Siddarth Pai
Founding Partner, CFO & ESG Officer
Reviewed Updated Jul 4, 2026This profile is AI-generated. If you spot an error, please help us fix it by sharing a URL to the correct information.
Background
Siddarth Pai is a Founding Partner of 3one4 Capital, the Bengaluru-based early-stage venture firm he co-founded with his elder brother Pranav Pai. He also serves as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer and ESG Officer 1. The Pai brothers are the sons of TV Mohandas Pai, the former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys and chairman of Manipal Global Education Services 2.
Siddarth completed a B.Com at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bangalore, and is a qualified Chartered Accountant 1. Before formalising 3one4, the brothers began investing in a personal capacity in 2014 and used those bets to test the portfolio thesis that later became Fund I 3. They launched 3one4 Capital’s Fund I at the beginning of 2016 with a corpus of roughly ₹100 Cr (about $13.8M) 3. Fund II followed in 2017–2018, initially targeting ₹150 Cr and closing oversubscribed at ₹250 Cr (~$34.9M) 3. The firm subsequently raised Fund III (~$100M, first close September 2020) 4, an opportunity vehicle called Continuum I focused on Series B follow-ons in the existing portfolio 5, and Fund IV, which was oversubscribed at $250M but capped at $200M and announced in May 2023 6. As of early 2026, 3one4 has cumulative assets under management of roughly $750M 6.
Beyond 3one4, Siddarth is one of the most active regulatory voices in Indian venture capital. He is the youngest Executive Council member of the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) and serves as Co-Chair of the IVCA Regulatory Affairs Committee, working on securities markets, Alternative Investment Funds, taxation, foreign exchange, law, and startups 17. He is also an expert policy member of iSPIRT, the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table 1.
Stated Thesis
3one4 Capital publicly describes itself as an early-stage investor that provides “transformative capital for the new Indian economy,” backing founders “from the first cheque to IPO” across SaaS, Consumer Internet, Fintech, Digital Health, and Enterprise & SMB Digitisation 8. Siddarth has framed the firm’s approach in interviews as bottom-up and research-led: “We use a bottom-up approach based on primary research to predict trends which will be seen in two years” 2. He has also emphasised alignment with founders over financial optics — “We are not some money manager but we are a co-investor with you” 3 — and describes the firm’s screening effort as speaking to roughly 2,000–2,500 companies a year with a small team before deploying capital 3.
Inferred Thesis
Based on the 60+ portfolio companies listed on 3one4’s website and press coverage of Fund I through Fund IV, several patterns are visible:
- Stage concentration. The public portfolio is heavily weighted toward Seed and Series A rounds: of 64 companies enumerated on the firm’s portfolio page, at least 41 are labelled Seed and at least 8 are labelled Series A or Pre-Series A; only a handful are later-stage 8. Continuum I exists specifically to write $3M–$5M growth-stage cheques into the best-performing Seed and Series A companies from earlier funds 5.
- Sector mix. The public portfolio spans five sectors 3one4 highlights internally. Counting the 51 companies on the portfolio page with a sector label: Fintech (16), Consumer Internet/Tech (14), SaaS (9), Enterprise & SMB Digitisation (9), and Digital Health (4) — with Fintech and Consumer forming the largest exposures 8. Note this is 3one4’s self-labelling, not an independent classification.
- Geographic focus. Bengaluru-headquartered, India-first. Fund IV LPs include “all systemically important Indian banks,” the top five Indian banks by market cap, eight of the top ten Indian mutual fund operators, and a 50% Indian-investor base 6.
- What they avoid. The Pai brothers have said they explicitly avoid food delivery, payment wallets, and horizontal e-commerce 2.
- Team structure. Fund I ran with a ~12-person team screening thousands of companies annually 3; Fund II deployed into ~40 companies of which 27 raised follow-on rounds 3.
- Notable outlier bet. The firm’s Seed investment in Darwinbox (July 2016), made at a valuation below $2M, has been reported as a paper gain in the range of 500x — and Fund I returned capital to LPs largely on the strength of that position 9.
Siddarth’s individual work sits at the CFO / regulatory end of the partnership: fund structuring, LP relations, and public policy on angel tax, AIF rules, and tax residency. Pranav Pai leads investment sourcing and portfolio construction. Investment decisions are made jointly, and the Pai brothers reportedly co-invest personal capital of 30–80% of each fund’s corpus 3.
Portfolio
Selected 3one4 Capital investments where Siddarth is a Founding Partner. Years reflect the firm’s initial investment where verifiable; sector labels are 3one4’s own 8.
| Company | Year | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licious | 2015 | Seed (lead) | 10 |
| Darwinbox | 2016 | Seed | 9 |
| YourStory | ~2016 | Series A | 8 |
| Tracxn | ~2016 | (from 3one4 portfolio) | 8 |
| Pocket Aces | ~2016 | Series A | 8 |
| Bugworks | ~2016 | Seed | 8 |
| Faircent | ~2016 | (from 3one4 portfolio) | 3 |
| Open | ~2018 | Series A | 86 |
| Jupiter | ~2019 | Seed | 86 |
| Yulu | ~2018 | Seed | 8 |
| BetterPlace | ~2018 | Series A | 86 |
| Loco | ~2018 | Seed | 86 |
| Kuku FM | ~2019 | Seed | 86 |
| Lokal | ~2019 | Seed | 86 |
| Koo | ~2020 | Seed | 6 |
| Dozee | ~2020 | Seed (Digital Health) | 8 |
| Eka.Care | ~2021 | Seed | 8 |
| Raise Financial Services | ~2021 | Series A1 | 86 |
| Fasal | ~2021 | Pre-Series A | 8 |
| Exponent Energy | ~2022 | Seed | 8 |
| Everstage | ~2022 | Seed | 8 |
| Scimplify | ~2022 | (from 3one4 portfolio) | 8 |
| Hyperface | ~2022 | Seed | 8 |
| CheQ | ~2023 | Seed | 8 |
| Smallest.ai | ~2024 | (from 3one4 portfolio) | 8 |
| AGNIT Semiconductors | ~2024 | (from 3one4 portfolio) | 8 |
Years marked “~YYYY” reflect the round or company’s approximate founding/investment window per 3one4’s portfolio page and press coverage; exact investment dates were not independently confirmed for these entries. Licious and Darwinbox dates are confirmed against dated press 910.
Not shown: additional companies visible on 3one4’s public portfolio page (Hexa, Wiom, Growfin, Toddle, Nektar, ePlane.ai, IndiaGold, Kapiva, Knight Fintech, LoanTap, Lobb, Pazcare, Repute, Ripplr, ToneTag, Unbox Robotics, Wint Wealth, ZestIoT, Leap.is, Wigzo, Streak, Magic Crate, Vidyut Tech, AUS, Fermbox, Datamotive, R for Rabbit, WeRize, Elivaas, Elixiir Foods, Lumio, Rozana, Coverself, ZenStatement, Xindus, DoSelect, Inc42, Fego.ai, Oust) 8.
In Their Own Words
On investment approach:
“We use a bottom-up approach based on primary research to predict trends which will be seen in two years.” — Siddarth Pai, Forbes India, 2019 2
On the founder relationship:
“We are not some money manager but we are a co-investor with you.” — Siddarth Pai, Inc42, 2020 3
On respecting founders’ businesses:
“We felt it is more respectful to find out what works before.” — Siddarth Pai, Inc42, 2020 3
On generational shift in Indian entrepreneurship:
“Most of the founders creating value today and starting companies that will be valuable 10 years down the line are in their 20s and 30s.” — Siddarth Pai, Inc42, 2020 3
On India’s angel tax regime, in an Inc42 interview:
“I don’t think bringing an ordinance is the right way to address the angel tax issue. Rather, an aptly-written notification is the way to go about it.” — Siddarth Pai, Inc42 11
“Such a draconian law does not exist in any other part of the world except in India.” — Siddarth Pai, Inc42 11
“In other countries, angel investments are usually incentivised but in India, it is dis-incentivised, thanks to angel taxation.” — Siddarth Pai, Inc42 11
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials found. 3one4’s website features portfolio case studies but not verbatim founder statements about working with Siddarth specifically.
Connections
- Co-Founding Partner, 3one4 Capital — with brother Pranav Pai (CIO), since 2015–2016 23
- Family — son of TV Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys and chairman of Manipal Global Education 2
- Executive Council & Co-Chair, Regulatory Affairs Committee, IVCA (Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association) — youngest Executive Council member; regulatory advocacy on AIFs, angel tax, and taxation 17
- Expert policy member, iSPIRT (Indian Software Product Industry Round Table) 1
- Startup councils, CII and AIMA 1
Sources
-
3one4 Capital, “Siddarth Pai — Team page,” accessed July 2026. https://www.3one4capital.com/team/siddarth-pai↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Forbes India, “How the Pai brothers are building a legacy beyond their father’s,” accessed July 2026. https://www.forbesindia.com/article/startups/how-the-pai-brothers-are-building-a-legacy-beyond-their-fathers/62807/↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Inc42, “Moneyball: The Weight Of Legacy Sits Easy On 3one4 Capital’s Pai Brothers,” accessed July 2026. https://inc42.com/features/moneyballthe-weight-of-legacy-sits-easy-on-3one4-capitals-pai-brothers/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Inc42, “3one4 Capital Launches New $100 Mn Fund To Invest In 30 Early Stage Startups,” accessed July 2026. https://inc42.com/buzz/3one4-capital-unveils-fund-iii-to-invest-in-30-early-stage-startups/↩
-
Inc42, “3one4 Capital Launches $50 Mn Continuum I Fund To Invest In Growth-Stage Startups,” accessed July 2026. https://inc42.com/buzz/3one4-capital-launches-50-mn-continuum-fund-to-invest-in-growth-stage-startups/↩↩
-
TechCrunch, “3one4 Capital, driven by contrarian bets, raises $200 million new fund,” May 7, 2023. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/07/3one4-capital-driven-by-contrarian-bets-raises-200-million-new-fund/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
IVCA, “Siddarth Pai — Founding Partner, CFO, ESG Officer, 3one4 Capital Advisors — Committee member page,” accessed July 2026. https://www.ivca.in/committee/member/siddarth-pai-p9↩↩
-
3one4 Capital, “Portfolio,” accessed July 2026. https://www.3one4capital.com/portfolio↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Inc42, “3one4 Capital’s Fund I Clocks 58X Returns From Darwinbox Bet,” accessed July 2026. https://inc42.com/buzz/3one4-capitals-fund-i-clocks-58x-returns-from-darwinbox-investment/↩↩↩
-
Crunchbase, “Licious Seed Round, September 2015,” accessed July 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/licious-seed–6895cda8↩↩
-
Inc42, “Angel Tax: Need An Aptly-Written Notification, Not An Ordinance, Says Siddarth Pai,” accessed July 2026. https://inc42.com/features/angel-tax-need-an-aptly-written-notification-not-an-ordinance-says-siddarth-pai/↩↩↩