Nandan Nilekani Steps Down as Fundamentum GP Ahead of $200M Third Fund Launch

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of the Indian IT services company Infosys, will no longer serve as a general partner at the venture capital firm Fundamentum Partnership, which he helped establish nearly a decade ago.

The leadership change comes as Fundamentum launches its third fund, targeting approximately $200 million in capital. Although Nilekani is stepping away from the general partner role, he will remain closely involved as the fund’s anchor investor. He will continue to advise the firm and mentor founders across its portfolio, according to co-founder Sanjeev Aggarwal.

Aggarwal described the move as largely a change in title rather than in responsibility, saying Nilekani will continue to provide strategic guidance, mentor startup founders, and support the firm’s investment activities. He added that mentoring entrepreneurs remains one of the areas Nilekani enjoys most and that his involvement will continue throughout Fund III.

At 71, Nilekani remains one of India’s most influential technology leaders. In addition to co-founding Infosys, he led the development of Aadhaar, India’s nationwide biometric identity system, and has played a major role in promoting the country’s digital public infrastructure. He has also been a strong advocate for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), now one of the world’s largest real-time payment systems, and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative designed to create a more open and interoperable e-commerce ecosystem.

Nilekani co-founded Fundamentum with Aggarwal in 2017. Aggarwal previously helped establish Helion Venture Partners. Fundamentum focuses on investing in Indian startups from the Series B stage onward, with portfolio companies including the used-car marketplace Spinny, the online pharmacy PharmEasy, the audio platform Kuku FM, and AppsForBharat, the company behind the Sri Mandir devotional application.

Nilekani did not respond to a request for comment.

The firm’s senior investment leadership is also expanding alongside the new fund. Fund III will be managed by Aggarwal together with Prateek Jain, who joined Fundamentum when it was founded in 2017, fintech investor Mayank Kachhwaha, who joined before Fund II, and finance chief Sanjay Chaturvedi, who has been with the firm for nearly ten years.

Fundamentum plans to invest in eight to ten early-stage startups through Fund III, focusing on consumer technology, fintech, and artificial intelligence. Initial investments are expected to average around ₹100 crore (approximately $10.5 million) per company. Although the firm has not yet announced the fund’s first close, Aggarwal said it has already begun deploying capital and expects fundraising to conclude within the next 12 to 18 months.

According to Aggarwal, Fund III represents Nilekani’s largest personal commitment to any venture capital fund, although he declined to disclose the investment amount. The firm expects roughly half of the capital to come from international investors, with the remainder raised from Indian institutions, family offices, founders, and the firm’s partners.

Aggarwal said this reflects the significant evolution of India’s venture capital ecosystem. When Helion Venture Partners was established in the mid-2000s, most funding came from overseas investors. Today, he said, domestic investors are playing a much larger role, allowing venture firms to be built with substantial Indian capital.

Looking ahead, Fundamentum believes India’s greatest AI opportunity lies in companies building applications atop existing global AI models, particularly in financial services, content, and vernacular consumer products.

That investment strategy reflects the broader direction of India’s AI ecosystem, where much of the activity focuses on application-layer startups rather than on companies developing frontier foundation models, unlike in markets such as the United States and China.

The leadership transition follows the departure of general partner Ashish Kumar, who recently launched the AI-focused venture fund Fundamentum Frontier Advisors (F2A), with Nilekani also serving as its anchor investor. Aggarwal clarified that F2A operates independently from Fundamentum and that Kumar has no involvement in Fund III.

Across its first two funds, Fundamentum has invested in 17 startups. Aggarwal said the firm has already returned approximately half of the capital from its first fund to investors, while the second fund is now concentrating on follow-on investments in its existing portfolio.