Abhijeet Inamdar

A Stalwart Entrepreneur With A Passion for Innovation

Grew up in a humble family in a small town called Barshi in India with 2 younger brothers, Abhijeet has never had it the easy way. His wife who he met in Houston belonged to a Thai background, passed away most recently after battling cancer for 2 years. He alone holds the responsibility for his 12-year-old son. After gaining his B.Tech in Petrochemical Engineering and MS in Petroleum Engineering from Alaska, he worked in the energy industry since 2005 as a Technical Engineer, Engineering Manager and Venture Capitalist. Working offshore had its own problems as he broke his back during his first job and had to undergo surgeries for the same. This led him to find another job which would eventually lead to a better career option. Back in 2012, he sold off everything to move to the middle east where he was let go of his job within 2 months which eventually led him to go back to the US and re-establish from scratch. These difficult periods kept looming when eventually he got the opportunity to become a venture capitalist, which he claims was also his dream. A positive and everlasting attitude helped Abhijeet overcome the adversities no matter how dismal the circumstances. All roads led to a positive note as he built his own startup and is currently the CEO of SiriNoR!

“In 2020, I was approached by two young men, Lars Robertsen from Norway, and Pramod Vaditya from India, who wanted to develop an electric, zero-emission solution for aerospace. At this time, I was working on several hydrogen investments, and I knew the hydrogen economy had a great future.” All the experience and knowledge came into play when they decided to start SiriNoR in early 2021 and then filed for patents in India. He claims that SiriNoR is addressing global climate change issues in the commercial aviation domain by enabling a breakthrough technology to decarbonize that industry. “Our innovative product is going to be an onboard zero-emissions engine that will be used in supersonic and subsonic business jets. The engine will be powered by electricity using Hydrogen Fuel cell technology.”

Abhijeet feels that working with people from various backgrounds, cultures, and time zones is challenging and rewarding simultaneously. He likes to keep his working schedule flexible because he looks to spend more quality time with his 12-year-old and his family. Travelling helps him relax and find the motivation to keep working hard towards his goals. 

At SiriNoR, changing the future for the better without limiting the comforts that people are used to is the key goal. It is inspired and driven by the Paris Agreement in creating a sustainable way of traveling by enabling innovative zero-emissions engine technology. “Change must happen now in terms of reducing the aviation carbon footprint. As a company, we have a strong focus on ESG criteria.”

A person passionate about new technologies that change the way people do business in radical ways is what Abhijeet is. “I like to support the startup ecosystem in general because the entrepreneurs and their ideas are the ones that help us make the world a better place. I had also organized Shark Tank events in the US to bring VCs and Startups together. “ 

The company started during the pandemic where initially he faced several challenges but the flexibility to work from anywhere was also an advantage. Building a better communication style and trustworthiness within the team has been key for him and the great trust and partnership allowed him to see that they can work across borders online and acquire the best team without moving their physical locations. 

As a venture capitalist in his previous job, Abhijeet Inamdar invested in early-stage startups that are having an impact on the global economy. Some examples include technologies that are helping detect, quantify and fix methane emissions, smart contracts with blockchain solutions, improving energy operations, making hydrogen production more efficient, decarbonizing aviation, etc. The current engine technology will not only have the greatest impact on lowering aerospace emissions but also make travelling faster in the next few decades is what he claims.

Awards followed given his superior work. He won the Hart Energy – 40 Under 40 Investor Award in North America (2019), Indian Achievers Forum Award – Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2022) and At Equinor/Statoil, he led the deal flow team of Equinor Technology Ventures group in the US. He has invested in 10+ tech companies in hardware/software space, blockchain, to “low carbon solutions” space such as Hydrogen/CCUS. Abhijeet has experience in developing and commercializing new products/services and building strong teams. Served as a board member/Advisor for 10+ companies. In his free time, he loves to play soccer and poker and is also passionate about travelling. Abhijeet decided to name the company SiriNoR in his wife Sirihathai’s memory.