People · 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 that backs Indian startups with an evergreen capital model

Swati Murarka has joined as Principal, bringing experience from Athera Venture Partners and early roles at Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays

The firm supports portfolio companies like LetsTransport with operational help, and Murarka will focus on growth-stage investments

Swati Murarka has joined Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) as Principal.
Murarka previously worked at Athera Venture Partners, where she built pattern recognition in venture investing.
Her early career included roles at Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, focusing on risk assessment, capital structuring, and governance.
BII operates with an evergreen capital model, meaning it is not bound by fixed 10-year fund cycles or artificial exit pressures.
This model allows BII to support companies through downturns and prioritise compounding over quick markups.
BII positions itself as an extension of founding teams, aligning on strategic value creation rather than financial engineering.
The firm's portfolio includes Rupeek, CureBay, and Wiom, among others.
BII has been involved with LetsTransport, helping with senior leadership hiring, margin tracking, working capital cycles, and growth strategy.

Murarka evaluates startups on founder-market fit, sustainable competitive advantage, and economic architecture.
At the growth stage, she adds filters of governance maturity and capital allocation discipline.
She sees opportunities in the formalisation of the economy, premiumisation, AI-led productivity, and infrastructure for the next billion users.
Murarka believes India has a deep talent advantage and large training datasets for AI-native applications.
She notes that recent market recalibration has strengthened the ecosystem, with capital efficiency now discussed at board level.

BII is a venture capital firm investing in Indian startups.
It uses an evergreen capital model, providing patient capital without fixed fund life constraints.
The firm supports portfolio companies with operational guidance, including hiring, margin improvement, and working capital management.
BII's portfolio includes Rupeek (gold loan platform), CureBay (healthcare), and Wiom (internet services).
The firm helped LetsTransport improve gross margins and reduce burn multiple through active involvement.
LetsTransport found a new home within Bertelsmann Next, a platform for emerging businesses under the global Bertelsmann umbrella.
Bertelsmann provides portfolio companies with institutional governance playbooks, cross-border pattern recognition, and strategic networks.

Murarka will focus on growth-stage investments, adding filters of governance maturity and capital allocation discipline.
She will seek opportunities in the formalisation of the economy, premiumisation, AI-led productivity, and infrastructure for the next billion users.
She advocates for deeper domestic institutional participation, R&D and IP incentives, regulatory clarity, and public market evolution.