How many investments has SHAKTI made?

SHAKTI has 35 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.

What stage does SHAKTI invest at?

SHAKTI invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.

What is SHAKTI's typical check size?

SHAKTI typically writes checks of $250K – $2M.

What sectors does SHAKTI focus on?

SHAKTI focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, SaaS.

Where is SHAKTI located?

SHAKTI is headquartered in San Francisco, US.

Does SHAKTI lead rounds?

Yes, SHAKTI leads investment rounds.

Who does SHAKTI co-invest with?

SHAKTI most often shares deals with 500 Global, Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, among 123 tracked co-investors.

SHAKTI

Venture capital

San Francisco · Pre-Seed–Series A · 9 people tracked

Also known as SHAKTI CAPITAL, LLC · Shakti Venture Capital

★ Follow + Add to CRM ⤳ Find an introduction

Find your way into SHAKTI

18,540 people in our graph share verified history with the SHAKTI team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Aydin Senkutunlockedknows Keval Desai · together at Google (overlapped)

×2knows the team · via Morgan Stanley

knows the team · via Canva

knows the team · via Correlation Ventures

knows the team · via Brown University

knows the team · via UC Santa Barbara

✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

SHAKTI invests at the earliest stages—pre-revenue, pre-product, sometimes pre-incorporation—writing initial checks of $250K to $2M with $1-2M in follow-ons. The firm will lead, co-lead, or follow, with no fixed ownership target, aiming for 10-100x returns. Companies must be US-incorporated but can operate globally. Beyond capital, SHAKTI positions itself as a hands-on partner from zero to IPO, helping founders recruit world-class teams, land customers among consumers, SMBs and Fortune 100s, and raise subsequent rounds. Its Titan Network gives portfolio companies access to over 50 operators who are current and former founders and executives of public tech companies. The firm emphasizes founders reimagining how the world works, including physical and digital AI.

Invests inAI & Machine Learning Deep Tech SaaS Global San Francisco United States

Source: firm website, verified Sep 1, 2026.

Stage

Pre-Seed–Series A

Check

$250K – $2M

San Francisco, CA, US

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2019

Private fund assets

$71.9M

VC funds

Tracked investments

Team · 9 people

from the firm's website

Keval Desai· Founder & Partner· San Franciscoin 𝕏

Keval Desai is Founder and Partner at SHAKTI, with three decades of experience in Silicon Valley as an engineer, entrepreneur, product leader, and investor. He co-founded the online payments company Achex, later joined Google before its IPO to lead monetization products including AdWords, Access, and Google TV, and spent a decade as a GP at Interwest before starting SHAKTI. He holds an M.S. in computer science, a B.E. in electrical engineering, and an MBA, and has taught VC/PE at Berkeley Haas.

Liz Harrow· Partner· New Yorkin

Liz Harrow is a Partner at SHAKTI, based in New York. She previously spent more than ten years at Morgan Stanley in equity research and venture capital roles, most recently as Vice President of the firm's startup accelerator program focused on supporting diverse founders. She holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a B.A. from Colgate University.

Sydney Landau· Partner· New Yorkin

Sydney Landau is a Partner at SHAKTI, based in New York, having joined the firm full-time after interning there during college. Earlier in her career she interned in Morgan Stanley's Private Wealth Management division and completed the Tuck School of Business mini MBA program. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Economics from Colby College, where she captained the Women's Varsity Tennis team.

Bryan Power· Venture Partner· Bay Area (Oakland)in

Bryan Power is a Venture Partner at SHAKTI with over 20 years of experience in human resources and talent acquisition, supporting founders on hiring, team scaling, and company culture. He previously led the global People Team at Yahoo covering more than 10,000 employees across 30 offices, held a similar role at Square during its growth from 350 to 1,600 employees ahead of its 2015 IPO, and spent eight years at Google. He advises several technology companies in San Francisco.

Jesse Haines· Venture Partner· New Yorkin

Jesse Haines is a Venture Partner at SHAKTI who supports founders with go-to-market strategy and storytelling, drawing on more than 20 years in marketing. She spent 17 years at Google leading marketing for emerging products such as Mobile Ads, YouTube Ads, Hardware, and Google TV Ads, and founded Grow with Google, a workforce development program that trained over 10 million Americans in digital skills. Earlier roles included positions at Tommy Hilfiger, Bain & Company, and Outward Bound, and she holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. from Brown University.

Adriel Saporta· Venture Fellow· Brooklyn, New York, United Statesin 𝕏

Kavita Kochar· Venture Fellow· Chicagoin

Kavita Kochar is a Fellow at SHAKTI and a Director of Product at Fetch, a consumer rewards mobile company. She has more than 15 years of product experience at venture-backed technology companies including Google and Groupon, with prior work covering ads, search, eCommerce, and merchant sales tooling. She earned a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MBA from Stanford Business School.

Natasha Prasad· Venture Fellow· San Franciscoin

Natasha Prasad is a Venture Partner at SHAKTI who has spent nearly two decades building tech companies across the U.S. and Australia. She previously held product leadership roles at Paperless Post and Atlassian, co-founded the fitness tech startup FitSessions (acquired by ClassPass), led ClassPass's expansion into Australasia as Country Manager, and served as an executive at digital health companies Cleo Labs and Sword Health. Earlier she was an investor with Goldman Sachs's Private Equity Group in London and New York, and she currently serves as COO of TURN, a reuse platform for businesses. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an M.A. in Economics from Cambridge University, and a B.A. in Mathematics from Delhi University.

Salahuddin Choudhary· Venture Fellow· Bay Areain 𝕏

Salahuddin Choudhary is a Fellow at SHAKTI and a Product Lead at Google working on Generative AI experiences for Android. He previously led Health Research and Experience teams at Google and DeepMind, focusing on applying AI to healthcare, and earlier worked on consumer mobile products at Facebook and Google Maps and Local Search, as well as founding a mobile app startup. He holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University.

What they invest in

from 16 of 35 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×7SaaS ×5Circular Economy ×3Consumer ×3Data & Infrastructure ×3Developer Tools ×3EdTech ×3Direct to Consumer ×2

HQs:United States×10South Africa×2Australia×1

Who they back

founder profiles across 13 portfolio companies

23%

solo founders

3 of 13 mapped founding teams

59%

repeat founders

of 17 founders with career history

Founding team size:solo founder×32 founders×83 founders×14+ founders×1

Where their founders studiedfrom 16 founders with education data

Stanford University ×2University of California, Berkeley ×2

Where their founders worked beforefrom 17 founders with career history

Facebook ×2Google ×2Ixio Analytics ×2

Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program

Y Combinator ×2

Investments · 35 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2021 · 2 2015 · 13 dated

Backblazebackblaze.comNASDAQ: BLZE

Scalable low-cost cloud backup and storage services.

248

Builds digital teammates for revenue teams to automate time-consuming tasks.

Aidaptive

AI/ML infrastructure company building an accessible end-to-end ML platform.

AlphaXivalphaxiv.org in 𝕏

alphaXiv is a platform that connects academic papers, researchers, and organizations, providing AI-grounded answers based on underlying research work.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechMedia & Entertainment

Rehaan Ahmad(Founder)inLino Le Van(Founder)in

Co-investorsUpfront Ventures Haystack Menlo Ventures

Athenascope

Machine learning platform for capturing highlights from online video games.

Bolt

Payment platform providing one-click checkout.

Camblycambly.com in 𝕏

Cambly connects language learners with tutors for online English instruction.

EdTechFuture of WorkSan Francisco, US

Sameer Shariff(Founder)inKevin Law(Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer / learning leader)in

Co-investors500 Global AUTHENTIC VENTURES Bessemer Venture Partners Chapter One Haystack MONASHEES +4 more

Canvacanva.com

Design platform; Blackbird invested when it was just an idea and in every round since.

SocialSurry Hills, Nsw, AU

Melanie Perkins(Co-founder & CEO)inClifford Obrecht(Executive Officer, Director)Cliff Obrecht(Co-founder & COO)inCameron Adams(Co-founder & CPO)inIan LeeJeffrey Story

Co-investors500 Global AirTree Ventures Alkeon Innovation Alpha Square Group Altra Venture Athletic Ventures +39 more

Clove

Global recipe and cooking platform aiming to simplify cooking.

Criya

SaaS platform for creators to showcase their services online.

Cuyanacuyana.com

Cuyana is a direct-to-consumer luxury leather goods and accessories brand that designs customizable bags and accessories made from sustainable materials.

Circular EconomyConsumerDirect to ConsumerSan Francisco, US

Shilpa Shah(Founder)inKarla Gallardo(Founder)in

Co-investorsCanaan Partners Comcast Ventures Greycroft H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. Growth Partners

Feltfelt.com in 𝕏

Felt is a cloud-native, extendable platform for creating, visualizing, and analyzing geospatial data on interactive maps, with support for drag-and-drop file uploads, geocoding, and cartographic styling.

Data & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsSaaSTelluride, US

Tomer Alpert(Manager & Chief Executive Officer)inGRACIE EVERITT(FOUNDER)Sam Hashemi inKearston Grace Everitt(Chief Operating Officer)Rachel Zackin

Co-investorsDesigner Fund Energize Capital Footwork Moxxie Ventures Bain Capital Ventures BCV

Gen.Ggeng.gg 𝕏

Gen.G is a professional esports organization that manages competitive teams across multiple games including League of Legends, Valorant, and PUBG, as well as motorsports racing.

Creator EconomyEdTechGamingLos Angeles, US

Co-investorsBattery Ventures Canaan Partners Conductive Ventures Dreamers VC New Enterprise Associates (NEA)Remarkable Ventures +2 more

Gimbal Space

Provides reliable, cost-effective satellite products for the modern space market.

Glacierendwaste.io in 𝕏

Glacier develops AI-powered robotic systems for material recovery facilities (MRFs) to improve recycling sorting and material quality.

AI & Machine LearningCircular EconomyRoboticsSan Francisco, US

Rebecca Hu-Thrams(Founder)inAreeb Malik(Founder)in

Co-investorsAlleyCorp Asymmetric Capital Partners Ecosystem Integrity Fund Jetstream New Enterprise Associates (NEA)Overlap Holdings +8 more

Infilla

Software for municipal planning and building departments to expedite permitting.

Kinetic Automation

Network of automated service centers for the next generation of mobility (EVs, AVs).

Musubi

Adaptive AI content moderation solutions for Trust & Safety teams.

NameCoachname-coach.com in 𝕏Jun 2015

Namecoach offers audio name-pronunciation recordings that embed online so people can learn how to correctly say each other's names, and supports gender pronoun communication.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSPalo Alto, US

Praveen Ramesh Shanbhag(Executive Officer, Director)

Co-investors640 Oxford AiSprouts VC AUTHENTIC VENTURES Bisk Ventures Forefront Venture Impact America Fund +5 more

NextWork

Platform for learning and showcasing skills.

Pipedrivepipedrive.com in 𝕏

Pipedrive is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses to manage sales pipelines, track leads, and automate sales processes.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSales TechNew York, US

Urmas Purde(Founder)inPaulo Cunha(Pipedrive CEO)in

Co-investorsVista Equity Partners AngelPad Bessemer Venture Partners Camber Partners Digital Health Ventures Fresco Capital +10 more

Queenlyqueenly.com in 𝕏Jul 2021Defunct

Queenly is an online marketplace where users can buy and rent formal wear across iOS, Android, and web platforms.

ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceMarketplacesSan Francisco, US

Trisha Bantigue(Founder)inKathy Zhou-Patel(Founder)inMengzhou Zhou(Director)

Co-investorsAmino Capital Interlace Ventures Y Combinator Andreessen Horowitz

Snack

Video-driven dating app designed for Gen Z.

Sparrow

Platform that automates the search for the best student loans.

Stable

Provides a business address and lets companies manage physical mail online.

Stitchstitch.money in 𝕏

Stitch provides payment infrastructure enabling businesses to accept, send and manage online and in-person payments while offering consumers in South Africa financial management tools.

FintechSaaSSouth Africa, ZA

Mohamed Oueida(Founder & CEO)Kiaan Pillay(Founder)in

Co-investors500 Global CRE Venture Capital Digital Currency Group Glynn Capital Management High Alpha Norrsken22 +6 more

Studio Jadu

AI-native animation studio built for creators.

Swiftlygoswift.ly in 𝕏

Swiftly provides a data platform for public transit agencies to track vehicle locations, generate real-time passenger information and arrival predictions, and analyze historical operations data.

Data & InfrastructureGovTechMobility & Transportation

Co-investorsBuilders + Backers JMI Equity Wind Venture Renewal Funds

Tangramtangramvision.com in

Tangram Vision develops MetriCal, a multi-modal sensor calibration suite for calibrating cameras, LiDAR, and IMUs across a product's lifecycle.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsRobotics

Co-investors2048 Ventures Trucks VC

The Lobby

Influencer marketing platform for brands to scale influencer marketing.

The Real Real x-tech-roboticstherealreal.com in 𝕏

The RealReal is an online marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment, allowing consumers to buy and sell pre-owned designer clothing, accessories, jewelry, watches, and home goods.

Circular EconomyConsumerE-commerceMarketplacesSan Francisco, US

Julie Wainwright(Executive Officer, Director)Matt Gustke(Executive Officer)inHenry V. Barry(Executive Officer)

BoardMathias Schilling(Director)inCynthia Ringo(Director)Keval Desai(Director)in

Co-investorsAcrew Capital Aspect Ventures Bright Pixel Capital Canaan Partners DBL Partners Expansion Venture Capital +11 more

TRACE

Building agentic recommerce with a presale marketplace for resale/rental demand.

Vunglevungle.com in 𝕏acquired by Liftoff

Vungle, part of Liftoff, provides mobile performance marketing, app monetization, and creative solutions built on Cortex, an AI/machine-learning growth platform.

AdTechAI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentSaaS

Zain Jaffer(CoFounder)inJack Smith

Co-investors500 Global AngelPad Crosslink Capital Eniac Ventures Spider Capital Uncork Capital +5 more

XVERSO

Marketplace for artists and art enthusiasts to transact in art.

Zindizindi.africa inOct 2021

Zindi is a professional network and AI challenge platform where data scientists and AI builders compete on practical machine learning challenges developed with businesses, NGOs, and governments.

AI & Machine LearningB2B MarketplacesData & InfrastructureEdTechFuture of WorkImpact & Social GoodEbene, ZA

Ekow Duker(Executive Officer, Director)inCelina Lee(Executive Officer, Director)inKarim Beguir(Director)

BoardDan Zigmond(Director)in

Co-investorsFounders Factory Africa Mo Angels Compound

Exits · 2

IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolio

BackblazeNASDAQ: BLZEVungleacq. by Liftoff

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Bank of New York Mellon Corp Makes New Investment in Backblaze, Inc. $BLZE

Backblaze · marketbeat.com · Sep 7, 2026

Five35 Widens Female-Focused Bets as African Funding for Female Founders Dries Up - Launch Base Africa

Zindi · launchbaseafrica.com · Aug 19, 2026

TheRealReal earnings in focus as luxury resale leader eyes profit By Investing.com

The Real Real x-tech-robotics · ca.investing.com · Aug 6, 2026

Caliber Mining’s ₹450 crore IPO opens today; raises ₹135 crore from anchor investors ahead of issue

Vungle · fortuneindia.com · Jul 17, 2026

Stitch Fix stock rises on new AI styling feature launch By Investing.com

Stitch · investing.com · Jun 24, 2026

Does Cuyana Last? My 3 Year Review Of Their Tote Bag - The Good Trade

Cuyana · thegoodtrade.com · Jun 17, 2026

AlphaXiv raises $7M in funding to become the GitHub of AI research - SiliconANGLE

AlphaXiv · siliconangle.com · Nov 19, 2025

Felt Raises $15 Million In Funding Led By Energize Capital With BCV And Footwork | TradedVC

Felt · traded.co · Jul 17, 2025

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has SHAKTI made?: SHAKTI has 35 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
What stage does SHAKTI invest at?: SHAKTI invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is SHAKTI's typical check size?: SHAKTI typically writes checks of $250K – $2M.
What sectors does SHAKTI focus on?: SHAKTI focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, SaaS.
Where is SHAKTI located?: SHAKTI is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
Does SHAKTI lead rounds?: Yes, SHAKTI leads investment rounds.
Who does SHAKTI co-invest with?: SHAKTI most often shares deals with 500 Global, Bessemer Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, among 123 tracked co-investors.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

from their channel

Hear from our Titans ...

SHAKTI VC

How to Go Viral in the Age of AI with Tiffany Zhong (Founder & CEO, noplace)

SHAKTI VC

Building and scaling day one teams with Bryan Power (Frmr Head of People, Nextdoor & Square)

SHAKTI VC

Founder Interview with TRACE - The First Pre-Sale Marketplace

SHAKTI VC

Why Venture? - Mike Steib

SHAKTI VC

Making the Right Bets with Mike Steib, 4X CEO, Author, Shakti Titan

SHAKTI VC

Images

Similar investors

8VC

8VC is a venture capital firm investing across logistics, life sciences, healthcare, IT infrastructure, and government/defense, guided by its Smart Enterprise thesis focused on data integration and platform network effects.

$100K – $50M

Clear Ventures

Clear Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that provides seed capital, connections, and company-building support to fast-growing startups.

$100K – $5M

Earlybird Venture Capital

Earlybird Venture Capital is a European venture capital investor that backs early-stage technology founders with capital, strategic support, and access to an international network.

$540K – $12M

Flybridge Capital Partners

Flybridge Capital Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs building companies with global reach. The firm focuses on supporting innovative ventures from their initial funding stages.

$250K – $10M

Foundation Capital

Foundation Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that commits to founders at the idea stage and maintains long-term relationships with portfolio companies through their growth journey.

$250K – $15M