British International Investment

Pi Ventures Fund II

IndiaSouth AsiaCommunications & IT servicesConsumer - HealthManufacturing

pi Ventures is an early-stage fund, focused on investing on disruptive ideas leveraging machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) in India.

Our investment

Description of the investment.

This investment is part of our strategy to (i) support the local entrepreneurial ecosystem in our markets in order to build new businesses which create jobs, and; (ii) provide us access to early-stage companies that have the potential to create transformational impact at scale.

pi Ventures II will support the growth of new businesses which are driving innovation and economic growth. It will invest seed capital in artificial intelligence (AI) and deep-tech-focussed start-ups that can foster technology innovation in key development sectors. It will also further develop the Indian venture ecosystem. This can be expected to deliver productivity gains for businesses and cheaper, more affordable and technologically superior goods and services for consumers.

Impact information

Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.

What?

Impact
  • Improve economic productivity through technology and innovation (SDG 8.2).
  • Improve quality of life through increased access to goods and services, including healthcare (SDG 3).

How?

Primary Secondary
  • Economic enabler: Investments in companies providing enterprise solutions using artificial intelligence and deep-tech for productivity improvements in other businesses.
  • Catalysing markets: In India there are few dedicated deep-tech funds and it remains an unproven fund strategy (with potential for high impact through disruptive businesses tackling development challenges). The fund can help build a track record and prove the viability of deep-tech venture capital in India to attract a greater supply of capital to this segment. Signposts for success in the medium term will include growth of the fund as it deploys as well as replication at the market level.

Who?

Stakeholder Geography Characteristics
Suppliers and employees.

India-based companies (often with global customer base)

Variable. Fund I portfolio primarily reached white-collar workers, with a smaller number of investments targeting manufacturing firms and SMEs.
Consumers

Variable. Different business models are likely to reach different economic segments though many solutions are designed for Tier 2/3 cities and rural areas with greater unmet demand.

How much?

Scale Depth/Duration

Portfolio companies such as Locus (AI based logistics management platform) completes nearly 12 million orders monthly, and SwitchOn (AI based IOT solution for improving operational efficiency of manufacturing plants) inspected 4.3 million parts. Fund I is currently supporting 860 direct jobs at its portfolio companies.

A study estimated that AI has the potential to increase India’s annual growth rate by 1.3 per cent and add $957 billion to India’s economy (15 per cent of GDP) in 2035.

Contribution/additionality

Contribution/additionality
  • Financial additionality: Our capital will help the fund reach its target size and enable follow on investments.
  • Value additionality: We have provided significant value-add in institutionalising a range of processes in Fund I, with continued engagement expected for Fund II

Risk

Execution Risk
  • Relates to the risk that businesses will fail to scale and deliver on the expected impact.

Impact score

Impact score (at point of investment)

The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. You can find out more here.

The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party.

5

Understanding our impact information (PDF)

Environmental and social information

  • Environmental and social summary

    A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
  • Environmental and social risk

    A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.

Environmental and social summary

We are supporting the fund manager to further enhance their existing ESMS.

Environmental and social risk

Low

Understanding our approach to environmental and social risk (PDF)

Reporting and Complaints Mechanism

The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to reportsandcomplaints@bii.co.uk or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.

For any other general enquiries contact us at enquiries@bii.co.uk

  • Key facts
    Last updated

    When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
    :
    June 2024
    Project number

    An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
    :
    D5558
    Status

    The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
    :
    Active
    Region

    The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
    :
    South Asia
    Sector

    We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.

    :
    Communications & IT services, Consumer - Health, Manufacturing

    We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.

    For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.

    For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.

    For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.

    For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.

    For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.

    For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.

    The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.

    For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.

    The currency in which the investment was made.
    Investment type :
    Fund
    Start date :
    October 2022
    Amount :
    $8.11m
    Currency of investment :
    INR
    Fund Manager:
    pi Partners LLP
    Domicile

    The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
    :
    India

    Download as PDF

    Click here to read our data guidance

Investments made by this fund into companies:

For further information about these companies, visit https://www.piventures.in/

Investment name Country Region Sector Start date Status
Heni Innovation Private Limited India South Asia Consumer - Health April 2023 Active
Lightspeed Photonics Private Limited India South Asia Manufacturing June 2024 Active
Lightspeed Photonics Private Limited India South Asia Manufacturing June 2024 Active
Preimage Private Limited India South Asia Communications & IT services August 2022 Active
RepelloAI Technologies Private Limited India South Asia Communications & IT services June 2024 Active
RepelloAI Technologies Private Limited India South Asia Communications & IT services June 2024 Active
TurboML India South Asia Communications & IT services June 2023 Active

Back to investments

How we invest

Find out more

Portfolio data

Find out more

Subscribe to receive our latest news and updates

Sign-up here