Investor Profile: YourNest Venture Capital — India’s Patient Capital for DeepTech Founders

Most early-stage investors in India chase consumer or SaaS deals. YourNest Venture Capital took the road less travelled: deeptech. Since 2011 it has written pre-Series A cheques for technology-led startups — robotics, quantum computing, AI — with a hands-on style it calls nurture capital.

Investment thesis

YourNest is a dedicated pre-Series A fund house nurturing global market leaders from India. Founded in 2011 by Sunil K Goyal, Sanjay Pande and Girish Shivani, it partners with "Challengineer" founders — challenging engineers building IP-led technology from India for the world. The philosophy: back a handful of deeptech founders early, then invest time as well as capital — mentoring, operational support and follow-on help — through deeptech's long research and development gestation.

Sectors & stages

The firm specialises in patentable deeptech: AI and machine learning, robotics, quantum computing, SpaceTech, energy management, IoT, industrial systems, enterprise software, healthcare tech, mobility and consumer tech. Its sweet spot is pre-Series A — a core IP-backed idea with category potential.

Fund size & cheque size

On record: the YourNest Angel Fund closed at INR 83 crore (2012); the YourNest India VC Fund II closed at INR 215 crore (2017), anchored by the Electronics Development Fund (Government of India); the YourNest Innovative Products VC Fund III closed at INR 504 crore (2022), anchored by NIIF; and the 2026 YourNest Continuum Fund I closed at INR 394 crore — a secondaries vehicle anchored by HDFC AMC Select FOF I. Fund I ranked in Preqin's Top 10 Alternative Assets in India. Initial cheques have historically been INR 2-4 crore, with larger follow-ons for winners; 51 companies backed (over 35 deeptech) and 10 exits averaging at least 5X to 6X.

Notable portfolio companies

Fund I backed conversational-AI leader Uniphore and ARYA.AI. Fund II's bets include CRON AI, Exponent Energy, Orbo, LightSpeed Photonics and Uptime AI. Fund III's cohort includes EtherealX, Miko, Dozee, Thriwe, Opkey, Twid and VTION.

Partners & team

The founding partners — Sunil K Goyal (founder and CEO), Girish Shivani (executive director and fund manager) and Sanjay Pande — combine operator, technology and investment experience. The Gurugram-based team offers hands-on mentoring across product, go-to-market, scaling, governance and follow-on fundraising, extended by a network of founder and industry-veteran advisors.

Programs run

The flagship is the Velocity Accelerator Program, run with SanchiConnect: a 60-day programme offering fast-track funding of US$500K–$1M per startup, with a term sheet within 30 days, for 5–8 early-growth deeptech startups with core IP. It drew 1,282 applications; eight startups — including Induz, LeanWorx, Think Metal, Presage Insights, Superfone and CargoFL — were backed with INR 48 crore plus mentorship and go-to-market support.

Credits & perks

No standalone credits catalogue is published — treat specifics as not publicly disclosed. The closest public reference is Velocity, whose ecosystem partners contribute rewards such as free platform credits.

How to approach them

Pitch via the "Pitch to Us" form on yournest.in. Velocity applications were open to India-incorporated startups with DPIIT certification, building IP-backed deeptech from MVP to early revenues. Expect a multi-stage evaluation — screening, questionnaire, demos, partner interviews and external due diligence — demanding genuine technological edge and defensible IP.