பாலம்
DEEPTECH VC SCOUT · TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH ORCHESTRATOR
IITMRP
IISER K
BUILDING INDIA'S FIRST INNOVATION FUND
India has the science. It does not have the bridge. I build that bridge — connecting world-class research to sovereign capital, one node at a time.
CURRENT FOCUS ▸ FUND ARCHITECTURE
60+ INDUSTRY INTERACTIONS
Who Am I?
Physics-trained.
Capital-focused.
Physics graduate from IISER Kolkata, mapping India's deep-tech translational gap into deployable capital. At IIT Madras Research Park, I facilitate industry–academia collaboration, help R&D centres leverage the startup ecosystem, and achieve their R&D goals.
My Masters thesis modelled the academia–industry translational gap using evolutionary game theory, showing the failure stems from misaligned incentive awareness — not capability gaps or capital absence.
I identify and evaluate deeptech ventures that fall below the radar of formal incubators and institutional VC — the companies no database has indexed.
INVESTMENT THESIS
"Coordination failures in deeptech are not market failures — they are evolutionarily stable strategies. The right fund changes the payoff matrix."
MY INVESTMENT THESIS · 2025
My Investment Thesis
India Has The Science.
Not The Bridge.
My thesis is built around one observation: every stuck deeptech opportunity in India is missing exactly one of two things — a translation bridge, or a capital instrument. Most funds carry only one tool. The right approach carries both.
Labs and procurement offices are playing a repeated game with asymmetric information. Neither defects intentionally. Both lose. The Translational Research Orchestrator is the mechanism that makes cooperation the dominant strategy.
The Fund deploys the right financial instrument into the structure the TRO has built. Neither engine works without the other.
T1
Pre-Startup Science
PLATFORM PLAYS
TRL 3–4: peer-reviewed, no company formed, no buyer engaged. IP only findable by someone who reads the papers.
T2
Boutique R&Ds
IRR ANCHOR
Science validated. Conducts R&D pilots for DRDO, BHEL, iDEX Phase 1 winners. Lacks funds for scaling.
T3
Translational Failures
FUND RETURNERS
Capital accessible. Buyer exists. The deal won't close — bridge unmapped.
Experience
Why Should You Consult Me
For Translational Research Or
Funding Your DeepTech Startups?
Sep 2025 –
Present
Executive — Research Collaboration
IIT MADRAS RESEARCH PARK · CHENNAI
- Facilitated 60+ industry–academia interactions leading to 18 successful R&D projects.
- Scouted and connected 40+ startups to Tata Steel, Toyota Connected, DRDO, and Pfizer.
- Conducted 10+ Research Park visits with CXOs, ministry officials, and investors.
2024 –
2025
VC Analyst Fellow
HIREVC · VC ANALYST PROGRAM
- Completed the intensive 8-week HireVC VC Analyst Fellowship — investment thesis creation, deal sourcing, IC memos, and valuation frameworks.
- Sector analysis and financial modelling for early-stage deeptech ventures across biotech, defence electronics, and critical minerals.
- Portfolio management simulation and AI-augmented deal screening methodologies.
May 2023 –
Aug 2024
CEO, E-Cell
IISER KOLKATA
- Reconstituted a dissolved E-Cell; built IISER-K's first pre-incubation programme with 30 teams.
- Assisted RISE foundation: 5 undergrad-led DeepTech startups receiving DST-NIDHI-PRAYASH and MeitY-GENESIS EIR grants.
Dec 2020 –
Jun 2025
BS-MS Physics, Minor in Life Sciences
IISER KOLKATA
- MS Thesis — Modelling Academia–Industry Knowledge Transfer using Evolutionary Game Theory.
My Writings
DeepTech &
DeepTech Capital.