Debneel Mukherjee — Inside a Global VC Playbook | Future Ventures Podcast Ep. 009

Debneel Mukherjee built Decacorn.VC in Singapore with one rule: go where the best founders are, not where it's comfortable. In this episode, he sits down with Maxim Atanassov to break down how he went from CPA to self-taught coder to venture investor — and why he refuses to play the game the way everyone else does.

No institutional capital. No 100-mile-radius deal sourcing. No founder shepherding. Just first-principles investing in markets that don't yet exist, backed by the patience to hold through the worst downturns and emerge on the other side.

Debneel's portfolio includes early positions at Palantir, SpaceX, Mapbox, ThoughtSpot, and BioCatch. He currently holds two S&P 500 companies — bought privately, not from the market. His fund receives 300 inbound applications per quarter, but the deals he actually makes come from outbound hunting for founders solving structural bottlenecks in AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, energy, space, and robotics.

If you're a founder trying to understand what makes an investor truly useful at the cap table — or an investor trying to figure out why the best founders won't return your emails — this one's for you.
Timestamps
00:00 - Welcome

02:26 - How Debneel went from CPA to teaching himself to code

05:01 - "Obvious has no value" — and why being contrarian alone isn't enough

08:55 - Opening up private tech investing to individual investors

12:58 - His take on AI, jobs, and what actually happens during tech transitions

18:00 - 300 inbound pitches a quarter — and why he rarely invests from those

23:45 - Off-grid data centers, cybersecurity, space, and where the fund is heading

38:00 - The real reason founders bump other investors to make room for Decacorn

ABOUT THE GUEST

Debneel Mukherjee founded Decacorn.VC and serves as Managing Partner, based in Singapore — though roughly 85% of the firm's portfolio is in the United States. He began his career as a CPA, taught himself to code out of necessity at a fintech bank, and spent the next three decades working across technology operations, banking, and private tech investing. His early bets include Palantir, SpaceX, Mapbox, ThoughtSpot, and BioCatch. Debneel invests where the crowd isn't, backs founders building markets that don't yet exist, and doesn't apologize for taking the long road to get there.

LINKS

Decacorn.VC — https://www.decacorn.vc/

Debneel Mukherjee on LinkedIn — https://sg.linkedin.com/in/debneel

Future Ventures Corp — https://www.futureventures.ca/

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Видео Debneel Mukherjee — Inside a Global VC Playbook | Future Ventures Podcast Ep. 009 канала Future Ventures