Family offices · India
Premji Invest: Azim Premji's Family Office or a VC Firm?
Premji Invest is a Bengaluru-based firm, set up in 2006, that invests the capital of Azim Premji, founder chairman of Wipro. It describes itself as a venture capital firm and says it is not a family office, although Bloomberg and Business Standard have called it Premji's family office; Bloomberg reported in April 2024 that it manages over US$10 billion for him. Its website says a significant majority of its returns go to the philanthropic endowment that funds the Azim Premji Foundation; it also has an office in Menlo Park, California, and is known for an early stake in the National Stock Exchange of India and for technology, consumer, financial and healthcare investments in India and the US. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
At a glance
| Family | Premji family |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 (according to its website and Business Standard) |
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India; US office in Menlo Park, California |
| Run by | TK Kurien, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner |
| Size | Over US$10 billion managed for Azim Premji (Bloomberg, April 2024); no figure from the office |
| Structure | Calls itself a venture capital firm, not a family office; Bloomberg and Business Standard call it Premji's family office |
| Known for | Early stake in NSE (2004); Fabindia, Trent, Myntra (2012 to 2014); Lenskart; Databricks and BigHat Biosciences (2026) |
How did Premji Invest start?
According to its website, Premji Invest was set up in 2006 and was formed to grow the endowment that Azim Premji, founder chairman of Wipro, has funded since 2001 by irrevocably donating a majority of his wealth to support the Azim Premji Foundation. Business Standard described it in October 2008 as a US$1 billion investment fund floated by Premji, and in December 2014 as his family office, founded in 2006, with over US$2 billion under management across India, the US and China. TK Kurien succeeded its founding chief investment officer, Prakash Parthasarathy, on 1 February 2017, according to PTI as published by Business Standard. [2, 5, 9, 10, 11]
Who runs Premji Invest?
Premji Invest's website lists TK Kurien, a former Vice Chairman and CEO of Wipro, as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner; he joined on 1 February 2017 as Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer, according to PTI as published by Business Standard. Sandesh Patnam, Managing Partner, has led the firm's US practice since 2014, according to the website. The website's India and US team pages list no Premji family members; the India page describes the firm as sponsored by Azim Premji. [3, 7, 11, 12]
How big is Premji Invest?
Premji Invest publishes no figure for its total assets. Bloomberg reported on 28 April 2024 that it manages over US$10 billion for Azim Premji and called it the largest Indian family office; Business Standard gave over US$2 billion of assets under management in December 2014. Premji Invest's website says its US practice has deployed US$6 billion across 75 companies since 2014, with 12 IPOs and 10 acquisitions; this is money invested over time, not current assets. [4, 5, 7]
Reported by the sources named, not confirmed by an official source.
What does Premji Invest invest in?
Premji Invest says it invests from early-stage venture through growth equity and public markets, in sectors including AI and enterprise technology, healthcare, consumer and financial services. It says it made an early investment in the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in 2004; Business Standard reported in October 2008 that it had bought a 3% stake in NSE for US$100 million, quoting its chief investment officer as saying the deal had been struck some time earlier. Business Standard listed later deals including 4.91% of Trent and 7% of Fabindia (both March 2012, for Rs 122 crore and Rs 125 crore) and US$50 million in Myntra (February 2014). In 2026 Premji Invest announced an investment in Databricks (August) and said it co-led the US$75 million Series C of BigHat Biosciences with DFJ Growth (September). [1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 14]
How is Premji Invest set up and regulated?
Premji Invest describes itself as a venture capital firm and answers 'No' to whether it is a family office, although Bloomberg and Business Standard have called it Azim Premji's family office. It says it is an evergreen, single-principal firm set up by Azim Premji to invest his permanent capital, with no outside limited partners and no fund end date; its website lists SEBI-registered alternative investment funds in Categories I, II and III managed by PI Investment Advisory LLP, part of the Premji Invest group, which it says offers no investment advice to retail or institutional investors. According to Business Standard, it applied in August 2023 to register a family investment fund at GIFT City, the financial centre regulated by IFSCA, and received in-principle approval in January 2024, as Bloomberg first reported. Wipro's shareholding filing for 30 September 2026 lists no Premji Invest entity among its promoters, who held 72.58% of Wipro, mostly in Azim Premji's name as partner of three firms (Zash, Prazim and Hasham Traders). [1, 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17]
What changed in 2025 and 2026?
PI Opportunities Fund - II, one of Premji Invest's SEBI-registered funds, was among the investors selling shares in Lenskart's IPO, which opened on 31 October 2025, according to Business Standard. In April 2026 Reuters reported, as carried by Private Banker International, that GIFT City had issued its first full family investment fund licence to another firm and that family office structures associated with Azim Premji had in-principle clearance but no final licence. In 2026 Premji Invest announced its Databricks investment (13 August) and the BigHat Biosciences round (24 September), and on 25 September it published a post on NSE's stock market debut that does not say whether it sold shares. Its website now gives TK Kurien the title Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner, while Bloomberg called him managing partner and chief investment officer in April 2024; the date of the change was not found. [4, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19]
