Punit Chiniwalla

Overview

Punit Chiniwalla is a seasoned corporate venture capital investor specializing in enterprise applications, infrastructure, and cloud services. He currently serves as the Managing Director at Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, where he leads venture investments in these sectors. Prior to joining Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Punit was the Director of Corporate Development at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he played a pivotal role in shaping AWS's investment strategies and mergers and acquisitions. Before his tenure at Amazon, he was the Managing Director of Singtel Innov8, leading the fund's efforts in the United States and Israel. Under his leadership, Singtel Innov8 grew to over 120 investments globally, focusing on a diverse range of technology sectors. Punit began his venture capital career at Panorama Capital during its spinout from JPMorgan Partners. Throughout his career, he has been an active board member in more than 30 companies across various stages of the startup lifecycle, including Attivo Networks, Shape Security, TubeMogul, Qubole, Bitglass, Nexage, Edmodo, Neura, and Tempo.ai. Punit holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also a graduate of the Kauffman Fellows Program, where he remains active as a society member, lecturer, and mentor. Punit's investment focus includes enterprise software, cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, fintech, healthtech, edtech, IoT, SaaS, e-commerce, media, telecommunications, consumer electronics, semiconductors, and robotics. His investment strategy spans seed, early stage, growth, and late stage companies, with investment sizes ranging from $1 million to $50 million. His geographical focus includes the United States, Israel, and Singapore. Punit is known for his approachable demeanor and commitment to fostering innovation in the startup ecosystem. Punit's extensive experience in corporate venture capital and his active involvement in the startup community make him a significant figure in the venture capital landscape, particularly in the enterprise and frontier technology sectors.

Investment Focus

• Strong growth potential
• Innovative technology solutions
• Experienced management teams
• Scalable business models
• Alignment with strategic interests of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Portfolio Companies