Latest news with #PankajMitra
News18
4 days ago
- Business
- News18
Bessemer Venture Partners appoints Pankaj Mitra as partner
Mumbai, Jun 4 (PTI) Bessemer Venture Partners on Wednesday announced the appointment of Pankaj Mitra as a partner in its India practice. Mitra joined the VC firm from Cisco and will be focusing primarily on investments in enterprise tech, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to a statement. *** HDFC Bank to implement solid waste management systems in over 1,000 villages * Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank on Wednesday announced that it will implement solid waste management systems in over 1,000 villages and establish material recovery facilities in 15 urban local bodies this year. It also launched an awareness campaign aimed at customers, employees and the general public against plastic use, a statement said. *** Rohini Nilekani emerges as top woman philanthropist in India * With a donation of Rs 154 crore in FY25, Rohini Nilekani has emerged as the top woman philanthropist in the country, as per a report released on Wednesday. The top-10 givers spent Rs 464 crore on social upliftment during the year, as per the 2025 Candere Hurun India Women Leaders List, 2024. PTI AA SHW
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Bessemer names Pankaj Mitra as partner to bolster India investments
Private equity firm Bessemer Venture Partners on Wednesday named Pankaj Mitra as a partner in its India division who will concentrate on investments in enterprise technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. 'I am thrilled to join Bessemer at this pivotal time. The ongoing AI platform shift offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for builders to usher in the next wave of tech evolution across industries,' said Mitra. 'With its stellar track record, Bessemer is poised to partner with this new generation of ambitious, world-class founders in India addressing pain points domestically and globally.' Mitra, who has more than 25 years of experience in technology, joins Bessemer from Cisco's corporate development team, where for seven years he led investments and mergers and acquisitions activity for the global customer experiences portfolio as well as for India. Some of his investments include Fiddler (AI observability), Uniphore (contact center AI), and Whatfix (digital adoption). Mitra worked at Infosys in a similar capacity and was part of the founding team for its $500 million innovation fund. His investments at Infosys included Ideaforge and Whoop. Earlier in his career, Mitra helped launch VMware's first cloud services as a product manager and was also a management consultant at Deloitte. Mitra is an Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur alumnus and holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. 'Pankaj brings a breadth of experience which is a unique blend of investing prowess as well as deep industry knowledge,' said Vishal Gupta, Partner at Bessemer. 'This will be invaluable as we look to deepen our commitments in AI, enterprise-tech, and cybersecurity in India.' Bessemer has been in India for two decades and its legacy investments include Mediassist, Perfios, Swiggy and Urban Company. Some of its more recent partnerships have been with Boldfit, Easebuzz, Protectt, Shopdeck and more. Bessemer announced its second India fund with $350 million of capital in March this year with a focus on AI, fintech, enterprise-tech, digital health, consumer, and cybersecurity.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bessemer Venture Partners hires Pankaj Mitra to lead AI, enterprise-tech bets in India
Live Events Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) has appointed Pankaj Mitra as a partner in its India team. He will focus on investments in artificial intelligence (AI), enterprise technology, and cybersecurity The appointment comes shortly after the VC firm closed its second India-focused fund at $350 million in March. The fund is aimed at backing early-stage startups across the AI, software-as-a-service (SaaS), fintech, digital health, consumer brand, and cybersecurity an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, joins BVP from Cisco's corporate development team, where he spent the past seven years leading investments and M&A activity for the technology giant's global customer experience portfolio and for India. His portfolio included companies such as Fiddler, Uniphore, and he had worked with technology services company Infosys , where he was part of the founding team of its $500 million innovation fund and invested in companies such as Ideaforge and Whoop.'I am thrilled to join Bessemer at this pivotal time,' said Mitra. 'The ongoing AI platform shift offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for builders to usher in the next wave of tech evolution across industries.'BVP began investing in India in 2006 and has backed over 80 startups in the country so far, including BigBasket, Urban Company, Livspace, and PharmEasy. The firm has seen nine Indian portfolio companies go public, including Swiggy, Indian Energy Exchange, and Bharat Bessemer manages over $18 billion in assets and has backed companies such as Pinterest, Shopify, Twilio, LinkedIn, DocuSign, Fiverr, and on the appointment, Vishal Gupta, partner at BVP, said, 'Pankaj brings a breadth of experience, which is a unique blend of investing prowess as well as deep industry knowledge. This will be invaluable as we look to deepen our commitments in AI, enterprise tech, and cybersecurity in India.'
Entrepreneur
4 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Bessemer Appoints Pankaj Mitra as Partner to Lead India Investments in AI, Enterprise Tech
The tech industry veteran brings over 25 years of experience to Bessemer, where he will focus on AI, enterprise-tech and cybersecurity investments in India. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners has announced the appointment of tech industry veteran Pankaj Mitra as a Partner in its India practice, underscoring its continued commitment to backing the next generation of technology leaders in the region. Mitra will focus primarily on enterprise tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity. Mitra brings over 25 years of industry experience to Bessemer, having previously led investments and M&A efforts at Cisco's corporate development team, particularly for its global Customer Experiences portfolio and Indian operations. His impressive investment track record includes stakes in companies such as Fiddler (AI observability), Uniphore (contact center AI), and Whatfix (digital adoption). "I am thrilled to join Bessemer at this pivotal time," said Mitra. "The ongoing AI platform shift offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for builders to usher in the next wave of tech evolution across industries. With its stellar track record, Bessemer is poised to partner with this new generation of ambitious, world-class founders in India addressing pain points domestically and globally, and I'm excited to be part of this journey." Prior to Cisco, Mitra was part of Infosys's USD 500 million innovation fund, where he invested in firms like Ideaforge and Whoop. His early career includes roles at VMware, where he helped launch its first cloud services, and at Deloitte as a management consultant. Mitra holds a degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Vishal Gupta, Partner at Bessemer, said, "We are delighted to welcome Pankaj to the Bessemer family. He brings a breadth of experience which is a unique blend of investing prowess as well as deep industry knowledge. This will be invaluable as we look to deepen our commitments in AI, enterprise-tech, and cybersecurity in India." Bessemer Venture Partners, with over USD 18 billion in assets under management, has backed iconic global companies including LinkedIn, Shopify, Twilio, DocuSign, and Toast. In India, the firm has been active for over two decades, with past and current investments in Swiggy, Urban Company, Boldfit, Easebuzz, and others. In March 2025, Bessemer announced its second India-focused fund of USD 350 million, targeting areas such as AI, fintech, enterprise-tech, digital health, and cybersecurity—sectors directly aligned with Mitra's expertise.
