Key Takeaways
- • Silicon Road Ventures partners with former Bank of America India MD Ajay Mahajan to launch a Rs 150-crore ($18 million USD equivalent) alternative investment fund focused exclusively on early-stage agentic AI startups in B2B commerce technology.
- • The fund has secured category-II registration from India's Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi), positioning it to deploy capital across multi-channel commerce, supply chain and logistics, fintech, consumer insights, and retail operations verticals.
- • Silicon Road Ventures, Atlanta-headquartered and founded in 2019 by Sid Mukherjee, has already backed over 30 startups and brings institutional credibility through founder's prior acquisition of Software Paradigms International to Cognizant (2018) and university partnership fund initiatives with BITS Pilani and Kennesaw State University.
- • The fund targets the emerging agentic AI segment—autonomous agents designed for enterprise B2B applications—representing a strategic pivot toward India's growing software and enterprise technology ecosystem at a time when AI-driven automation gains enterprise adoption.
Summary
Silicon Road Ventures, a US-based venture capital firm headquartered in Atlanta, has formalized a partnership with Ajay Mahajan, former managing director at Bank of America India, to establish a dedicated alternative investment fund (AIF) with a Rs 150-crore corpus. The fund has completed regulatory approval, securing category-II registration from India's Securities and Exchange Board (Sebi), allowing it to begin deploying capital into early-stage startups developing agentic AI solutions.
The fund's investment thesis is narrowly focused on B2B commerce technology applications of agentic AI—software agents designed to operate autonomously within enterprise systems. According to Mahajan, target sectors include multi-channel commerce platforms, supply chain and logistics optimization, fintech applications, consumer insights generation, and retail operations automation. This vertical specialization reflects growing enterprise demand for AI-driven autonomous agents capable of handling complex, repetitive business processes across distributed systems.
Silicon Road Ventures brings substantial track record to the partnership. Founded in 2019 by Sid Mukherjee, the firm has already backed more than 30 startups across its investment lifecycle. Mukherjee's credibility stems partly from his prior role as cofounder and CEO of Software Paradigms International (SPI), which provided technology solutions to retail businesses before its 2018 acquisition by IT services giant Cognizant. Beyond venture investing, Mukherjee has also established non-dilutive funding mechanisms through partnerships with BITS Pilani and Kennesaw State University, providing student-founded companies with capital that does not involve equity dilution.
The Rs 150-crore fund launch reflects broader institutional interest in AI-native startups within India's technology sector, particularly those targeting enterprise B2B applications where automation drives measurable operational efficiency and cost reduction. The presence of a former BofA India MD signals confidence that the fund can attract institutional capital and navigate India's regulatory environment effectively.
The fund's investment thesis is narrowly focused on B2B commerce technology applications of agentic AI—software agents designed to operate autonomously within enterprise systems. According to Mahajan, target sectors include multi-channel commerce platforms, supply chain and logistics optimization, fintech applications, consumer insights generation, and retail operations automation. This vertical specialization reflects growing enterprise demand for AI-driven autonomous agents capable of handling complex, repetitive business processes across distributed systems.
Silicon Road Ventures brings substantial track record to the partnership. Founded in 2019 by Sid Mukherjee, the firm has already backed more than 30 startups across its investment lifecycle. Mukherjee's credibility stems partly from his prior role as cofounder and CEO of Software Paradigms International (SPI), which provided technology solutions to retail businesses before its 2018 acquisition by IT services giant Cognizant. Beyond venture investing, Mukherjee has also established non-dilutive funding mechanisms through partnerships with BITS Pilani and Kennesaw State University, providing student-founded companies with capital that does not involve equity dilution.
The Rs 150-crore fund launch reflects broader institutional interest in AI-native startups within India's technology sector, particularly those targeting enterprise B2B applications where automation drives measurable operational efficiency and cost reduction. The presence of a former BofA India MD signals confidence that the fund can attract institutional capital and navigate India's regulatory environment effectively.
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