Saumen is the Founder Managing Director of Elysium Ventures a differentiated new next generation global Deep Tech and Metaverse Fund built to invest in disruptive ideas and daring entrepreneurs who are using technology to advance humanity and create a lasting impact on society. He is a visionary technology innovator, researcher, founder, mentor, Investor and the Past Chairman of ESC, handling India’s $ 100 + Billion Software Exports.

Saumen’s vision is to build Elysium Ventures as the premier choice of investment partner for every Entrepreneur who aspires to build the next generation technology platforms through building blocks like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Blockchain, Visual Collaboration solutions and the Metaverse which is set to transform and empower people to innovate and uplift the human race to the next level. He deeply cherishes the spirit of global entrepreneurship and in this quest was instrumental in forging a global partnership between IE University through IE School of Technology and the IE Foundation, Spain and Elysium Ventures to set up the world’s first Deep Tech and Metaverse Research  Centre to explore the entrepreneurial and investment opportunities offered by Generative Ai and the Metaverse and on its  impact on the society.

As a fund manager, Saumen’s vison is to give excellent returns to our investors, become the first choice for investment seekers and invest in technologies and daring entrepreneurs aiming to transform and empower people to innovate and uplift the human race with next generation technologies in deep tech and the metaverse which integrates the physical and digital worlds in building the future of Communications, Commerce and Collaboration.

As Technologist, Saumen has over 30 years of experience in the global Information Technology Industry experience in management, scaling global businesses and teams transcending the hardware, software, network and more recently the AI, ML, Blockchain, Visual Collaboration and the Metaverse space, spanning diverse industry segments such as education, healthcare, government, visual collaboration, fintech, telecom, energy, and security surveillance. At the corporate level during his career, he was associated with some of the world’s largest fortune 500 companies like DEC, IBM, Quadrant II Technologies, Microsoft, and Hughes. After being associated with these companies he started his own entrepreneurial journey.    He believes that “the ultimate promise of technology is that it will give you complete control over your experiences, your pleasures, your life”.

As a disruptive technology Innovator, he innovated and pioneered many products which were ahead of the market, made possible by his vision and analytical mind. His products were widely adopted worldwide. Saumen has achieved several path-breaking milestones. One of the most successful ones is the development of probably the world’s first multicast enabled software based multiparty multipoint video conferencing solution which was ahead of its time. It was like building ZOOM / Microsoft Teams / Google Meet in 2007. Using this technology, he created various products which are being used by various industries and institutions including education, enterprise, learning and healthcare. It was adopted by institutions like NSE, NCDEX, MSBTE, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), IIMs. This product received various awards and recognition globally from Microsoft, NASSCOM, GOI, etc.

Currently Saumen is the Founder and Managing Director of Elysium a Deep Tech focused venture investment firm. Drives fund formation, investment strategy, fund raising and portfolio identification. The total fund program when fully raised is envisaged to be at $ 1 billion target corpus across six funds. All the investment funds have an exclusive investment strategy on Communication, Commerce, Collaboration with deep tech and metaverse at its core. The Fund will primarily focus on proprietary deal flow generated by the General Partner’s network in areas such as Deep Tech (i.e. technology focused on profound engineering innovations focused on solving society’s largest issues), Metaverse which is a shared virtual environment enabling core interactivity in finance, commerce, learning, healthcare and wellness, gaming, entertainment, communication and collaboration, space, and security. Deep Tech covers key technologies in areas such as artificial Intelligence, generative ai, machine learning, blockchain big data, visual collaboration, speech algorithms, language processing, robotics, photonics, advanced communications and quantum computing. The Fund will also focus on companies and technologies that bring environmental, social, and governance principles to the Deep Tech and Metaverse. We would be investing in the next generation technology which integrates the physical and the digital worlds in building the future of Communications, Commerce, Collaboration, Healthcare, Education, Entertainment and Digital twins.

Prior to this he was the Founder and Managing Director of a $1.24B Technology and IT focused venture capital firm with two initial funds and led the firm’s strategy formation, structuring, and operations. He also developed fund strategy and drove fund formation, identified pipeline investments and negotiated financing terms with companies, Special Purpose Vehicle’s targeting a Pre-IPO financing, raised capital, negotiated financing terms and structure. He also led the funds Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiative Programs in global association with the world’s leading universities leading to a robust Global deal sourcing engine. Developed Global collaborations, Business and Delivery strategy, Channel Strategy, Global ecosystem of Mentors and Partner Organizations and accelerators.

Across his career spanning three decades, Saumen has served as an Advisor, distinguished Faculty, as a member of numerous Trade Associations in its various Committees and Task forces of Government of India, Global Entrepreneurship and National Policy support groups and software exports under the aegis of the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC). On the impact side, Saumen has been a Technology Advisor to numerous technology projects and initiatives for some of the largest Nonprofit organizations in the world. He was also a Global Ambassador for SCET, UC Berkeley and the Chair for Ethics in Business in the Rotary Club of Silicon Valley for Global Impact.