Asthrum Capital invests in growth-stage consumer and healthcare businesses across India — with deep sector conviction, active hands-on partnership, and capital that does more than just show up.
Backing India's boldest builders at their defining moment.
ASTHRUM CAPITAL
Growth capital for India's most ambitious founders.
We built Asthrum Capital to back a generation of founders building India's consumer and healthcare businesses that didn't exist ten years ago; businesses that leverage digital reach, shifting consumer behaviour and the confidence to take real risk.
We back companies that have found product-market fit, crossed $10M in revenue, and are now navigating the most complex transition of their journey: retaining the essence of the start-up while becoming an enduring business at scale
Our sectors of focus
Food & beverages
Home & personal care
Consumer health
Healthcare services
Pet care
Technology services
We are active partners, not passive capital.
We work alongside founders on the things that matter most at the transition stage: building leadership teams, designing governance structures, creating the processes and KPIs that allow a founder-led business to scale without losing what made it special.
Why Asthrum
अस्त्रम् · Astram · /ɐst̪rɐm/
In Sanskrit, an Asthrum is the most powerful celestial weapon that could only be wielded by someone who had earned the right through years of apprenticeship, genuine mastery of craft, and absolute command of their own mind.
Capital is like that. Deployed with the right expertise and intention, it doesn't just fund a business — it unlocks what that business is truly capable of.
Capital is like that. Deployed with the right expertise and intention, it doesn't just fund a business — it unlocks what that business is truly capable of.
What we stand for
Candour with Care
We believe direct, honest feedback is one of the most valuable things a capital partner can offer. We will always prioritize your company’s interests while posing the tough questions founders need to answer.
Integrity
Investing is a long-term business, and integrity in what we do compounds over time.
Diversity of Thought
Different vantage points lead to better decisions. We carry this commitment into the teams we build, the boards we sit on, and the culture we encourage at every company we back.
Unconditional Partnership
We are in your corner through the difficult seasons, not just the easy ones. Over two decades, we have seen that the best businesses are never built in perfect conditions.
The people behind Asthrum
I started in consumer and healthcare investing in 2011 because I had a belief that was hard to shake: that Indian founders were about to build the most exciting generation of businesses the country had ever seen. Fifteen years on, I have watched that belief prove itself — and what is coming in the next twenty years is even more extraordinary.
After starting my career at McKinsey, I spent about a decade at Sequoia Capital India learning what it means to back founders at the most uncertain stages of building, and then led L Catterton India's office — where I developed what rigorous, hands-on value creation looks like once a business has real scale.
I started Asthrum because I believe this is India's moment, and I wanted to build the fund that this generation of founders deserves- one that will back them with high conviction and be active partners to them in their growth journey.
After starting my career at McKinsey, I spent about a decade at Sequoia Capital India learning what it means to back founders at the most uncertain stages of building, and then led L Catterton India's office — where I developed what rigorous, hands-on value creation looks like once a business has real scale.
I started Asthrum because I believe this is India's moment, and I wanted to build the fund that this generation of founders deserves- one that will back them with high conviction and be active partners to them in their growth journey.
Growing up in a Gujarati household, I learnt early that building something of your own was deeply fulfilling.
After two attempts at my own start-ups, I switched to private equity.
My 12-year stint across Kotak Private Equity and L Catterton India exposed me to the most exciting businesses getting built across consumer and healthcare in India, and refined my approach of being a true partner to founders going through the challenges of company building.
While the most trusted names of my childhood were multinationals, I think the time has come for Indian brands to change the narrative. I am excited to become an entrepreneur myself doing what I know best: backing the most ambitious founders in their business building journey.
After two attempts at my own start-ups, I switched to private equity.
My 12-year stint across Kotak Private Equity and L Catterton India exposed me to the most exciting businesses getting built across consumer and healthcare in India, and refined my approach of being a true partner to founders going through the challenges of company building.
While the most trusted names of my childhood were multinationals, I think the time has come for Indian brands to change the narrative. I am excited to become an entrepreneur myself doing what I know best: backing the most ambitious founders in their business building journey.
Akash Desai
Co-Founder and Partner
12 years of investing experience
$400M+ deployed
L Catterton India · Kotak Private Equity
University of Mumbai · ICAI
Anjana Sasidharan
Founder and Managing Partner
19 years of investing experience
$510M+ deployed · 20 companies · 100% proprietary deal track record
Sequoia Capital India · L Catterton India · McKinsey & Company
NIT Trichy · IIM Ahmedabad
Advisory board
Ireena Vittal is one of India's most respected advisors on consumer businesses, urban development, and corporate governance. She currently serves as a Non-Executive Board Member at Diageo, Asian Paints, Urban Company, and Maruti Suzuki, and has held board roles at Godrej Consumer, Titan, HDFC, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, Tata Global Beverages, and others. A former Partner at McKinsey & Company, she brings decades of experience at the intersection of strategy, governance, and consumer insight to her advisory role at Asthrum.
Ireena Vittal
Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha is a serial entrepreneur, institution builder, and one of India's most creative minds in the domain of enterprise and education. He is the Founder of Ashoka University and the Founding Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB), and has founded multiple companies across media and education, including Harappa Education (acquired by upGrad). He served as Group MD and CEO of ABP — a $200M media group — and is a former Partner at McKinsey & Company. He brings to Asthrum a rare lens of institution-building, governance, and long-term thinking about enterprise value.
Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha
Operating panel
Siddarth brings over 20 years of experience scaling some of India's most celebrated consumer brands. He is a founding team member and former CMO of Epigamia, has worked with Reliance Consumer, Sugar Cosmetics, Bombay Shaving Company, Nua, and Perfora, and held leadership roles at Colgate Palmolive and Coca-Cola India. He works with Asthrum portfolio companies on brand strategy, go-to-market execution, and organisational design.
Siddarth Menon
Consumer & FMCG
Consumer & FMCG
Seema is a senior technology leader with 25 years of experience driving AI-led digital transformation across enterprise and growth-stage companies. Currently Director of Field Engineering at Databricks, she previously served as Senior Director at Microsoft Azure, where she led cloud migrations and AI infrastructure initiatives across BFSI, retail, and manufacturing. At Asthrum, she helps portfolio companies deploy AI-driven efficiencies across operations, sales, finance, and supply chain.
Seema Kumar
Technology & AI
Technology & AI
Companies we’ve backed
Every company in this portfolio was found through a proprietary relationship. We built conviction over time — through category research, direct engagement with founders, and months of relationship building.
India's largest pet food brand. Backed as first external investor, sourced directly from the founder in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.
India's largest dry fruit-based healthy snacking brand. Built to dominate quick commerce.
One of India's fastest-growing colour cosmetics brands, backed through a period of major channel expansion and premiumisation.
A leading eye hospital chain with a strong presence across Tier 2 and Tier 3 India.
AI-powered medical imaging and diagnostics, at the frontier of healthcare AI in India.
A dermatology-focused healthcare company with a strong presence in skin health and chronic care.
India's largest single-specialty chain in anorectal care.
A global executive education platform, built out of India and now operating across 80+ countries.
A pioneer in the healthy snacking and condiments space in India.
India's leading genetic testing and genomics services company.
Let’s talk
If you are building a business in consumer or healthcare and believe Asthrum could be the right partner for your next chapter, we would love to hear from you.
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Asthrum Capital Management Private Limited
SEBI Registration: IN/AIF2/26-27/2218 · Category II Alternative Investment Fund
SEBI Registration: IN/AIF2/26-27/2218 · Category II Alternative Investment Fund