Vimano’s nanotech journey: a conversation with Murari Ramkumar and Nagesh Kini

In the thumbnail image: L-R Dr. Nagesh Kini and Murari Ramkumar are building nanotech membranes for a range of industrial applications, including long-term energy storage and hydrogen electrolysersMy guests today are Murari Ramkumar and Dr. Nagesh Kini, founders of Vimano, a deep-tech startup headquartered in Bengaluru, India, specializing in advanced nanotechnology and materials science.The company focuses on developing ion-conductive membranes that are critical components for energy transition applications, including Redox flow batteries, electrolyzers for green hydrogen production and Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells.These technologies are essential for enabling cost-effective, long-duration energy storage and supporting the global shift toward renewable energy systems.In this conversation, Murari and Dr. Nagesh give us a glimpse into their journey that started with a chance encounter at Thermax and has grown to a venture-funded membrane technologies startup, with early customers including the Indian Space Research Organisation. They are now backed by early-stage deep science and tech focused investor Ankur Capital, a VC firm that’s among the leaders in backing founders in India in sectors ranging from agri and biotech to B2B supply chain.In this episode, the two entrepreneurs also delve into some of the technical and entrepreneurial hurdles of building a deep-tech startup in India, from fashioning their own manufacturing tools to navigating the funding landscape and scaling up in a resource-constrained environment. In fact, Murari and Dr. Nagesh bootstrapped Vimano for five years before Ankur Capital led their first institutional funding round.Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a scientist, or simply curious about the future of deep tech in India, in this episode we offer a glimpse into a journey of turning lab-scale innovation into globally relevant products and solutions.