Navya Naveli Nanda, granddaughter of Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, has announced the launch of Naveli Ventures, a strategic venture arm of the Nanda Family Office. According to reports from Livemint, the platform will back startups and research-driven opportunities in sectors such as artificial intelligence, deep-tech, space, clean energy and healthcare. The new venture will also look at opportunities in advanced manufacturing and other emerging technologies, with a focus on supporting businesses working on future-oriented solutions. As per Livemint, Navya announced the venture via a LinkedIn post, laying down an investment strategy that goes beyond traditional startup funding.
Naveli Ventures LLP was incorporated on March 20, 2023, with Navya Nanda and her brother Agastya Nanda listed as its designated partners. Navya serves as the managing partner of the venture platform, leading the strategic direction and investment approach. The October 2026 announcement represents the formal public unveiling of its investment strategy and focus areas rather than the incorporation of a new entity. The venture arm has not disclosed a fund corpus or specific investment ticket sizes as part of the launch, leaving its first deployments as an indicator of how the platform will translate its stated investment strategy into actual capital commitments.
The newly introduced venture arm will explore opportunities across direct startup investments, institutional funds, co-investments, and academic and intellectual property partnerships. According to Livemint, this approach opens up possibilities for supporting promising technologies and ideas that may still be taking shape outside the traditional startup ecosystem. Navya emphasized that 'We define ourselves not by sector but by the scale of the problem and the conviction of those solving it,' giving the venture room to consider opportunities across different industries where emerging technologies have potential to address complex challenges. The venture arm is actively seeking founders developing new ideas and breakthrough technologies in its identified areas, with plans to draw on the wider network of the Nanda Family Office to support investment partners.
The launch comes as government and private investors are increasing their focus on deep-tech and research-led businesses in India. The government's Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme has an overall outlay of ₹1 lakh crore over six years and is designed to increase private-sector participation in high-risk, high-impact research and innovation. According to the India Deep Tech Alliance's 2026 investment landscape, Indian deep-tech startups attracted $2.1 billion across 289 deals in 2025, while AI startups attracted $1.22 billion across 188 deals in 2025, a 58% increase in funding value from the previous year. The India Deep Tech Alliance has also said its members have committed more than $2.5 billion over five years to Indian deep-tech investments, including $1 billion earmarked for AI over three years.
Announcing the venture on social media, Navya explained her approach to backing companies. As reported by Livemint, she stated that businesses attempting to address major challenges require more than financial support to grow. 'The problems worth solving are rarely small ones. The ideas that change industries, reshape economies, and improve lives need more than just capital to scale. They need partners who believe in them early, show up consistently, and have the patience to see them through,' she added. Navya emphasized that she had been working on the initiative for some time before making it public, and that 'We are not chasing quick returns but looking to help build enduring companies alongside exceptional people for India's future.' As part of the Nanda Family Office, Naveli Ventures can draw on relationships across industry, government, academia and the investment community to support the companies and founders it backs.
