Operator
Founding & building
Founding, building, and scaling ventures in frontier sectors, including new venture units inside global corporations.
Viren Aul Hi, I'm Viren.
Founder.Investor.Advisor.
A provocateur by instinct, imagining possibilities, building what matters.
Scroll to exploreIntent on moving people, ideas, and institutions forward. I value conviction, bold action, collaboration, challenging status quo, human ingenuity, and collective intelligence, to get things done together.
/Prologue
Making a difference.
- Current focus
- Climate and energy-transition finance
- Training future founders and leaders
- Doctoral research on private capital
Curiosity creates possibilities. Conviction moves them forward.
For more than two decades I have built ventures, backed founders, and advised institutions, often in frontier sectors and in markets where the rules are still being written.
Today I work as a sectoral finance specialist, helping turn clean-energy ambition and private capital into projects that can be financed and delivered across the Global South. Alongside that runs a scholar's practice: researching how capital and ventures succeed in emerging markets, carrying ideas through to patent filings, and teaching the people who will build what comes next.
/Exponent
Fields of practice.
Ideas brought to life. Ventures built. Capital deployed. Organisations advised. Knowledge shared. Ambition achieved.
Investor
Capital & portfolios
Growing venture portfolios, expanding corporate funds across Asia-Pacific, and shaping regional playbooks.
Advisor
Finance & advisory
Shape bankable projects and structure capital, currently in climate and energy transition across the Global South.
Scholar
Research & teaching
Venture and private capital in emerging markets; entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital transformation.
5+
Corporate venture portfolios built and scaled
80+
Ventures backed, coached, and mentored
US$120m+
Capital deployed across funds and venture programmes
6
Patents authored and filed, with more in progress
11
Countries of long‑term, in‑depth experience
300+
Executives trained, plus 500+ UG and PG students
Sectoral depthFinancial services · Medtech platforms · Clean energy · Frontier technology · Advanced materials
/Perspective
Questioning convention.
Ideas in development and in practice: research, coaching, and a fellowship that test how capital, ventures, and institutions could work better.
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Applied research
Beyond imported playbooks: how clean-energy and venture investments become bankable in emerging markets.
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Executive coaching
Working with founders and senior leaders through growth, transition, and consequential decisions.
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Virtus Fellowship
Developing young talent across academic and extracurricular pursuits, as responsible leaders and citizens.virtusfellows.org
/Affinity
Beyond the boardroom.
Away from work, I keep an active life, outdoors and in motion.
Three pursuits that keep me grounded, focused and
occasionally out of breath.
Trekking & mountaineering
Long trails and high places: a few memorable summits behind me, and more treks ahead.
Nature & photography
Capturing the richness of the natural world, and learning the patience it asks for.
Sport & competition
Squash on court, and the wider world of competitive sport as a source of inspiration.
/Connect
Let's talk more.
Ideas, conversations, and worthwhile collaborations often begin with a simple introduction.
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