Bala Deshpande
Sr. Managing Director, India @ New Enterprise Associates
Mumbai, India
Bala Deshpande is a Series A investor at New Enterprise Associates in Mumbai focused on Retail and Fitness. Bala joined New Enterprise Associates India Pvt. Ltd. (NEA India) in 2008 as Senior Managing Director based out of its Mumbai office. Since that time NEA India’s assets under management have grown from ~$100mn to over ~$350mn. Under Bala’s leadership NEA has invested in several companies like Air Works, FSS, InTarvo, Intellisys, Naaptol, Nova,Trishe and Vishwa. Her private equity experience has seen the full cycle from nurturing young companies to executing multiple exits including IPO’s, buy-backs, strategic sales, and capital market divestments. She is also an Independent Director Board Member of Future Retail and Info Edge who are listed on National Stock Exchange and Leaders in their sectors.Prior to joining NEA, Bala was with ICICI Venture (a leading Indian venture capital private equity investor), where she used her operational experience to identify opportunities for investment and played a strategic role in shaping the future of the investee companies. Whilst at ICICI Venture, she was a Director on the boards of several companies including Aaj Tak, Shoppers Stop, Nagarjuna Construction, Air Deccan, TechProcess Solutions etc. Prior to ICICI Venture, Bala worked across functions like sales, distribution and brand management with leading multinational companies such as Bestfoods, Cadburys, and ICI.Bala is passionate about social development and inclusion. To this end, she is on the Advisor Board of few transformational enterprises like TRRAIN and iVolunteer.
- Total investments:
- 7
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 57%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Bala Deshpande invests in
Stages Bala Deshpande invests in
Countries Bala Deshpande invests in
Contacts
| Type | Contact | Validation |
|---|---|---|
| Work email | ||
| Personal email | ||
| Work phone | ||
| Personal phone | ||
| Socials |
Investment Focus
Industry
- Retail 1 (14%)
- Fitness 1 (14%)
- Shopping 1 (14%)
- Lifestyle 1 (14%)
- Real Estate 1 (14%)
Stage
- Series A 1 (14%)
- Series B 1 (14%)
- Series C 1 (14%)
- Series D 1 (14%)
- Funding Round 1 (14%)
Country
- India 2 (29%)
- United States 1 (14%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koku Gamer is an online platform that offers gaming related news, editorials, reviews, previews, and other content. It was launched in March 2009. | $15M / Venture - Series Unknown / Sep 10, 2018 | ||
| GOQii is headquartered in California with offices in Mumbai and Shenzhen. It is dedicated to enabling a permanent shift to a healthier lifestyle with the combination of advanced wearable technology, the world's leading experts, coaches and karma. GOQii focuses on sustained engagement & goal reinforcement and offers a complete ecosystem asa single integrated solution, which is a powerful combination of technology and human connection. GOQii is a collaboration of some of the world's leading experts and an amazing management team who are driven by a passion for healthy sustainable living, and who believe that all of us contain boundless potential. GOQii's goal is to enable millions of people across the world to "be the force" by helping them unleash their untapped potential. | $13.4M / Series A / Nov 26, 2015 | ||
| Koku Gamer is an online platform that offers gaming related news, editorials, reviews, previews, and other content. It was launched in March 2009. | $51.7M / Series D / Nov 24, 2015 | ||
| Koku Gamer is an online platform that offers gaming related news, editorials, reviews, previews, and other content. It was launched in March 2009. | $21M / Series C / Apr 28, 2015 | ||
| IndiaHomes is a leading real estate advisory that enables home buyers to make the best informed decisions when it comes to buying a property in India and abroad | $50M / Dec 02, 2014 | ||
| IndiaHomes is a leading real estate advisory that enables home buyers to make the best informed decisions when it comes to buying a property in India and abroad | $24.8M / Apr 16, 2014 | ||
| Koku Gamer is an online platform that offers gaming related news, editorials, reviews, previews, and other content. It was launched in March 2009. | $25M / Series B / Oct 20, 2011 |
Co-Investors
New Enterprise Associates is a venture capital firm that invests in technology and healthcare startups. The firm engages with entrepreneurs at various stages of business development, providing support from initial funding to public offerings. The company focuses on the technology and healthcare industries.
New Enterprise Associates Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Alex Sharata
Associate
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Anthony Florence
General Partner
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Bala Deshpande
Sr. Managing Director, India
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Hilarie Koplow-McAdams
Venture Partner
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Jay Graf
Venture Partner
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FAQ
What does Bala Deshpande invest in?
Bala Deshpande invests primarily in Retail, Fitness and Shopping startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 7 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in India. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact Bala Deshpande?
Public channels for Bala Deshpande include LinkedIn. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
When did Bala Deshpande last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Bala Deshpande closed in Sep 2018. Shizune tracks 7 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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