Unicorn India Ventures launches US operations, appoints ex-Google executive

Former Google executive Kishore Kanakamedala joins as venture partner to build a US investor network and help Indian deep-tech startups expand into international markets

Deeptech venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures on Thursday announced the launch of its operations in the United States (US), under the leadership of former Google executive Kishore Kanakamedala, who has joined the fund as a venture partner.

The firm said that Kanakamedala brings a rich experience and a global perspective to investing in and growing Indian deeptech companies. "He will build a team of mid to senior professionals with a focus on developing ecosystems in the US that would benefit the portfolio companies that expand there. He will also evangelise the Indian deeptech growth story and build an investor base in the US," the company said in a statement.

"Since we closed our third fund of ₹1,200 crore earlier this year, the US operations launch has been our next obvious step, as during the capital raise of this fund, we saw investors across the US showing significant interest to invest in Indian deeptech startups," said Bhaskar Maumdar, founder and managing partner of Unicorn India Ventures.

The US operations launch is a strategic expansion move for Unicorn India Ventures to build an active co-investment ecosystem and stay close to ground zero of latest tech innovation globally. This is being done to help its deeptech founders accelerate their scale up and technology readiness level (TRL) journey.

Kanakamedala said, "The time to invest in deeptech in India is now more than ever. Finally, we are seeing product based companies being built out of India, the government taking a lead with a proactive and supportive policy environment and by turning into a buyer where appropriate, risk capital becoming accessible ??" these are all signs that India is already emerging as a deeptech hub, with its frugal innovation approach."

Unicorn India Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm based in Mumbai that invests in Indian deeptech companies building products from strong intellectual property, with typical cheque sizes of ₹10 crore-25 crore. It manages approximately $350 million across its funds and has backed 54 companies in semiconductors, space, defence, health, robotics, and agritech sectors.

Its portfolio includes companies like Open Bank, Olyv, TakeMe2Space, Orbitaid, Nava, Satleo Labs, Netrasemi, Vervesemi, EyeROV, Genrobotics and more. In 2026, UIV launched the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I, a ₹1,000 crore alternate investment fund. The fund, which is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, was set up in a strategic partnership with IIT Madras and IITM Research Park.