Participated · Seed · Jul 2026

Mandrake Bio is developing programmable gene-editing enzymes designed from scratch using AI-driven protein design rather than modifying naturally occurring enzymes. Founded by Tanay Lohia and Dr. Kutubuddin Molla, the startup is initially focusing on agricultural applications and plans to target seed companies and therapeutic firms as customers through a licensing-fee business model. The company is pre-revenue, has a team of eight employees, and expects to validate its first enzymes in laboratory conditions within the next two months. Mandrake intends to expand its AI protein-design platform, hire additional AI and wet-lab researchers, and invest in compute infrastructure and wet-lab experimentation with the fresh capital. After initial validation, the company plans to raise a larger round to establish its own laboratory and increase the scale of experiments.

Participated · Series B · Dec 2025

Founded in 2014, Smart Joules offers a suite of products that combine performance-based energy efficiency contracts (JoulePays), cooling-as-a-service (JouleCool) and an AI-driven building management platform (DeJoule). The company follows an efficiency-first model, funding retrofits itself and getting paid from the verified savings it delivers to customers. Its solutions target commercial and industrial facilities such as manufacturing plants, large buildings and district cooling projects across India. To date, Smart Joules claims to have conserved 32.1 crore kWh of electricity, cut 2.4 lakh tonnes of CO₂ emissions and saved clients Rs 266 crore in energy costs. The firm plans to expand its footprint across additional facilities while bolstering its technology, data systems and on-ground execution teams. Looking ahead, Smart Joules is aiming to help customers avoid a cumulative 29 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030. The business has attracted both equity and debt capital to finance these growth initiatives.

Led · Series A · Nov 2025

CrisprBits operates a 7,300-square-foot CRISPR research and prototype development facility in Bengaluru where it has created three core platforms: PathCrisp for molecular diagnostics, EdiCrisp for gene editing and strain engineering, and CurieCrisp for preclinical and rare-disease therapeutics. The company’s immediate focus is scaling commercialisation of PathCrisp tests across human health, food safety and animal health, while also expanding manufacturing capacity. In parallel, it is developing a CRISPR-based strain-engineering system to improve biofuel production processes. Over the next six months, CrisprBits intends to launch its diagnostic products in regions such as Africa and Latin America and further upgrade its manufacturing facility. Founded by Vijay Chandru, Sunil Arora, Rajeev Kohli, Bharat Jobanputra and Aditya Sarda, the firm recently reached a valuation of USD 12 million following its latest funding. Prior capital had been provided by its founders, VJ Technologies Group and C-CAMP.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2025

Cambridge Photon Technology (CPT) is a deep-tech spin-out from the University of Cambridge that has created a drop-in photon-multiplier layer for conventional silicon photovoltaic modules. The material converts each high-energy photon—normally lost as heat—into two infrared photons that silicon can absorb, thereby lifting panel efficiency by as much as 15 % without any redesign of the underlying solar hardware. Because the film can be integrated into standard module assembly lines, it offers a practical path to surpassing silicon’s ~28 % efficiency ceiling. CPT plans to use its recent funding to expand R&D activities in Cambridge, accelerate material testing with global industry partners, and advance toward pilot deployments. The company is targeting a commercial product launch by 2028 and anticipates a larger Series A round ahead of those pilots. To date, CPT has secured a total of £1.556 million in equity and grant funding to support these efforts.

Led · Equity · Aug 2025

BiofuelCircle operates a technology-driven digital marketplace and aggregation infrastructure that enables price discovery, logistics, quality assurance and trade facilitation for biomass and biofuels. The company links a network that spans 10 states, 800 villages, over 170,000 farmers, 1,300+ biomass suppliers and 400+ industrial buyers, and expanded its Biomass Bank network by 50 during FY26. BiofuelCircle positions itself to unlock value from agricultural residue while ensuring dependable biomass availability for industries pursuing cleaner fuels. The business has focused recent capital and operations on building aggregation and logistics capabilities and strengthening working capital to scale deliveries. Financially, it just raised a ₹35 crore bridge round from existing investors and is complementing that with additional working capital financing facilities. The company is preparing for a Series B as it seeks to deepen its role in India's bioenergy ecosystem and support the country's clean energy transition. BiofuelCircle was ranked 8th on LinkedIn's 2024 list of India's Top Startups.