-- Iron Pillar, a venture growth investor specializing in mid-stage technology investments in India, announced a strategic partnership and investment by Nitya Capital, a rapidly growing investment firm in the U.S. with $2 billion of assets under management. The investment was made in Iron Pillar Holdings Limited, alongside founding partners, Anand Prasanna, Mohanjit Jolly, and Ashok Ananthakrishnan. Nitya Capital was founded by Swapnil Agarwal, who grew the firm from $300,000 in personal savings to $2 billion of assets under management in just seven years, with top tier investor returns.

According to Anand Prasanna, Founder and Managing Partner, Iron Pillar, "After getting the opportunity to back some great companies in our first fund, we were looking for a like-minded long-term partner who believed in India and the technological prowess of Indian entrepreneurs. I have closely known Swapnil for over 12 years and have often explored opportunities to collaborate, especially when it comes to connecting the U.S. and Indian technology ecosystems. It is this shared vision and entrepreneurial spirit in common that made Swapnil and Nitya Capital the most preferred partners for our journey. By being a partner with Iron Pillar through this investment, Nitya Capital will support us in our mission to build large and successful technology companies from India."

Iron Pillar has been actively building a bridge between its portfolio companies and the well-developed technology ecosystem and markets in the U.S., something that might be considered unusual for an India focused fund. Mohanjit Jolly, one of the partners at Iron Pillar, is based in Silicon Valley and has brought this strategic advantage to Iron Pillar companies since inception.

As a result, portfolio companies can scale faster and address challenges head-on by

We are delighted to partner with Iron Pillar.I have a long-standing association with Anand and closely followed the team and the platform over these years.

getting access to experienced tech founders, CEOs, executives, and mentors from Silicon Valley – a lot of them of Indian origin.

Also, U.S. happens to be the most significant traditional source of capital for Indian V.C.s and tech companies. Iron Pillar has actively helped many of its portfolio companies raise follow-on capital through its strong network of investors in the U.S. The new partnership with Nitya Capital will significantly expand Iron Pillar's network of investors, advisors and thought leaders.

Speaking about the partnership, Swapnil Agarwal, Founder and Managing Principal of Nitya Capital, commented, "We are delighted to partner with Iron Pillar. I have a long-standing association with Anand and closely followed the team and the platform over these years. The Iron Pillar model is unique for its long-haul visionary approach to building large outcome technology companies from India.
We are looking forward to augmenting this endeavor and building a portfolio of high return investments in the long term."

Iron Pillar will continue to raise and invest through a series of technology-focused growth-stage funds in India, built on Iron Pillar Fund 1's core strategy. The firm has announced the successful closure of a $45M Iron Pillar Top-Up Fund in May 2020 to support high-growth portfolio companies from Iron Pillar Fund 1 that perform well during the COVID-19 crisis.

"As a long-term partner, Nitya Capital brings a combination of the strong belief in Indian entrepreneurial opportunity, deep network of global investors to back them, and strong balance sheet for Iron Pillar," added Prasanna.