In a special conversation, CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan spoke to top officials of Celesta Capital, including Nicholas Brathwaite, Arun Kumar and Sriram Viswanathan to discuss India’s dynamic startup landscape and Celesta Capital’s notable investments within the country.
Nicholas Brathwaite is founding Managing Partner in the company whereas Arun Kumar is Managing Partner and Sriram Viswanathan is founding Managing Partner.
Brathwaite expressed his unwavering confidence in India’s talent pool within the deep tech space, firmly disagreeing with naysayers who doubted India’s potential in this domain.
He said, “The first investment we made in India was a semiconductor company. And that was because of the confidence that we had in the talent in India in the deep tech space. In fact, I remember talking to people back then, and they would tell us that India is not going to have a deep tech industry, it’s all going to be services based and we disagreed with that.”
Brathwaite highlighted the impressive strides Celesta Capital has made in the Indian startup scene. “We have made about 15 investments in India so far,” Brathwaite proudly proclaimed.
Highlighting Celesta Capital’s impressive presence in the Indian startup scene, Brathwaite proudly mentioned, “We have already made around 15 investments in India.”
Furthermore, Brathwaite shed light on Celesta Capital’s distinctive focus within the Indian market. He explained their deliberate choice to invest in India’s deep tech sector and emphasised the vital role that venture capitalists (VCs) can play in bridging knowledge and expertise between India and the Silicon Valley.
Brathwaite stressed, “One area where the synergy between India and the US, particularly Silicon Valley, can flourish is through the involvement of VCs, facilitating the transfer of knowledge to unlock India’s vast talent potential.”
For full interview, watch the accompanying video.