Investor Profile: Times Bridge — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Wondering how to get funding from Times Bridge? It is not a conventional venture fund: Times Bridge is the strategic, global investment and partnership arm of The Times Group of India. Its model is to ally with the world's most purposeful companies and use investment plus operating muscle to enable their entry, scale and impact across India. If you are a global category leader eyeing the Indian market, this is the partner that opens doors money alone cannot.

Investment thesis

Times Bridge invests in the world's best ideas and, in doing so, enables purposeful leaders keen on realising their India and global opportunity. As a venture capital, consulting and operations partner, it works with creative, mission-driven entrepreneurs across all sectors who see the Indian market as a microcosm of the world: a market to scale across, monetise in and innovate from. Beyond capital, it supports market strategy, top-talent hiring, alignment with local norms, critical partnerships and navigation of India's complexity.

Sectors and stages

The mandate is deliberately sector-agnostic, spanning consumer internet, media, education, health and wellness, mobility and home services. Rather than spray-and-pray seed bets, Times Bridge takes concentrated positions in category-creating, category-leading companies, typically at growth stages where an India entry or scale-up is the unlock. The parent Times Internet digital platform engages more than 600 million unique users each month, which becomes a distribution superpower for partners.

Fund size and cheque size

Times Bridge has no publicly disclosed fund size, and it does not publish cheque sizes. As the investment arm of The Times Group, founded in 1838 and now South Asia's oldest media company and its largest digital company, it invests off a strategic balance sheet rather than a closed-end fund.

Notable portfolio companies

The portfolio reads like a hall of fame of global consumer brands: Airbnb, Uber, Coursera, Canva, Headspace, Houzz, Smule, Stack Overflow, MUBI, Wattpad, Luminary, Girl Effect and Malaria No More. It has also backed Stocktwits' India expansion alongside its $30 million Series B, partnered Thrive Global for its India launch, and previously worked with Vice, Business Insider and HuffPost.

Key people

Rishi Jaitly was the founding CEO who built the platform. Viral Jani has served as EVP and Country Head for India, and Satyan Gajwani, Vice Chairman of Times Internet, is closely associated with its digital-era strategy.

Programs run

Times Bridge runs the i3 Summit, its annual flagship convening. The first edition featured Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, Sanjeev Bikchandani, founder of Info Edge, and Satyan Gajwani, each sharing lessons on winning in India and scaling global ideas locally.

How to apply for funding

There is no public application route or pitch portal for Times Bridge; partnerships are formed selectively and directly. Founders of global, category-leading companies with a serious India thesis should reach out through the contact channels on timesbridge.com. This is not a fund for early-stage Indian startups seeking a first institutional cheque; it is a strategic partner for companies ready to win India.