Aarin to span ecosystem worth $500 million

Aarin Capital has so far invested close to $40 mn in various early stage ventures

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Aarin Capital, the venture capital and Fund of Funds started by billionaire Ranjan Pai of the Manipal Group along with Mohandas Pai, who was earlier a board member of Infosys, is set to span a ecosystem of $500 million.

Aarin Capital is also moulding into a structure of a full-fledged family office and will be getting into dealing in derivatives and public markets similar to the family offices of tech czars Azim Premji of Wipro and N R Narayana Murthy of Infosys.

In an exclusive conversation with Business Standard, Deepak Natraj, MD, Aarin Capital, said, they have so far invested in four very key venture capital funds, which are backed by professionals who have stellar backgrounds. "Although seeded by Aarin, the funds will attract outside investors. It is expected that the funds under management will exceed $500 million in three years," Natraj said.

In this effort, Aarin has aligned with people with impressive background including V Balakrishnan, who was a senior board member of Infosys, Neeraj Bhargava who earlier co-founded WNS, besides backing Dave Richards for Unitus Seed Fund among others. Aarin actively partners with other funds that complement its skill-sets and also may be feeders or broaden the ecosystem.

Aarin Capital, which is structured as an evergreen venture capital fund, has so far invested close to $40 million in various early stage ventures in the United States and India besides seeding the four VC funds and will be tipping the $100 million mark within the next two years.  

"There are a whole host of early stage funds in India and I think there may be a bubble building in the space unless it is actively tended. The key differentiator from Aarin is that we are not merely financial investors but also trusted operating partners of our investee companies. Accordingly, we have separate investment and operating teams comprising seasoned, high-quality professionals with a wealth of hands-on operating and investing experience to streamline and maximise the impact and support we can provide to our investee companies," Natraj explained.

Aarin's primary focus is medical technology, life sciences and education leveraging technology to enhance outcomes and has backed early stage companies including Theramyt Novobiologics, Vyome Biosciences, Invictus Oncology, Think & Learn, Insightra Medical, Counsyl, Prazas and CourseMaster.

Natraj further explaining the fund strategy said that they do not take the traditional fund manager approach but have entrepreneurs in the team who have built from scratch, large successful businesses that are creating sustainable value.

"Accordingly our support to people with ideas are more adaptable and sustained that last beyond the initial enthusiasm into lasting value creation," he said.