Trident Growth Partners (TGP) is a Bengaluru-based growth-stage private equity firm founded in 2024, and one of the fastest-fundraised new firms in India — it secured its SEBI AIF licence in July 2024 and reached a ₹1,000+ Cr first close for its maiden fund within seven to eight months.
The firm is led by three Managing Partners: Atul Gupta and Rajesh Ramaiah, former senior investment professionals at Premji Invest who spent 13 years investing together, and Pravan Malhotra, formerly with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Together they carry a combined 50+ years of investment experience.
The thesis is founder-first growth equity: lead or co-lead Series B, C and D rounds in founder-led, category-defining companies with strong fundamentals, durable business models, strong unit economics and a clear path to profitability — pairing growth capital with operating support. TGP typically takes 8–20% minority stakes with a board seat, and runs a governance pillar that encourages portfolio companies to add independent board members within six to twelve months.
The firm is sector-agnostic but focuses on consumer, financial services, enterprise technology, manufacturing and healthcare. Its maiden fund announced a first close of over ₹1,000 Cr on 22 April 2025, with a ₹2,000 Cr total target via green shoe. Cheque sizes run ₹120–200 Cr per company across a targeted 10–12 companies. Publicly named backers include Claypond Capital (Dr Ranjan Pai's family office), the SIDBI Fund of Funds for Startups, the Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund, SUD Life, Axis Bank, more than 30 startup founders — from Lenskart, PolicyBazaar, Livspace, KreditBee, Amagi and Netcore — plus family offices and GPs of other funds.
The portfolio is already four deep. First investment: Spotdraft, the SaaS contract-lifecycle company — TGP co-led a ~$54–56M Series B with Vertex Growth Singapore in March 2025, contributing about ₹110 Cr. Second: Credit Wise Capital, a Mumbai NBFC in two-wheeler and MSME lending founded by Aalesh Avlani and Gurpreet Singh Sodhi — ₹120 Cr of a ₹200 Cr first institutional round in July 2025. Third: SFO Technologies, the Kochi-based electronics manufacturing services flagship of the NeST Group — TGP led a ₹750+ Cr round alongside Amicus Capital Partners in March 2026. Fourth: Nat Habit, the fresh-Ayurveda D2C personal-care brand founded by Swagatika Das and Gaurav Agarwal — TGP led a ₹142 Cr all-primary Series C in October 2026, investing ₹91 Cr for an 11.44% stake, joined by Bertelsmann India Investments, Mirabilis, Sharrp Ventures, Physis Capital and the Hero Family Office.
No accelerator, fellowship or founder-perks programme is associated with the firm on its site or in press coverage.
Why it matters for founders
For founders approaching Series B or beyond with strong unit economics and a governance-ready cap table, Trident Growth Partners is one of the few new domestic firms writing ₹100 Cr+ lead cheques — with a partner team whose Premji Invest and IFC pedigree is built for exactly this stage. Come with profitability in sight and a boardroom open to independent directors.