One can say that 62-year old TejKohli is a visionary. Kohli is ten steps ahead when it comes to dabbling in future innovations, by investing in various startups and firms that cover deep tech, medicine, and online services. Below, we will cover some of the projects and breakthroughs Kohli has ventured into. But first—
Who is TejKohli?
Born in Delhi to middle-class parents, Kohli found himself in Costa Rica during the tail end of the millennium, when more and more digital services were expanding. He founded companies that specialized in e-commerce services, handling high-risk online payment services, and fraud protection.
Through these efforts, as well as through real estate investments in Germany, India, and Abu Dhabi, TejKohli used the money he had earned to begin funding tech firms that were still in their early stages.
As an entrepreneur himself, Kohli understands that a lot of startups have potential to produce something impactful, but spend a lot of time looking for funding. Kohli is able to identify which firms and industries are worth pursuing, and spreads his money accordingly.
E-sports
E-sports is a largely unknown but fast-growing niche market in the sports and gaming world. Professional teams made of expert video gamers have organized tournaments that are highly marketable to the youth. Kohli invested $100 million to Rewired Venture Studio in Switzerland, which then funded the Paris-based Team Vitality.
Kohli sees a lot of prospects in e-sports, as audience sizes expand and we are moving into trends that support the culture of gaming, such as virtual reality and simulations.
Deep tech
Deep tech covers various technologies that are focused on artificial intelligence, genomics, robotics, and biotech. Kohli’s funding for Rewired, which also focuses on robotics with a humanitarian aspect, has the goal of developing machine perception and its understanding of the human world. Some of these projects include recycling plastic, early cancer detection, and solar power sites.
3D Prosthetics
Kohli has also heavily invested in the UK-based Open Bionics. Using 3D printed bionic limbs, which are more advantageous than conventional artificial limbs, the group has been able to perform implants on the young and disabled in the United Kingdom. With this effort, the group intends to expand and provide the same service to India and China, where biotech markets are well supported.
Corneal blindness
One of the Kohli Foundations larger projects is his mission to eradicate corneal blindness by 2035. Kohli has begun a number of outreach efforts in Nepal and India with the help of Nepal doctor Dr. SandukRuit, providing low-cost and large-scale cataract surgeries for developing communities.
At the same time, Kohli has also heavily invested in institutes in Hyderabad, India and Massachusetts in the United States towards further research and innovations to eventually make corneal blindness a thing of the past.
One might say that TejKohli is a visionary, or one might say that his hands are split in many directions, with the variety of projects and investments he is involving himself in. But one thing is for sure: the name is definitely stamped on many endeavours that will be a part of our daily lives in the near future.
