Nandan Nilekani steps back from day-to-day GP duties
Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys co-founder who helped shape India’s digital public infrastructure, is stepping down as general partner at Fundamentum Partnership. The move comes as the venture firm he co-founded nearly a decade ago launches its third fund with a $200 million target.
Nilekani won’t disappear entirely. He’ll serve as the new fund’s anchor investor and keep advising the firm and mentoring founders in its portfolio, according to co-founder Sanjeev Aggarwal.
Aggarwal downplayed the change, calling it “just a title thing.” He stressed that Nilekani remains deeply involved. “He is an integral part of our firm. The one thing that he enjoys the most is mentoring the teams that we back, and he will continue to do so in Fund III.”
The 71-year-old didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Who is Nandan Nilekani?
Nilekani is one of India’s most recognizable tech figures. Beyond co-founding Infosys, he led the creation of Aadhaar, the country’s biometric identity system. He’s also been a vocal champion of India’s digital public infrastructure, including UPI, the real-time payments network that hundreds of millions of Indians use daily, and ONDC, an open e-commerce initiative.
He started Fundamentum in 2017 with Aggarwal, who previously built Helion Venture Partners. The firm backs Indian startups at Series B and beyond. Its portfolio includes used-car marketplace Spinny, online pharmacy PharmEasy, audio storytelling app Kuku FM, and AppsForBharat, the company behind the Sri Mandir devotional app.
Fundamentum’s third fund: targets and strategy
Fund III aims to back eight to ten early-stage startups building consumer tech, fintech, and AI products. Initial checks will run around ₹100 crore — roughly $10.5 million each.
The firm hasn’t announced a first close yet, but Aggarwal said it’s already deploying capital. He expects fundraising to wrap up over the next 12 to 18 months.
Nilekani’s commitment to Fund III is his largest-ever to a venture capital fund, Aggarwal said, though he wouldn’t disclose the amount. The fund expects about half its capital from international investors, with the rest coming from Indian institutions, family offices, founders, and the firm’s own partners.
That mix reflects how much India’s VC ecosystem has changed. When Aggarwal helped launch Helion in the mid-2000s, domestic capital was virtually nonexistent.
“When we launched Helion, there was no domestic capital in the country, and all the capital was raised from the U.S.,” he said. “Over the last five years, we are experiencing very strong interest in Indian investors to back venture capital firms […] Now you can build a venture firm with domestic capital.”
Expanded leadership team for Fund III
The reshuffle also broadens Fundamentum’s senior ranks. Alongside Aggarwal, Fund III will be led by:
- Prateek Jain — joined at the firm’s inception in 2017
- Mayank Kachhwaha — fintech investor who came aboard ahead of Fund II
- Sanjay Chaturvedi — finance chief with nearly a decade at the firm
The leadership change follows the departure of general partner Ashish Kumar, who recently launched Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A), an AI-focused fund with Nilekani as anchor investor. Aggarwal stressed F2A is a separate firm with no operational ties to Fundamentum, and Kumar isn’t involved in Fund III.
Where Fundamentum sees India’s AI opportunity
Aggarwal said the firm sees India’s biggest AI opportunity in applications built on existing global models — particularly in financial services, content, and vernacular consumer apps.
That’s a telling stance. It underscores how much of India’s AI ecosystem centers on application-layer startups rather than frontier model development. The contrast with the U.S. and China, where billions have flowed into building AI models, is stark.
Fundamentum has made 17 investments across its first two funds. Aggarwal said the firm has returned about half the capital from its first fund to investors. The second fund is now focused on follow-on investments.
For more on India’s tech investment scene, check out our coverage of Indian startup funding trends and AI startups in India.
