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IIT Delhi Endowment Fund
The IIT Delhi Endowment Fund launched in 2019 as India's inaugural university endowment, modeled on the perpetual-capital frameworks of U.S. institutions.
IIT Delhi Endowment Fund
The IIT Delhi Endowment Fund launched in 2019 as India's inaugural university endowment, modeled on the perpetual-capital frameworks of U.S. institutions. Its founding corpus drew ₹100 crore from Binny Bansal and ₹25 crore from Sachin Bansal, the Flipkart co-founders who anchored the philanthropic vision. The IIT Delhi Endowment Management Foundation governs the pool, channeling investment returns into charitable grants for the institute's research programs, student scholarships, and physical infrastructure. Investment returns fund campus grants, but the underlying strategy pursues early-stage venture exposure through direct startup commitments and fund allocations. The endowment's board blends entrepreneurial and institutional capital: Sashi Reddi built SRI Capital, Vikram Gupta founded IvyCap Ventures, and Gautam Kumra leads McKinsey India. Confirmed structural assets include the Mittal Sports Complex and the Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence on the Hauz Khas campus, alongside a hostel complex in RK Puram and a Jhajjar extension campus in Haryana. Team strength derives from a board of eleven IIT Delhi alumni who operate their own funds and companies. Binny Bansal, Neeraj Arora, and Alok Mittal bring venture-building and operating heft, while Punita Kumar-Sinha's Investment Advisory Board shapes portfolio allocation. Board members participate in YPO and TiE networks, creating a parallel sourcing funnel for deal flow. The endowment also coordinates with affiliated foundations in the U.S. and the U.K. to widen its donor base. The endowment's structural difference lies in its alumni-governed venture sleeve: the same individuals who built Flipkart, WestBridge Capital, and IvyCap Ventures steer the investment committee, collapsing the distance between donor and allocator. This makes IIT Delhi's model less a passive grant-making entity and more an active early-stage platform, where board members' own networks and funds co-locate capital alongside the endowment's mandate.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
2019
Location
Region
Asia
Country
India
City
New Delhi
Corporate office
Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, India
Principals
Sashi P. Reddi
Chairperson
Binny Bansal
Board Member
Sachin Bansal
Donor
Sandeep Singhal
Board Member
Vikram Gupta
Director
Gautam Kumra
Director
Saurabh Mittal
Board Member
Neeraj Arora
Board Member
Alok Mittal
Director
Punita Kumar-Sinha
Chairperson of the Investment Advisory Board
Ranu Vohra
Board Member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at IIT Delhi Endowment Fund?
A board of IIT Delhi alumni, chaired by Sashi P. Reddi, governs the endowment. Investment decisions are shaped by the Investment Advisory Board, led by Punita Kumar-Sinha, and the directors, including IvyCap Ventures founder Vikram Gupta and Indifi Technologies co-founder Alok Mittal. The board's composition means deal sourcing often runs through members' own venture networks.
How does the endowment source proprietary deal flow?
Board members run their own venture capital firms — SRI Capital, IvyCap Ventures, WestBridge Capital — and tap their portfolio relationships for deal flow. Membership in TiE and YPO provides an additional conduit to early-stage founders. The endowment can also co-invest alongside these directors' funds.
Is IIT Delhi Endowment Fund structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
It is a charitable endowment foundation, not a single family office. However, its board is composed of active venture capitalists and angel investors, and it deploys capital into early-stage startups. This creates a hybrid posture: a philanthropic pool run with the sourcing and evaluation discipline of a venture firm.
Does the endowment participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The endowment targets early-stage venture exposure, which typically includes direct startup commitments and may extend to fund allocations. Board members' own venture funds — such as IvyCap Ventures and SRI Capital — create opportunities for both direct and fund-level participation.
What investment stages does the endowment typically target?
The endowment's strategy covers the early-stage venture spectrum, from seed to startup. Board members have historically backed companies at pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages. The deep operator bench means the endowment can evaluate technical and enterprise-focused startups with unusual granularity for a philanthropic pool.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The endowment's corpus was built through alumni donations, notably ₹100 crore from Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and ₹25 crore from Sachin Bansal. Subsequent contributions from the broader IIT Delhi alumni network, including through affiliated foundations in the U.S. and U.K., have added to the asset base.
Does the endowment maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
The IIT Delhi Endowment Management Foundation governs the fund, while separate entities — the IIT Delhi Excellence Foundation and the IIT UK Charitable Foundation — operate as independent charitable vehicles for alumni giving in their respective jurisdictions. This separation allows tax-efficient donations across geographies while keeping the endowment's investment pool distinct from direct grant-making.
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