About pi Ventures

 

pi Ventures is a venture capital fund based out of India focused on early-stage DeepTech and AI/ML investments. Our philosophy is to back 10x differentiated companies which solve massive global business problems on the back of disruptive technology. In most cases, this disruption automatically leads to creating impact. We invest in businesses that leverage DeepTech and AI/ML solutions to equip scarce or semi-skilled resources with data-led intelligence. This enables businesses to become more productive and to provide access to a larger audience by increasing the affordability of products and services thus leading to more inclusive economic growth.

 

In late 2021, we published a report on 15 themes that would shape the world, detailing disruptive technology shifts that would take place by 2026. Over the last 6 years, we have made investments in startups across 60% of the themes detailed in the report. These startups have gone on to create disruptive technologies and subsequent impact globally.

 

pi Ventures Fund I has a corpus of ~$30m and is backed by major global LPs such as BII, IFC, and others. Our portfolio includes world-leading technology companies like SigTuple (AI in pathology), Niramai (AI for Early Stage Breast Cancer Detection), Locus (AI in Logistics), Wysa (AI for Mental Health), SwitchOn (Sophisticated AI on edge for Industrial), Agnikul (3D printed rocket engines), Pixis (Marketing automation using AI), Limechat (Conversational chatbot for commerce) among others

 

We are now raising Fund II which is expected to close at $75m - $100m and have deployed funds in 7 DeepTech startups (across areas like antibody discovery, alternative dairy, robotics, cybersecurity etc.) through Fund II.

 

Some of our portfolio companies include the following:

 

  1. Niramai – Early-stage breast cancer screening using AI and thermal imaging
    1. Saves lives through early detection of breast cancer, especially in young women
    2. Portability of the solution enables high-volume screenings in tier 2 / 3 cities and rural areas
    3. Facilitates access to a larger population as the cost is 50% lower than a mammogram
    4. Provides employment to semi-skilled personnel by reducing the need for highly skilled technicians
  2. Wysa – AI-powered mental health platform
    1. Saves lives through timely support and intervention as it is available 24/7
    2. Enables access to therapy for a larger population as AI coach is free and has no physical limitation
    3. Improving economic productivity by addressing mental health challenges in society and companies
    4. Improves the productivity and performance of therapists by reducing workload
  3. Agnikul – 3D printed space rocket engines for small satellites
    1. Internet access to underserved populations by lowering the costs of satellite launch
    2. Increase in GDP and productivity of labor and SMEs by increasing the internet penetration
    3. 3D manufacturing reduces material wastage and improves the industrial productivity
  4. Sigtuple – AI-driven pathology
    1. Facilitates access to a larger set of the population as the cost of the diagnostics test is 1/10th of the regular test
    2. Enables remote pathology for people in underserved areas where pathologist density is very low
    3. Improves the efficiency and accuracy of pathologists and turnaround time for tests
  5. SwitchOn – Industrial automation using edge AI
    1. Improves production and manufacturing quality reducing waste
    2. Improves productivity and reduces cost by preventing downtime
    3. Improves productivity for floor manager and operator
  6. Locus – Automating logistics using AI
    1. Decrease in logistics cos for businesses leads to GDP growth
    2. Delivery agents can earn more as they make more deliveries and serve more people
    3. Reduction in carbon emissions due to lower fuel usage as a result of optimized routes

 

Addendum:

  1. What due diligence does BII undertake prior to making investment decisions and how does this compare with best practice?

BII has a very detailed due diligence process before making investments. They spend time with the team to understand the philosophy of the fund as well the founder(s). Then they also undertake several interviews with our portfolio founders as well as co-investors to make assessments. This is typically followed by formal due diligence on legal, financial and ESG aspects of the fund.

 

  1. How effectively does BII manage funds following its initial investment?

Our partnership with BII has been very fruitful over the last 6 years ever since we started our first fund. They have advised us on all critical aspects of managing the fund. They also have representation on our LP Advisory Committee to oversee the fund operations with a critical eye.

Apart from this, BII has evolved ESG and Business Integrity practices that are useful for us as a fund as well as for our portfolio companies.

In addition, we have received tremendous support from BII through the following:

  1. Grant to relevant portfolio companies. Example: Niramai received a grant to develop and commercialize covid-19 focused products
  2. Forum to engage with other VC funds across geographies like Africa to exchange ideas, example Innovation for Impact conference
  3. Co-investments in relevant companies, example: Wysa
  4. Connects with relevant experts: Example, BII provided help in evaluating the need of transparency in supply chain financing, when we were evaluating a deal in this space
  5. Support in ESG & BI implementation: BII team provided us with a lot of support and handholding through the setting up and execution of relevant criteria and policies

 

  1. How does BII evaluate the impact of its investments?

BII regularly conducts ESG audits with us to measure impact across our portfolio. We publish this report periodically to them covering all aspects.

In addition, we regularly share portfolio data around number of employees, startup presence across the country, female employee headcount etc with BII