Navya Naveli Nanda is stepping further into the world of entrepreneurship and venture investing with the formal launch of Naveli Ventures, the strategic venture arm of the Nanda Family Office. And this is not being positioned as a conventional startup investment platform. In her announcement, Nanda made it clear that Naveli Ventures wants to look beyond sectors and focus on the scale of the problem being solved and the conviction of the people solving it. The platform will invest across deep-tech, space, clean energy, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and healthcare, while also exploring opportunities through institutional funds, co-investments, academic partnerships and intellectual property.
Navya Nanda’s New Venture Is About More Than Writing Cheques
Announcing Naveli Ventures, Nanda said the platform has been built to back the “ideas, technologies, and people building for tomorrow”.
Its investment model will include four routes: direct startup investments, institutional funds, co-investments, and partnerships with academic institutions and IP holders.
That gives the platform room to participate at different stages of the innovation ecosystem rather than limiting itself to direct startup bets.
Navya Naveli Nanda also stressed that Naveli Ventures is not chasing quick returns.
The stated goal is to work alongside founders and build companies that can have a lasting impact on India.
“We define ourselves not by sector but by the scale of the problem and the conviction of those solving it,” Nanda said in her LinkedIn post.
So, What Is Naveli Ventures Looking For?
The focus areas are broad, but they point towards some of the sectors expected to shape India’s next phase of technological growth.
Deep-tech: This includes companies working on technologies that require significant research, engineering and development before they can reach the market.
Artificial intelligence: Naveli Ventures is looking for new AI ideas and applications rather than limiting its interest to one part of the AI ecosystem.
Space: The venture arm is also opening its doors to companies developing technologies for the growing space economy.
Clean energy: Energy transition and technologies addressing sustainability are another major area of interest.
Advanced manufacturing: The platform is looking at technologies that could strengthen India’s manufacturing capabilities.
Healthcare: Health and technology-led solutions also form part of its investment mandate.
The approach is therefore less about picking one fashionable sector and more about finding businesses attempting to solve large problems.
It Is Also Looking Beyond Startups
One of the more interesting aspects of Naveli Ventures is that its strategy does not stop at startup investments.
Nanda said the platform will work with fund managers, researchers, academic institutions and IP owners, alongside founders and other investors.
This could allow it to participate in ideas emerging from research institutions before they become conventional venture-backed businesses.
The Nanda Family Office also brings relationships across industry, government, academia and the investor community, which Nanda said can be leveraged to support the people and companies it partners with.
Why This Matters For India’s Deep-Tech Ecosystem
Naveli Ventures enters the space at a time when India is putting more institutional attention behind research-heavy businesses.
The government’s Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme has a planned corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore over six years. It is designed to increase private-sector participation in R&D and support high-risk, high-impact innovation, including deep-tech.
The government’s Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 also carries a Rs 10,000 crore corpus, with the scheme designed to improve access to venture capital and support innovation-driven manufacturing and technologies with longer development cycles.
That creates a growing ecosystem around exactly the kinds of companies Naveli Ventures says it wants to support.
The Venture Arm Has Been Around On Paper Since 2023
While the announcement is new, Naveli Ventures LLP itself is not newly incorporated.
Corporate records show that Naveli Ventures LLP was incorporated in March 2023, with Navya Naveli Nanda and Agastya Nanda listed as designated partners.
The latest announcement therefore formally lays out the venture arm’s investment direction and areas of interest.
Nanda is listed as the managing partner of Naveli Ventures.
The venture also sits within the wider Nanda family business ecosystem, which is associated with Escorts Kubota.
The Internet Is Already Paying Attention
Nanda’s announcement has also drawn a strong response online.
Her post has drawn congratulations and messages welcoming the move. People have praised her focus on deep-tech, AI, space and clean energy. The response stands out because the announcement does not focus on a consumer product or celebrity-led business.
It is about backing founders, researchers, technologies and ideas that may take years to mature.
And that is exactly the point Nanda appears to be making with Naveli Ventures.
She is inviting founders, fund managers, researchers and investors working on ideas with real long-term potential to reach out.
From Entrepreneurship To Venture Investing
Nanda has already built an entrepreneurial profile through Aara Health, a women’s health and wellness platform, while also completing a blended MBA programme at IIM Ahmedabad.
Naveli Ventures takes her into a different part of the business ecosystem.
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Instead of building one company around one consumer problem, the new platform will work with multiple founders solving problems across technology, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and space.
For now, the big question is not simply how much Naveli Ventures will invest.
It is which founders and technologies it chooses to back first.
And with India’s deep-tech ecosystem expanding, that could make Naveli Ventures one of the newer family-office players to watch.