pi Ventures

Her name is Malavika Hegde. In July 2019, her husband VG Siddhartha walked onto a bridge near Mangalore and told his driver he would be back shortly. He never came back. Siddhartha had built Cafe Coffee Day into India’s largest coffee chain. 1700 cafes. 25000 employees. He had also buried the company under Rs 7214 crore of debt. The board panicked. Analysts wrote CCD off. Nobody had accounted for Malavika. She was an engineer. A mother of two. She had never run a company in her life. Her father SM Krishna was a former Chief Minister of Karnataka. She could have lived in that shadow comfortably. She chose the debt instead. In December 2020, she took over as CEO. In the middle of a pandemic. Her first act was a personal letter to all 25000 employees. She wrote the CCD story is worth preserving. I will fight for this brand. Then she got to work. She called every lender personally and renegotiated terms. She sold Global Village Tech Park to Blackstone. She closed every loss making outlet. She exported premium Arabica beans from her own 20000 acre farm to international markets to generate fresh revenue. She never raised the price of a single cup of coffee. By 2021, the debt was down to Rs 1731 crore. By 2023, it was Rs 465 crore. A 93 percent reduction in four years. Today, CCD runs 423 cafes and 55733 vending machines across India. Netflix is developing a web series on her life. Business schools are teaching her turnaround as a case study. She had no playbook. She had no mentor. She had grief and 25000 people depending on her. That was enough. Follow for real stories India never makes headlines about.

In this month alone, we as a species have flown behind the moon, landed rocket parts, and turned off a sub system of a human made object that’s still working even though it is one light day away. I am maxing out on FOMO.

Repeatability in performance is what differentiates a working prototype from a working subsystem. Humbled to share a video of the repeatability test performed on our single piece, fully 3d printed, semicryogenic, 1 meter long Agnite engine. Seeing the pressure and temperature plots from the previous test match the same plots from the next test gives amazing confidence to proceed towards stage level testing. With steady progress on clustering electric motor driven engines, single piece engines at larger thrust levels and rapid additive manufacturing, we are getting ever so close to flying these engines on our operational launch vehicles. Thanks to @isro & @INSPACeIND for their constant support and guidance. Of course, none of this is even possible without the help of the entire @iitmadras ecosystem. @iitmadras @iitmrp @IITMIC @ANRFIndia @IndiaDST @tdbgoi @TIDCO_1965 @Guidance_TN @StartupTN @startupindia @startup_mission @srinathr155 @moin_spm @satchakra_iitm #agnibaan #agnite #singlepiecerocketEngine #3dprintedrocketengines #madeinIndiafortheworld #designedInIndiaFortheWorld #Agnikul

Ahmedabad-based #OrbittSpace is developing indigenous Plasma Thrusters for Ultra-Low Earth Orbit (ULEO) satellites.

Humbled to announce the successful firing of our single piece Agnite engine. Agnite engines power Agnibaan’s booster stage. These engine chambers are a full meter long, fully 3d printed as a single piece of hardware and made of Inconel. Agnite engines are driven by pumps that are controlled and operated by electric motors. Thanks to @isro & @INSPACeIND for their constant support and to @iitmadras for being our home turf from which this kind of technology is built. This Agnite engine was printed, depowdered and post processed in the same machines that we inaugurated as a part of our Large Format Additive Metal Manufacturing facility (LFAMM) towards the end of last year. This milestone is also significant for us because it completes one end-to-end cycle of design, manufacturing, assembly and testing of our larger engines, in-house. Amazing work by the team in pulling off a few world firsts here. - world’s first single piece engine of this size being fired - world’s largest inconel only engine - world’s only electric motor fed, semi cryo engine of this size and the list continues. However, this is not a race to be the world's first, it is a race to be the world's best & to be the world's most useful technology for launching small satellites to orbit. This comes right after firing a cluster of 3 semi cryogenic engines that happened last month. Honoured to be working with a team that truly believes in building world class, original space technology for the world, from India. @srinathr155 @moin_spm @satchakra_iitm @iitmadras @iitmrp @IITMIC @tdbgoi @IndiaDST @ANRFIndia @TIDCO_1965 @startupindia @TheStartupTN @Guidance_TN @startup_mission @isro @INSPACeIND #agnibaan #agnite #singlepiecerocketEngine #3dprintedrocketengines #madeinIndiafortheworld #designedInIndiaFortheWorld #Agnikul

Bengaluru-based startup, Pranos Fusion, has developed a tiny tokamak device with a radius of just 40 cm. It has called it PRAGYA. It is India’s 1st privately developed tokamak & also the smallest. PRAGYA is essentially a test bed designed as a precursor to a larger tokamak

Love the founder insight vid on MoonRider @piventures — real hardware + deep tech impact in agritech! Similar execution vibe at @ai7bio: NVIDIA Inception-backed AI pipeline validated ovarian cancer targets, learning AI regulating tumor survival, AI + humanoid pharma factories → hospitals. Raising pre-seed — thoughts on AI-biotech parallels?

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 2026 🚀 🛰️ Stoked to share that Operators Studio has participated in the $2M pre-seed round of @AuleSpace, led by @piventures. Aule has an audacious mission to build autonomous satellites that are designed to approach, inspect, dock with, and physically attach to other objects in orbit to extend their operational life, inspect assets, or enable controlled retirement. Think of it like a jetpack in space! I found another framing of the company even more compelling - if you think about it, Aule is essentially building robotics for the space economy. Wild! I must confess that when I first ran into @intothejaytrix at an @join_ef event in SF last year, I couldn't understand what he was trying to build. Though his insanely frizzy hairdo, combined with a bit of a "Back to the Future" vibe, definitely caught my eye :) All credit to @sanjaynath for pushing me to meet his fellow BITS'ian. Over a 2 hour coffee in the West Portal neighborhood of SF, I absorbed Jay's backstory, all that he learnt at Pixxel, and the audacity of Aule's vision. Most importantly, I was super-impressed that this kid was thinking global from Day 0, gatecrashing conferences in DC, hobnobbing with US space & defense veterans, and signing LOIs with large European design partners. I committed to invest on the spot. After a few weeks, meeting @NithyaashreeG, Hrishit Tambi, and the rest of the team at their then-makeshift workshop in Bangalore convinced me even more that this team of true builders is here to stay. India-to-the-world Space-tech is one of the core themes for Operators Studio. @AuleSpace joins Astrophel Aerospace in our space-tech family of companies 🛰️ Aule is also part of my focus on backing campus founders - a bunch of the founding team is @bitspilaniindia 2024 and started tinkering on campus itself during undergrad. Finally, Aule Space joins the ranks of other disruptive BITS'ian startups in the Operators Studio portfolio, including Loop AI - Delivery Intelligence Platform, @confidohealth, and @NuportRobotics (+ few more in the works!). PS: The Aule team is actively hiring. If you find their mission compelling, reach out now!

We’re thrilled to share that @AuleSpace has successfully raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by @piventures , with strong participation from seasoned angel investors including Eash Sundaram and Arvind Lakshmikumar, CEO, #TanboImaging . This funding milestone will enable Aule Space to: • Expand its engineering team and build ground infrastructure for docking tests. • Advance the development of its first demonstration satellites set to launch next year. • Push the boundaries of sustainable space operations with autonomous satellites capable of rendezvous, proximity operations and docking. Founded in 2024 by Mr Jay Panchal, Ms Nithyaa Giri, and Mr Hrishit Tambi, Aule Space is pioneering in-orbit servicing technology — from extending the life of high-value satellites to enabling safer space operations and reducing orbital debris. Congratulations to the entire Aule Space team on this exciting leap forward! 🌌👏 #AuleSpace #Spacetech #Startup #Funding #PiVentures #SpaceInnovation #SatelliteServicing To know more: economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/funding/s…

Deep tech startup @AuleSpace has raised $2 million in a pre seed funding round led by @piventures, with participation from a clutch of angel investors including @eashsundaram, @ArvindLakshmikumar, and others. Co-founded in 2024 by @JayPanchal, @NithyaaGiri, and @HrishitTambi.

Aule Space @AuleSpace is Building Satellite Life-Extension 'Jetpacks'. Aule Space, building the robotic workforce for the space economy, led by Jay Panchal, Nithyaa Giri @NithyaashreeG, and Hrishit Tambi, has secured $2 million in pre-seed funding led by pi Ventures @piventures, with participation from a clutch of angel investors, including Eash Sundaram, former Board Member of Intelsat and Founder of Utpata Ventures, and Arvind Lakshmikumar @arvindkla, CEO of defence tech company Tonbo Imaging @TonboImaging, among others. Aule Space has been part of the Entrepreneurs First @join_ef accelerator program and is also backed by the Transpose Platform @transposevc.

Visited @agnikulcosmos at @iitmadras #FestivalFortnight Hugely impressed by their talent and confidence.

Happy 2026! As 2025 came to a close, we stood together as a team and felt what the Mission - 02 launch countdown would be like while watching the real-time, full-chain avionics run-through. Here are some glimpses from the run-through. @isro @INSPACeIND @IndiaDST @tdbgoi @IITMIC @iitmadras @iitm_respark @TIDCO_1965 @startup_mission @Guidance_TN @ANRFIndia @srinathr155 @moin_spm @satchakra_iitm #NewYear2026 #Agnibaan #RocketLaunch #Agnilet #SinglePieceEngine #3dprinting #AdditiveManufacturing #Agnikul #AgnikulCosmos #StartupIndia #MakeinIndia #madeinIndiaForTheWorld

“We don’t have a set date for it (Agnibaan's first orbital launch), but we’re readying it, which will have commercial clients for next year. In the next two years, we’ll likely scale up to 12-15 launches per year, and by 2030, hope to see 100 launches per year." "We will look to make the booster stage of our rocket land vertically on a barge out in the ocean and recover it from there, in order to reuse it in future missions. But it’s not just this, we can also make our first stage reusable by offering the rocket’s first stage itself as the base of a satellite, thus utilizing every part of our rocket fully, and maximizing our revenue potential." (I think he meant upper stage here akin to PSLV 4th stage as POEM.) "Our cost of launching a single mission is less than $2 million. Reusability will also reduce my cost of engineering and logistics" - Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder of Agnikul Cosmos to Live Mint.

Making a metal 3D printed rocket engine which is tested to full functionality is a huge technological step in aerospace. There are many challenges of intricate passages, surface finish, cleanliness, defects characterisation, NDT, residual stress, distortion… in metal AM, not to mention the thermo-structural environments, it is subjected to. Congratulations to Agnikul for your progress. Looking forward to scaling up.

Not very long ago, the loudest sound in our testing facility was one rocket engine performing as expected. 2x that sound had to be experienced to admire the quantum of energy being handled (and remember that this is still a “small” engine in the rocket world). Trivia : the usual announcements that you hear in our video stream are recorded for post test analysis through a camera+mic that picks up the Mission Control room ambient sound. This time though, the ambient room tone was gently overcome by the engine firing sound. Had to find the actual audio (that was luckily recorded incidentally elsewhere) in a viewing area camera and then we synchronised this with the visual. Have to solve for better audio recording next time as more engines get added.

🚜#ElectricTractor tech startup @Moonrider.ai raises $6 million in Series A led by @piventures, with participation from @SingularityAMC & other existing investors. @Arundathi_Ram breaks down the firm’s growth plans in a conversation with Anoop Srikantaswamy, CEO, Moonrider.

𝗽𝗶 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗩𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗜𝗩𝗖𝗔) @piventures is India’s pioneering early-stage fund dedicated to advancing AI and deeptech innovation. The firm partners with entrepreneurs developing transformative technologies and supports them in building companies with strong global relevance. pi Ventures is currently investing from an $85 million fund, deploying between $250,000 and $3 million into early-stage ventures across AI, robotics, spacetech, quantum computing, semiconductors, advanced materials, life sciences, cybersecurity, and clean energy. For more information, please visit their website: piventures.in Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (@IndianVCA), representing the alternate asset industry, is pleased to welcome pi Ventures on board. Their expertise and dedication are invaluable assets to our association and the broader investment community. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration and the shared pursuit of fostering a dynamic investment landscape. #DeepTech #AI #StartupEcosystem #AlternativeInvestments #IVCA

Watch here - youtube.com/watch?v=LmH2p4…

After announcing our investment in MoonRider, we wanted to share the story behind the founders. In this short conversation, Sohil & Anoop walk through their journey, the insight that sparked MoonRider, and what’s next for them. Full video in the thread.