Analysis · Professional & Local Services

Swati Murarka joins Bertelsmann India Investments as principal

By Startup Enthusiast · 28 February 2026

What they do

Bertelsmann India Investments is a venture capital firm with an evergreen capital model

Swati Murarka has joined as principal, bringing experience from Athera Venture Partners, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays

The firm backs companies like Rupeek, CureBay, Wiom and LetsTransport and focuses on long-term value creation

Swati Murarka has joined Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) as Principal.
She previously worked at Athera Venture Partners, where she developed pattern recognition in venture investing.
Her early career was at Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, giving her grounding in risk assessment, capital structuring and governance.
BII operates with an evergreen capital model, not bound by fixed 10-year fund cycles or artificial exit pressures.
This structure allows BII to support companies through downturns and prioritise compounding over quick markups.
BII positions itself as an extension of founding teams, involved in senior leadership hiring, margin tracking, working capital cycles and growth strategy.
The firm provides institutional governance playbooks, cross-border pattern recognition and strategic networks across media, services and education.

The Indian venture ecosystem has matured over the last decade with deeper capital and more seasoned founders.
Murarka notes that founders are building institution-grade companies earlier with independent boards, internal controls and long-term incentive alignment.
Recent market recalibration has strengthened the ecosystem, with capital efficiency discussed at board level and burn multiples evaluated strategically.
Governance is now seen as a value multiplier, not a constraint.
Structural levers for India include deeper domestic institutional participation in private markets, R&D and IP incentives for deep-tech and AI-native innovation, regulatory clarity in fintech and climate, and smoother listing pathways.

BII is the India-focused venture capital arm of Bertelsmann, a global media, services and education conglomerate.
It operates with an evergreen capital model, meaning it has no fixed fund life and is not forced to exit investments within a set timeframe.
The firm can support portfolio companies through downturns and focuses on long-term value creation rather than quick markups.
BII positions itself as an extension of founding teams, helping with senior leadership hiring, margin tracking, working capital cycles and growth strategy.
Its portfolio includes Rupeek (gold loans), CureBay (healthcare), Wiom (internet connectivity) and LetsTransport (logistics).
LetsTransport found a new home within Bertelsmann Next, a platform for emerging businesses under the global Bertelsmann umbrella.
BII provides institutional governance playbooks, cross-border pattern recognition and strategic networks across media, services and education.