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SaaS company Kissflow founder and CEO Suresh Sambandam, launched his own venture capital (VC) fund called MudhalVC to ignite entrepreneurship from Tamil Nadu. It will offer ‘adventure’ capital for idea-stage start-ups. Mudhal means first in Tamil.
A prototype of Bad Boy, a three-wheeler electric vehicle – a combination between Formula car and a motorbike with a middle seat driving – was unveiled at an event. Bad Boy is one of the big investments made by Sambandam.
In the past 24 months, Sambandam has made investments in various companies, through ‘Idea pattarai’ accelerator and engaged with 1,000 founders through closed door workshops, leading to over 75 start-ups in various stages of mentorship. Notably, 15 of these start-ups have already secured investments from MudhalVC, he said.
“MudhalVC’s mission is to ignite mass entrepreneurship across Tamil Nadu, with a special focus on tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Through its accelerator programme, ‘Idea Pattarai,’ the firm nurtures innovation and empowers early-stage founders, taking a grassroots approach to building the next generation of entrepreneurs, Sambandam told newspersons.
MudhalVC’s investments range from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore. It has invested across diverse sectors, including food tech, electric vehicles, health tech, SaaS, and bio tech. Its portfolio includes innovative companies such as Amura, Bversity, BookingBee, MeenSatti, Mushroom MaMa, Pickmyad, Social Gallery, InspectionOne, Bad Boy, Correctmate and Trashbotics.
MudhalVC’s is planning to invest close to ₹125 crore in two phases over the next 3-4 years. The phase 1 capital (of ₹25 crore) will come from family sources that take away significant risk off the table for phase 2 (₹100 crore), he said. The failure rate in start-up is 70-80 per cent while MudhalVC is trying to reduce it to around 50 per cent, he added.
MudhalVC plans to partner with limited partners after 2-3 years to make follow-on investments in the same start-ups. It will only focus on investing in start-ups based in Tamil Nadu, he said. Most of the VCs are in places like Bengaluru or Mumbai as the investors are not here, he added.
Launch of Bad Boy
Sambandam also unveiled Bad Boy, an electric super vehicle. “We want to start a new idea in pursuit of ultimate driving experience,” he said. Like a Formula car, the vehicle is middle seat driving, said Sambandam. It is a combination between a Formula car and a superbike, he added.
Gopi Raja Selvakumar and Suresh Sambandam, Co-founder’s of Bad Boy at the unveiling of the prototype EV vehicle.
Photo : Bijoy Ghosh
To go with Raja Simhan’s report
| Photo Credit: BIJOY GHOSH
“We are creating a world class vehicle designed out of Tamil Nadu,” said Sambandam. An investment of ₹2-3 crore has been made on the vehicle, he said.
Sporting a futuristic reverse trike design, narrow chassis, and lightweight build, the Bad Boy is crafted for thrill-seekers who demand high performance, sleek style, and eco-friendly innovation—all in one striking package, he said.
Gopi Raja Selvakumar, Co-Founder of Bad Boy, said, the vision was clear to craft the ultimate driving experience, blending the experience of a Formula 1 car with the exhilaration of a superbike, all while maintaining practicality. That vision is now a reality with Bad Boy.”
The Bad Boy is a new standard in electric vehicle performance with acceleration from 0-100 kmph in under 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 200 kmph.
The vehicle is priced at around ₹15 lakh and the tentative launch date will be in Q2 2026, said Selvakumar.
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