Venture Capital Panel

Mayuran heads up IX Labs, the venture capital arm of Index Exchange. Launched in 2019, IX Labs invests in early-stage startups that use technology to solve everyday problems. As Index’s first distinguished engineer, Mayuran is responsible for driving the creation of emerging technologies and innovative business lines, while exploring and broadening the long-term vision of our company. Mayuran is part of the founding team at Index Exchange and its predecessor, Casale Media, and has played an integral role in the development of Index’s tech output while also leading the growth and evolution of the software, people, and teams that are now the foundation of the exchange.

As Index’s second employee and longest-standing engineer, Mayuran was previously SVP of engineering and was responsible for driving the overall technical direction for Index Exchange, as well as ensuring the company’s growing engineering teams remain lean and agile. Since his time with the company, Mayuran has expanded Index’s engineering team from its inception to an organization of over 170. Mayuran attended the University of Toronto.

Karan Bhatia is a seasoned investment and fintech professional with experience in private credit and PE/VC investing in the US and Asia (including India). Led VC, M&A, and private equity transactions across industries. Founder and CEO of a global platform, that is digitizing access to private credit.
Former founder and CEO of fintech lending platform providing supply chain finance for SME businesses. Built the business from scratch, including getting all regulatory approvals, hiring teams, raising capital and providing a successful exit.Deep knowledge and network with investors and entrepreneurs.

Ike Syed, works at KiwiTech as Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, where he leads the Enterprise and SaaS engagements within the startup community. Before KiwiTech, Ike served at the U.S. Department of State, where he advised the senior leadership on economic impacts of foreign investments, digital economy and emerging technologies. In that role, Ike liaised closely with other government/international entities (such as the National Security Council, the Departments of Defense and Commerce, other Executive Branch departments, etc.) and the private sector.

Prior to entering public service, Ike worked as a Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Connectloud, a next-generation Cloud Computing company. Previously, he was a management consultant at Oliver Wyman and a finance executive at Fidelity Investments, where he advised corporate leaders globally on critical strategic and business issues. As an experienced veteran of the ICT industry, Ike has led product development and technical research initiatives at Cisco Systems in Silicon Valley and Lucent Technologies/Bell Laboratories in the past.

In 2012, Ike was selected to be part of Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Future Leaders program. From 2005 to 2007, he served on the executive committee of the MIT-Stanford Venture Lab, a Silicon Valley non-profit organization dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and private investors. Ike received his BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada and a MS in Computer Science from Boston University. A licensed Professional Engineer, he obtained his MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.