RAAY's Benaifer Malandkar Explains How Family Offices Pick Startups

Indian Startup Times has published an interview with Benaifer Malandkar, Chief Investment Officer at RAAY, the Patni family office, on how family offices approach startup investing.

The piece centers on Malandkar's role at RAAY and the way a single-family office built on the Patni technology fortune decides where to place venture capital.

What does the interview cover?

Malandkar holds the CIO seat at RAAY, which manages the Patni family's investments. The family's wealth traces to Patni Computer Systems, the IT services firm the Patnis built and later sold.

Indian Startup Times frames the conversation around a question more founders now ask: what does it take to win backing from a family office rather than a traditional venture fund?

The interview walks through Malandkar's views on the family office lens — how it differs from institutional VC in pacing, conviction and follow-on behavior when the vehicle deploying capital answers to a family rather than a fund's outside limited partners.

Why does the family office angle matter?

Family offices have become a visible funding channel for Indian startups, and founders increasingly court them alongside seed funds. An operator's perspective from inside one of the country's best-known technology family offices carries weight with that audience.

The Patni name carries particular resonance in Indian business. The family's exit from Patni Computer Systems — once among India's largest IT exporters — created the pool of capital RAAY now depays out across asset classes, including venture.

Who should read it?

Founders raising from family offices, wealth managers mapping private-market allocators, and anyone tracking how second-generation tech wealth recycles into India's startup economy.

The full interview is available through Indian Startup Times via Google News.

Note: Business Bearings received only the interview's headline and publication details; this item summarizes what the source discloses. We'll update with Malandkar's specific statements, portfolio details and figures once the full transcript is accessible.