Updated:
gradCapital
gradCapital funds young people with capital to experiment on ideas they care about. They offer Company funding of $300k to work full-time on an idea, or $60k...
gradCapital
gradCapital funds young people with capital to experiment on ideas they care about. They offer Company funding of $300k to work full-time on an idea, or $60k part-time for those 1-2 years from graduating. They also provide Atomic Grants of $5k for science and engineering projects and Feather Grants of $1k to experiment with any idea.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2020
Location
Region
Asia
Country
India
City
Bangalore
Corporate office
Bangalore, India
Principals
Abhishek Sethi
Prateek Behera
Debamita Banerjee
Kshitij Khandelwal (Visiting Partner)
Sambhav Jain (Visiting Partner)
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What is gradCapital's typical check size and investment structure?
gradCapital writes a standard $40K check into each portfolio company. The investment is paired with a six-month residency on the Indian Institute of Science campus, during which the firm provides workspace, mentorship, and operational support. The firm does not participate in larger follow-on rounds and does not syndicate its early-stage checks with external co-investors, per its publicly described model.
Is gradCapital a venture fund or an accelerator?
gradCapital occupies a hybrid category. It makes equity investments like a venture fund, but its six-month campus residency and hands-on operational support resemble an accelerator. Unlike most accelerators, it does not run cohorts in batches with demo-day outcomes, and unlike most venture funds, it does not reserve capital for follow-on investments. The firm's public communications describe it as a fund, but its operational footprint aligns more closely with a university-affiliated startup studio.
Which sectors does gradCapital target?
gradCapital is sector-agnostic in its public positioning and has backed student teams in health tech, climate, and developer tools. The unifying filter is not industry vertical but founder profile: the firm invests in technically trained students building inside Indian universities. The IISc campus environment gives it a natural tilt toward deep-tech and research-adjacent ideas, even though no formal sector exclusion is stated.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on private equity firms?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: