo! and GoIbibo and also founded an edtech startup, giving him firsthand experience of the founder's journey from zero to scale. Today, as General Partner at Speciale Invest, Arjun backs pioneering deeptech ventures in AI led Software, space, semiconductors, robotics, and climate tech, helping shape India's next wave of IP-led innovation. His background in strategy, fundraising, and product execution enables him to partner with founders not just as an investor, but as a builder who understands the trenches of entrepreneurship. Arjun holds a B.E. from NIT Surathkal and an MBA from ISB. Beyond work, he's passionate about football and brings the same team-first, strategy-driven mindset from the field into his approach with founders. At Speciale, Arjun embodies our mission: to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with visionary founders, fueling India's deeptech revolution with patient capital, sharp strategy, and entrepreneurial empathy.

Vijay brings nearly two decades of investment expertise spanning private equity, venture capital, and listed equities. Since joining Speciale Invest in 2022, he has been instrumental in building our presence in Singapore and engaging with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Alongside his role with us, he actively manages his own portfolio and runs a tech venture in the fast-growing e-commerce space, blending investor insight with entrepreneurial execution. Before Speciale, Vijay spent eight years as a founding member of NewQuest Capital (now part of TPG as TPG NewQuest), where he helped shape the firm's growth across Hong Kong and India. His earlier career includes pivotal roles with Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Asia private equity team in Hong Kong and with Actis in Bangalore and Mumbai, giving him a front-row seat to the evolution of emerging markets investing. Over the years, Vijay has worked across the full investment lifecycle, from sourcing and structuring deals to guiding portfolio companies through growth and successful exits. At NewQuest, he led investments across India and Southeast Asia in sectors ranging from financial services and manufacturing to technology, business services, and consumer goods. Beyond capital, he has been a trusted partner for founders and management teams, shaping board-level strategy and driving operational milestones around growth, professionalisation, and long-term value creation. An engineer by training from IIT Madras and a management graduate from IIM Bangalore, Vijay combines analytical rigour with a deep understanding of markets, making him a seasoned investor and mentor who thrives at the intersection of strategy, execution, and innovation.

Krishnaswamy Srinivasan is the General Partner & Chief Financial Officer at Speciale Invest, where he anchors the firm's financial architecture and operational backbone. With close to two decades of experience as a Chartered Accountant, he has steered organizations through capital raises, global expansions, and complex compliance landscapes with precision and foresight. His expertise spans capital structuring, due diligence oversight, IND-AS transitions, and financial process optimisation, enabling businesses to scale with resilience and discipline. Known for his practical, solution-driven approach, Krishnaswamy has consistently delivered sustainable growth while fostering trust across stakeholders. At Speciale, he ensures that the firm's bold bets on deeptech are supported by robust governance, transparent reporting, and operational excellence, creating confidence for both investors and founders. His leadership strengthens the platform team's mission of building enduring systems that allow innovation to thrive. Beyond the numbers, Krishnaswamy finds balance in books and enjoys the company of his pets, reflecting the same calm, steady presence he brings to his professional role.

Dr. Mridula Menon is part of Speciale Invest's Platform Team, where she bridges global capital with frontier founders and ecosystem partners. With over a decade of experience in banking, wealth management, and venture capital, she brings a rare combination of financial acumen, research-driven insight, and operational rigour to the firm's deeptech mission. Before joining Speciale, she advised HNI and UHNI clients at leading institutions, including HDFC Bank, Citibank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Doha Bank, building deep expertise in relationship management, strategy, and financial advisory. With advanced degrees in economics and finance, she also holds a PhD in AI & Finance, giving her a unique lens on how technology is reshaping financial systems and capital flows. At Speciale, Mridula leads investor relations, fund operations, and corporate strategy, ensuring long-term trust with LPs while creating the connective tissue between investors, founders, and the wider ecosystem. She translates complex ideas into clarity, aligning stakeholders around a shared vision of building enduring, IP-led companies. Outside of work, she is passionate about fintech research, reading, and travel, always seeking new perspectives that enrich her role as a platform builder and ecosystem bridge.

Vishnu Rajeev is the Investment Partner at Speciale Invest, where he leads deeptech and climate-tech investments across mobility, energy, semiconductors, biosciences, and advanced manufacturing. With over a decade of experience spanning venture capital, consulting, and policy research, he brings both global perspective and local conviction to backing founders building transformative, IP-led companies. Vishnu has held leadership roles at Micelio Fund, one of India's earliest climate-focused funds, and Axilor Ventures, and has worked with organizations such as Clean Energy Ventures, Deloitte, CEEW, and FSG on research, policy, and strategy. He is also the Co-founder of Climate Tech for India, the country's largest community of climate founders and investors, amplifying his role as a thought leader shaping India's deeptech and sustainability narrative. A graduate of IIT Kharagpur in Economics and the Harvard Kennedy School (MPA), Vishnu partners closely with founders on end-to-end investments, strategy, and fundraising, while actively contributing to the broader discourse on how India can emerge as a global hub for frontier innovation. Outside of work, he enjoys writing, community building, and exploring the evolving intersections of technology, policy, and sustainability.

Sunil Cavale is an Investment Principal at Speciale Invest, where he focuses on deeptech and climate-tech ventures at the intersection of design, biology, and engineering. His journey blends the analytical rigor of a mechanical engineer with the empathy and perspective of a literature scholar, giving him a rare ability to break down complex problems while staying grounded and human-centered. Sunil began his career at Toyota Kirloskar Motor in procurement and supply chain before moving into the startup world with RayIoT Solutions, where he helped scale AI-IoT enabled hardware products in medtech. This mix of global manufacturing discipline and early-stage startup execution now informs his work with founders building transformative technologies. At Speciale, Sunil brings a hands-on approach to investing, combining engineering depth, operational experience, and product sensibility to partner with entrepreneurs tackling frontier challenges. He is particularly drawn to innovations that mimic nature's efficiency and advance a future where humans and technology coexist sustainably. Sunil holds a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from BMS College of Engineering and an M.A. in English Literature from IGNOU, reflecting his dual passion for science and the humanities. Outside of work, he enjoys strong filter coffee, cinema, and exploring Indian music, philosophy, and the science behind everyday systems.