Pulakesh Mukherjee is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Imperative Ventures, a growth-stage venture capital firm focused on scaling technologies that advance energy security, industrial resilience, and decarbonization. With more than two decades of experience spanning science, operations, business development, and investing, he brings a unique perspective to identifying and supporting hard-tech companies capable of transforming foundational industries. In addition to his investment activities, Mukherjee serves as an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability, where he helps educate the next generation of leaders in technology commercialization and sustainability.
Before co-founding Imperative Ventures in 2019, Mukherjee spent ten years with BASF Venture Capital, where he sourced, evaluated, and executed investments across the energy, agriculture, chemicals, and industrial sectors. During his tenure, he served as a director or board observer for numerous early-stage technology companies, helping entrepreneurs navigate growth, commercialization, and strategic partnerships. Prior to venture capital, he held a variety of leadership roles at BASF in international business development, sales, marketing, and chemical process scale-up, gaining firsthand experience in bringing innovative technologies from the laboratory to large-scale industrial deployment.
Mukherjee serves on several prominent advisory boards, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Investor Advisory Board, Activate, and the Rocky Mountain Institute, where he contributes expertise at the intersection of technology, capital, and sustainability. He earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a Master of Science degree from IIT Kanpur, India. A recognized thought leader in innovation and technology commercialization, he has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and co-invented more than 15 patents, reflecting a career dedicated to advancing breakthrough technologies from research to real-world impact.