Rohan C

Managing Director

Rohan is a Managing Director at Arali Ventures and leads the funds investments in deep-tech, industrial AI and sustainability at Arali Ventures.

Focus

Deep-Tech

Industrial AI

Climate

Physical AI

LinkedIn ↗

Background

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Rohan invests in deeptech and sustainability at Arali, with a particular interest in physical AI, industrial technology, advanced manufacturing, material sciences and climate.

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He works primarily with companies at the seed & series A stage and supports founders on navigating the early stages of company-building and growth.

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Before joining Arali, Rohan spent a decade at Bharat Innovation Fund, where his role covered venture investing and hands-on portfolio support.

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He worked with companies from seed through series B, supporting them on strategy, governance, and follow-on planning.

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He holds engineering degrees in Materials Science & Engineering from NITK Surathkal, followed by the University of Pennsylvania, with research experience in nanomaterials and clean energy.

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Answers to your important questions

What stage and check size does Arali invest at?+

We invest at pre-seed and seed. We are comfortable backing companies before revenue, and even before product. We typically lead rounds with investments in the range of $250k to $1.5 mn, with reserves for follow-on investments.

What sectors do you focus on?+

We invest in B2B and enterprise technology across Enterprise AI, Industrial AI, Fintech Infrastructure, HealthTech, B2B Commerce, and Climate.

How early is too early for Arali?+

We are comfortable investing at pre-revenue stages. 60% of Arali's investments were companies at pre-revenue stages. What helps us build conviction is evidence of urgency: customer conversations, design partners, pilots, domain insight, or a technical edge that is hard to replicate.

Do you lead rounds?+

Yes. We usually prefer to lead or co-lead, but we are flexible when we have conviction.

What does your diligence process look like, and how long does it take?+

Our process typically runs 4–6 weeks from first meeting to term sheet. We try to move quickly and transparently. Most processes involve founder meetings, product and market deep-dives, customer/reference calls, and an investment committee discussion.

What do you look for in a founding team?+

Three things matter most: founder-market fit (do you have an unfair insight or advantage in this domain?), technical depth (especially for enterprise and deep-tech products), and commercial instinct (can you sell to enterprises, not just build?). We've backed first-time founders and repeat founders — clarity of thinking and speed of execution matters more to us than pedigree.

How do you help portfolio companies after investing?+

Our support is most active in three areas: helping with enterprise customer introductions (we have relationships across Indian and global enterprises), supporting hiring for key early roles, and providing hands-on help with go-to-market strategy for B2B products. We're not going to run your company for you, but we'll roll up our sleeves on specific problems when it matters.

Do you invest outside India?+

Yes.

What's the best way to get in touch with you?+

A warm intro from a founder in our portfolio, a co-investor, or someone in our network is the fastest path. But we also actively review cold inbound. If you send us a concise note (problem, solution, traction, team, ask) to our website or LinkedIn, we read everything and respond within a week if there's a fit.