IIMB launches India’s first Centre of Excellence for private equity venture capital

Bengaluru, Aug 6 (PTI) India’s first Centre of Excellence (CoE) dedicated to the acceleration of research, innovation and collaboration in private equity and venture capital (PEVC) was launched at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) on Wednesday.
    Tony James Centre for Private Equity and Venture Capital is named in honour of Hamilton Evans "Tony" James, former President, COO, and Executive Vice Chairman of global investment firm Blackstone.
    According to Professor Dinesh Kumar, Director In-charge, IIMB, the centre was the result of one of the largest individual alumni contributions in IIMB’s history.
    He said 1994 alumnus Mathew Cyriac, Institute Gold Medallist and 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award (DAA) recipient, signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalising the creation of the Centre on August 24, 2024.
    "High-quality research is capital-intensive. To attract and retain world-class talent and to invest in critical resources like data and infrastructure, significant funding is required. Contributions like that of Cyriac are not only generous but also deeply useful in enabling IIMB to build a globally competitive research ecosystem," added Kumar.
    According to him, the centre aspires to be a hub for world-class research, education, industry collaboration, policy engagement, and talent development in the PEVC sector.
    Speaking on the occasion, Cyriac said the idea for the centre came during IIMB’s golden jubilee celebrations.
    He noted that key beneficiaries and partners that the centre will engage with include students, young professionals, PE firms, the IIMB academic research community, such as doctoral scholars, and the LP community, who provide the capital for funds to invest.
    Delivering a special address, James, former Executive Vice Chairman of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest alternative investment managers, said the centre can serve as an open, objective forum to study and understand the behaviour of private capital, support rigorous research, debate policy issues, and offer credible insights to regulators, legislators, investors, and the press.
    "It can play a foundational role in guiding the evolution of PE and VC in India, ensuring it contributes to inclusive and sustainable economic growth," he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)