Draft:Mela Ventures
Venture Capital firm based out of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mela Ventures is an Indian venture capital firm headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Founded in 2020 by Krishnakumar Natarajan and Parthasarathy N.S., the firm invests in early-stage business-to-business (B2B) technology startups.[1] It operates as a SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Category II.
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Background
Krishnakumar Natarajan and Parthasarathy N.S. are co-founders of Mindtree, one of India's major IT services companies. After stepping away from Mindtree in 2019 following approximately two decades of leadership there[2], they established Mela Ventures with the goal of backing the next generation of technology entrepreneurs in India.[3]
The name "Mela" is a reference to a traditional Indian gathering or fair; a setting associated with relationship-building rather than mere transactions and reflecting the firm's stated emphasis on long-term partnerships with founders over purely financial engagement.
Investment Strategy
Mela Ventures focuses exclusively on early-stage B2B technology companies, typically investing at the seed, Series A, and Series B stages. The firm makes approximately three to five investments per year. Its sectoral focus spans deep technology[4], artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), semiconductor design, space technology, cloud infrastructure, agritech, and enterprise software.[5]
The firm describes its investment philosophy around three principles it calls the "3Es" — Empathy, Experience, and Expertise; emphasising hands-on mentorship and operational guidance alongside capital. It is backed by institutional investors including SIDBI's Fund of Funds for Startups and Nippon India Digital Innovation AIF[6].
The firm's first fund was $40 million, and Mela invested in 15 companies. Notable investments include satellite imaging startup Galaxeye[7][8], SoC-design startup Mindgrove[9], amog others.