# Upal Basu

> Upal Basu is a General Partner and Managing Member at NGP Capital, a Nokia-backed venture capital firm in Palo Alto. A three-time wave rider of mobile transformation - first as an engineer, then as the founder and CEO of Mformation Technologies (which became the world's largest mobile device management company, managing 500M+ devices before being acquired by Alcatel-Lucent), and now as a lead investor in the 5G and connected enterprise era. With an engineering degree from Imperial College London, an MS from Stanford, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Basu brings a rare blend of operator grit and institutional rigor to backing founders in cybersecurity, AI, autonomous robotics, satellite navigation, and industrial technology.

- **Role:** General Partner and Managing Member at NGP Capital
- **Organizations:** NGP Capital, Mformation Technologies, McKinsey & Company, Risk Management Solutions, Degenkolb Engineers
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MBA, Harvard Business School, MS in Engineering, Stanford University, Bachelor's in Engineering, Imperial College London
- **Known for:** Founded Mformation Technologies, which became the world's largest mobile device management company managing over 500 million devices, Sold Mformation to Alcatel-Lucent for its IoT security and device management technology, General Partner at NGP Capital since 2008, one of Nokia's key venture capital vehicles

## Career timeline

- **1990-1992** — Structural engineer at Degenkolb Engineers
- **1993** — Product Manager at Risk Management Solutions (RMS), led mapping products for insurance risk visualization
- **1990s** — Management consultant at McKinsey & Company, New York and London offices, advising on acquisitions and market entry strategies
- **1999-2000** — Founded Mformation Technologies, a mobile device management startup
- **2000-2008** — Founder, CEO, and Board Director of Mformation Technologies; grew it into the world's largest mobile device management company, managing 500M+ devices for 20+ service providers globally
- **2008** — Joined NGP Capital as General Partner, leading the US investment team
- **2015** — Mformation Technologies acquired by Alcatel-Lucent for IoT security and device management capabilities
- **2017** — Joined SecurityScorecard Board of Directors
- **2020** — Board Observer role at Observe.AI
- **2024** — Led investment in Xona's satellite navigation infrastructure (Series A through C)
- **2025** — NGP co-led $20M Series B for Ati Motors autonomous robotics; led $35M Series B for NetBox Labs

## Achievements

- Founded Mformation Technologies, which became the world's largest mobile device management company managing over 500 million devices
- Sold Mformation to Alcatel-Lucent for its IoT security and device management technology
- General Partner at NGP Capital since 2008, one of Nokia's key venture capital vehicles
- Board Director at SecurityScorecard
- Led investments in multiple high-growth companies including Xona (satellite navigation), Ati Motors (autonomous robotics), and NetBox Labs (network automation)
- Managed NGP Capital's India investment portfolio including Shadowfax (IPO) and others
- Over 10 active board and advisor roles across portfolio companies
- One of the first holders of a Yahoo! email account

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — NGP Capital led $35M Series B for NetBox Labs, a network automation and infrastructure management company
- **2025-02** — NGP co-led $20M Series B for Ati Motors, expanding AI-powered autonomous robotics into US and APAC markets
- **2024-12** — Xona raised $170M Series C for next-generation satellite navigation infrastructure; NGP Capital invested in every round since Series A

## Links

- Website: https://ngpcap.com/people/upal-basu
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/upalbasu
- Twitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/NGP_VCtweets

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/upal-basu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17