Co-founding Partner, SilverX Fund
Abishek Balendran
An investment banker turned venture investor, Abishek Balendran backs AI and deep-tech founders with a close eye on the economics.
11 yearsin banking and investing
16investments at Silverneedle
4portfolio exits at Nirvana
The journey
How Abishek got here.
Investment banker
Nomura and JM Financial, across healthcare, hospitality and energy
Private equity
Direct and platform investments at Xander Private Equity
Fund manager
Nirvana Venture Advisors, exits in Shiprocket, Zopper, Unbxd and Jombay
Co-founding partner
Silverneedle Ventures in 2022, SilverX Fund in 2025
About
As Co-founding Partner of SilverX Fund, Fund II under the Silverneedle Ventures platform, Abishek invests in deep tech, frontier technology and applied AI. He has helped build Silverneedle Ventures alongside Ajay Jain since 2022, backing 16 companies across AI, deep tech and consumer. He is based in Mumbai.
He sits on the boards of OnFinance AI and hypergro and is a board observer at Mainstreet. His portfolio also includes Dhruva Space, BrainSightAI, Makers Hive, SuperK, Disprz, VAMA and CureSkin.
Abishek began his career in investment banking at Nomura and JM Financial, moved to private equity at Xander, managed venture investments at Nirvana Venture Advisors and consulted for the Singapore Angel Network. He writes regularly on the economics of AI. He holds an MBA in Finance from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, and a BE in Electronics and Telecommunication from Pune Institute of Computer Technology.
When underwriting an AI company, he asks what becomes scarce when intelligence becomes cheap.
Short bio
Abishek Balendran is Co-founding Partner of SilverX Fund and a Partner at Silverneedle Ventures, investing in deep tech, frontier technology and applied AI. He was previously a fund manager at Nirvana Venture Advisors and began his career in investment banking at Nomura and JM Financial. He holds an MBA from SIBM Pune and an engineering degree from PICT.