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Empowering Visionaries. Shaping the Future.
Auxano Entrepreneur Trust is a SEBI-registered Category I Alternative Investment Fund managed by Auxano Capital LLP, the investment management arm of Auxano Capital — a sector-agnostic early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 and headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. Co-founded by Brijesh Damodaran Nair and Ashish Padiyar, Auxano Capital evolved from an SPV-based investment model to managing SEBI-registered funds from 2019. The Entrepreneur Trust was launched in 2019 with a target corpus of approximately USD 25 million, proposed to be deployed over 30 months, primarily in technology-enabled, next-generation, consumer-focused Indian startups at the Seed to Series B stages. The fund operates alongside the firm's Category II Dawn Fund (Auxano Dawn Fund, IN/AIF2/21-22/1002). Across both funds, Auxano Capital manages USD 50 million+ in AUM and has backed 40+ portfolio companies including Aereo, WIOM, MProfit, PrivateCircle, Primebook, Mugafi, Adloggs, and Stockal, with 4+ exits. The firm's name is derived from Greek, meaning 'to initiate growth', which encapsulates its dual focus on wealth creation for LPs and entrepreneurial growth for founders.
Auxano Capital's investment philosophy centres on identifying emerging megatrends early and backing category-defining, technology-led businesses that solve real-world problems at scale. The firm segments opportunities into three categories: Category Creators (new markets, new products), Market Creators (existing products in new markets), and Market Owners (increased efficiency in existing markets) — with a preference for the first two. Auxano takes a hands-on, co-pilot approach to portfolio support, working alongside founders on strategy, fundraising, go-to-market execution, and business development. The firm believes in doubling down on outperformers, having made follow-on investments in approximately 50% of its portfolio companies across up to three consecutive rounds. Sectors of focus include fintech, enterprise SaaS, sustainable mobility, agritech, health-tech, and interactive technologies.
Brijesh Damodaran Nair
Founding Partner & Managing Partner
Brijesh Damodaran Nair is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of corporate experience, including 14+ years in investment management across public and private markets, and 8+ years in startup investments. He co-founded Auxano Capital in 2016 alongside Ashish Padiyar, previously having co-founded wealth management firm Bellwether Advisors. He has played a key role in funding 25+ growth-stage companies across 40+ rounds, partnering with leading domestic and international VCs, family offices, and angel investors. He is also the firm's CIO and SEBI-registered contact person (listed under the name 'Brijesh Nair') for the Auxano Dawn Fund. Brijesh holds a B.Com from University of Mumbai.
Ashish Padiyar
Founding Partner
Ashish Padiyar is an MBA (Finance) with over 20 years of corporate experience, including 8+ years in venture capital. He co-founded Auxano Capital in 2016 with Brijesh Damodaran Nair, having previously co-founded Bellwether Advisors. Since beginning his venture investing journey in 2016, he has been an early identifier of opportunities in L&D, Gene Sequencing, and Geospatial Intelligence. As Partner and Investment Manager at Auxano, Ashish works closely with portfolio companies on growth strategies and fundraising, leveraging an extensive network with industry leaders and top management at domestic and global corporations.
Mohit Handa
Partner
Mohit Handa is a Chartered Accountant with 25+ years of corporate experience in global business transformation, strategy, and execution across India, Southeast Asia, and Europe. His expertise includes financial analysis and strategic planning for business growth. As Partner at Auxano, Mohit brings a dynamic approach to identifying investment opportunities and managing portfolio companies, and has helped strengthen Auxano's LP and stakeholder relationships.
Karan Gupta
Principal
Karan Gupta is Principal at Auxano with over 10 years of startup and VC experience. An MBA graduate from NMIMS Mumbai, he has been active in the startup ecosystem since 2015 and previously ran his own e-commerce startup (2014–2019). In 2018 he became the NCR city lead for Headstart Network Foundation, India's largest early-stage startup community. He joined Auxano in 2019 and has since evaluated 1,000+ early/growth-stage businesses and engaged with 250+ entrepreneurs. His expertise covers portfolio management, due diligence, growth hacking, product strategy, and the legal and regulatory aspects of fundraising.
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Mansi Handa
Principal
Rakesh Rana
Finance & Compliance Officer
Aditya Golani
Analyst