Inuka Capital

Overview

Inuka Capital is an operator-led venture capital firm founded by Gautam Shewakramani and Raj Sheth. The firm backs Indian startups at the earliest stages, investing primarily in Pre-Seed and Seed rounds.

Both founders come from operating backgrounds and have built companies themselves. They started five companies between them and have also invested as angels in Indian startups including Exotel, Tonbo, Navya, Animall, Navgati and Yulu.

Inuka was created around a specific view of the Indian startup market: there is room for more full-time investors who understand what it takes to build a company from zero to one.

Investment Focus and Stage

Inuka Capital invests in Pre-Seed and Seed-stage companies, usually participating in a startup's first institutional fundraising round. The firm is sector agnostic and looks particularly closely at businesses using technology to improve the efficiency of Indian companies.

Rather than beginning with a fixed industry list, Inuka evaluates whether a company can become venture scale and whether the founders have a strong connection to the problem they are solving. Its investment process places substantial weight on founder experience, product insight and the potential size of the opportunity.

The firm also aims to lead rounds and build its own conviction rather than simply following another investor's decision. Its team describes its role as helping founders move from 0 to 1 and beyond, with support around fundraising, hiring, go-to-market and other company-building challenges.

Fund Size and Portfolio

Inuka Capital is currently investing from its fully subscribed $10 million Fund I. The fund is focused on building a concentrated portfolio of Indian Pre-Seed and Seed-stage companies.

The firm's current portfolio includes businesses across consumer, fintech, healthcare, SaaS, mobility, logistics, deeptech and other technology-enabled categories. Companies associated with the portfolio include OnArrival, ApniBus, Armatrix, Mave Health, Pazy, Quicklend, Terafac, Aspera Industries, ToHands, Bindbee, Hooliv, Propacity, Leher, Pico Xpress and others.

Recent investments illustrate the breadth of the firm's approach. Inuka participated in Armatrix's $2.1 million pre-seed round, backing its development of robotic systems for confined and hazardous industrial environments. It also participated in Mave Health's $2.1 million seed round, while leading Pazy's pre-seed round alongside Gemba Capital.

The portfolio continues to develop as the fund backs companies solving operational and consumer problems through technology.

Leadership

Gautam Shewakramani is Co-Founder and General Partner of Inuka Capital. He founded AudioCompass in 2011, later worked at Quora and Skillshare, and ran On Deck's accelerator fund in India before starting Inuka.

Raj Sheth is Co-Founder and General Partner. A four-time founder, Sheth built Recruiterbox into a bootstrapped SaaS company that was later sold to private equity. He subsequently acquired and turned around Flydata before its eventual sale.

The founders bring direct operating experience into their investment work, which is central to Inuka's identity. The firm was created specifically to combine early-stage investing with the practical perspective of people who have built companies themselves.