Fundraising FoxGaruda Ventures
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Garuda Ventures is a first-check venture capital fund that invests $500K to $1.5M in early-stage founding teams, backing companies from the pitch-deck stage. It supports founders with operations, sales acceleration, and fundraising.
Also known as Garuda Ventures
Founders & leadership
Investors · 2
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Company profile
researched Aug 2026Garuda Ventures is a venture capital firm that positions itself as a first-check investor, writing $500,000 to $1.5 million into companies at the earliest stage, when founders are moving from a pitch deck to a company. According to a third-party institution profile, the firm was founded in 2018, is based in Orinda, California, and focuses on pre-seed and seed investments in SaaS software, commerce infrastructure, "Climate 2.0," and data stack and developer tools businesses across the United States.
The firm's stated model of support goes beyond capital: the partners describe working alongside founding teams on operations, sales acceleration, and raising capital, and making introductions to customers and senior hires. Testimonials on the firm's site come from founders including Melanie Perkins (Canva), Thejo Kote, Siadhal Magos, Pratap Ranade, and Victor Lopez, and reference support at the first round through Series B and beyond. Recent portfolio announcements published on the firm's site cover Adora (visual journey mapping for product teams, February 2026), Mirai (on-device inference, February 2026), Foundry Robotics (March 2026), and Mind Robotics (AI-native robotics for manufacturing, May 2026).
Founding story
A third-party institution profile lists Garuda Ventures as founded in 2018. Co-founder and General Partner Arpan Punyani was the first investor in Garuda Ventures' Micro Fund, an investment he attributes to a decade-long friendship with co-founder Rishi Taparia, before later joining the firm from Okta.
Business model
Garuda Ventures operates as a venture capital fund manager, deploying limited partner capital into equity stakes in early-stage technology companies and providing hands-on support to portfolio founders in operations, sales acceleration, and fundraising.
As a venture fund manager, the firm's economics derive from managing investment funds on behalf of limited partners rather than from product sales.
Traction
The firm has published multiple new investment announcements in 2026, including Adora (February 2026), Mirai (February 2026), Foundry Robotics (March 2026), and Mind Robotics (May 2026), and reports a closed fund, Garuda Ventures II, with a July 2023 close date.
Latest developments
Portfolio announcements published in 2026 include Mind Robotics, described as AI-native robotics for manufacturing (May 2026); Foundry Robotics, focused on American manufacturing (March 2026); Mirai, focused on on-device inference (February 2026); and Adora, visual journey mapping for product teams (February 2026). The firm also published a May 2026 newsletter and a toolkit piece on VC fundraising risks in February 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
A small, first-check pre-seed and seed fund competing at the earliest stage of the US venture market, with one closed fund recorded (Garuda Ventures II, closed July 2023) and a portfolio that includes an early Canva connection through partner Rishi Taparia's prior role at Matrix Partners.
Garuda Ventures differentiates on being a dedicated first-check fund with a defined $500K–$1.5M check size and partners with operating experience in corporate development, business operations, and prior venture investing, alongside a founder network used for hiring and customer introductions.
Go-to-market
The firm sources and wins deals through the partners' operating and investing networks, founder referrals, and published portfolio announcements and newsletters, and positions itself on speed of decision-making and post-investment access, including customer and hiring introductions and an active founder community.
Pre-seed and seed-stage founding teams in the United States, including first-time and repeat founders raising their first institutional round, across SaaS software, commerce infrastructure, Climate 2.0, and data stack and developer tools.
Geography
Headquartered in Orinda, California (86 Grassy Hill Way, Orinda, 94563), with a single listed office and an investment focus on companies across the United States. Partners are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Orinda, Burlingame, and San Francisco.
History
Garuda Ventures was founded in 2018 per a third-party institution profile, which also records one closed fund, Garuda Ventures II, with a close date of July 2023 (fund size undisclosed). The leadership team consists of co-founders and General Partners Rishi Taparia and Arpan Punyani, plus co-founder and Venture Partner James Richards; the same profile also lists Jonathan M. Kaye as an investor contact. Taparia's background includes roles at Scale Venture Partners, Matrix Partners (where he sourced the firm's seed investment in Canva), VP of Business Operations at Poynt, and SVP of Strategy and Operations at Legion. Punyani was an early employee at Okta from 2013, serving as Director of Corporate Development and a founding member of its M&A, Okta Ventures, and strategic partnership functions. Richards is co-founder and CEO of carbon project finance company Evergrow and previously founded Teleborder, which was sold to TriNet.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsGaruda Ventures announced an investment in Mind Robotics, described as AI-native robotics for manufacturing.
Garuda Ventures announced an investment in Foundry Robotics, described as powering American manufacturing for the next century.
Garuda Ventures announced an investment in Mirai, described as on-device inference to unlock AI for all.
Garuda Ventures announced an investment in Adora, described as visual journey mapping for product teams.
A third-party institution profile records one closed fund, Garuda Ventures II, with a close date of July 2023; the fund size is not disclosed.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Garudagaruda.vc · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Garuda Ventures do?
- Garuda Ventures is a California pre-seed and seed venture fund writing first checks of $500K to $1.5M.
- Who founded Garuda Ventures?
- Garuda Ventures was founded by Rishi Taparia, Arpan Punyani.
- Who are Garuda Ventures's investors?
- Garuda Ventures's investors include Amand Ventures, Social Leverage.