Former Premji Invest partner Atul Gupta has launched a new venture capital firm named Trident Growth Partners (India). This firm is set to invest in startups across various sectors, including consumer, financial services, enterprise software and technology, industrial and manufacturing, and healthcare.
Gupta co-founded Trident Growth Partners with Rajesh Ramaiah, another former executive of Premji Invest, and Pravan Malhotra from Malacca Ventures. Gupta announced his new venture in a LinkedIn post, marking the end of his 15-year tenure at Premji Invest. His journey with Premji Invest began with a chance meeting with Prakash Parthasarathy in mid-2008, where they discussed the Indian economy and the ambitious vision of Premji Invest, which was still in its early stages at the time.
Gupta was intrigued by the opportunity to build a platform dedicated to growing an endowment that supported the Azim Premji Foundation’s impactful work in education and healthcare across India. A pivotal meeting with Azim Premji himself solidified Gupta’s decision to join Premji Invest and relocate from the US to India within a few months. During his tenure at Premji Invest, he worked with startups such as Policybazaar, Lenskart, Amagi, Myntra, Flipkart, FirstCry, GlobalBees, Purplle, MedPlus, KreditBee, and Mintifi.
Gupta’s move to start his own firm is part of a broader trend where fund managers and partners leave established VC firms to launch their own ventures. In recent months, notable departures include Piyush Gupta from Peak XV, who launched a secondary-focused fund, and venture partners Vaibhav Agrawal and Abhishek Nag from Lightspeed. Additionally, Sameer Brij Verma stepped down as managing director of Nexus Venture Partners to start a multi-stage fund. In 2023, the launch of 64 new funds, including venture capital, micro-funds, and corporate VC funds, amounted to over $5.6 billion, compared to 126 funds raising over $18 billion in 2022.
