YourNest Venture Capital

Fit first

• Stage: early-stage. YourNest says it partners with founders at an early stage and has invested in a handful of companies in each fund.
• Sector: DeepTech and tech-enabled startups, such as AI, robotics, Industry 4.0, quantum computing and SpaceTech, plus enterprise-oriented ventures with real IP.
• Founder: the site looks for "Challengineer" founders who question the status quo and persevere through adversity.

How to approach

• Use the "Pitch to Us" form on the homepage. It is the route the site gives founders, and it is not tied to a deadline.
• Questions can go to the investor relations inbox, investor.relations@yournest.in, which the Investors page lists. That inbox is written for investors in its funds, so keep a pitch to the form.
• Lead with the technology and what is protectable. The portfolio page stresses strong IP possibilities.
• Show why your team can handle a hard problem. The site says the partners look beyond the idea and execution until they are satisfied about the team.
• Expect a significant minority stake rather than control, as the Investors page describes.

What the site does not say

• No fixed application window, deadline or minimum traction is published.
• The two fast-track programmes, SOAR in 2020 and Velocity in 2024, are past. Watch the site and its newsletter for another.

YourNest Venture Capital is an early-stage DeepTech venture capital firm based in Gurugram, run by YourNest Capital Advisors. Its own site calls it a sharply focused early-stage DeepTech VC fund from India, and describes the way it works as investing financial capital along with nurturance, backed by a network of advisors and mentors. It manages several SEBI-registered alternative investment funds, with its first fund dating from 2012, a second from 2017 and a third from 2021.

Who YourNest backs

YourNest looks for what it calls "Challengineer" founders: people who question the status quo, and have the resilience to see a hard problem through. It says it has specialised in DeepTech and tech-enabled startups in areas such as AI, robotics, Industry 4.0, quantum computing and SpaceTech, and that it remains open to enterprise-oriented, IP-led ventures. Its portfolio page says it focuses on companies with strong IP possibilities, and the 39 companies listed run from quantum compute and robotics to health monitoring, energy, manufacturing, agritech, cybersecurity and fintech. 31 are shown as active and 8 as exited.

It invests early. The site says it partners with founders at an early stage and builds IP-led tech startups from India. It takes a significant minority stake, which it says leaves room for future dilution and later funding.

How it works with founders

YourNest says it has personally evaluated over 30,000 startups since inception, and invests in just a handful of DeepTech and tech-enabled companies in each fund. Expect the partners to dig into the founding team as well as the idea: the site says the aim is to be satisfied that the team can be nurtured to succeed.

Beyond the cheque, the site lists hands-on mentorship from specialist partners, guidance on technology deployment, product development, brand-building, go-to-market, scaling, people development, financial practice and governance, support with follow-on fundraising, help recruiting for early hires, and access to a community of industry leaders and entrepreneurs.

Fast-track programmes

Besides the regular pitch route, YourNest has run two fast-track funding programmes and describes both on its About page. SOAR was launched on 1 May 2020 as a two-week programme, and 1,933 applications led to five startups being selected. Velocity 2024 was a fortnight-long online event run with Sanchi Connect, focused on DeepTech: the team analysed 1,282 pitches in 15 days, shortlisted 79, and went on to invest in eight companies. Both are described in the past tense, so neither is open now; treat them as a sign that YourNest sometimes opens a time-boxed call.

How to reach YourNest

The homepage and the Investors page both point founders to a "Pitch to Us" online form, and the Investors page also gives an investor relations email address on the firm's own domain. The site does not publish a deadline, a fixed application window or a stage checklist, so a short, specific pitch is the practical way in. The office is at MGF Metropolis Mall in Gurugram.