Fundraising Fox

Dr. Manu Kumar

InvestorUnicorn founder

Co-founder at Carta · Chief Firestarter at K9 Ventures · Board director at Pragli · Board director at Mindset Labs · Board director at Everlaw

Palo Alto

FoundedCarta$3.1B

About

Serial entrepreneur and founder of K9 Ventures who started the firm in 2009 to address the gap in seed-stage funding. Previously founded SneakerLabs (acquired for $100M+) and iMeet (merged with Netspoke and sold to Premiere Conferencing), and conducted doctoral research on computer interfaces at Stanford.

Contact· self-published, not guessed

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareHardwareMobility & TransportationSaaS

Board director at Pragli

Intro paths

In turn, Dr. can intro founders to Pragli's investors below.

Co-founders at Pragli

VN
Vivek NairExecutive Officer, Director
DS
Douglas Steven SafrenoExecutive Officer, Director

Board director at Mindset Labs

Intro paths

In turn, Dr. can intro founders to Mindset Labs's investors below.

Board director at Everlaw

Intro paths

In turn, Dr. can intro founders to Everlaw's investors below.

Co-founders at Everlaw

AS
Ajeet ShankarExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

  1. K9 VenturesFounder & Chief Firestartercurrent2009 — presentPalo Alto, CA
  2. HiHello, Inc.Co-Founder and CEOcurrent2018 — presentPalo Alto, California
  3. CartaCo-founder, Investor & Board Observercurrent2012 — presentPalo Alto, CA
  4. tbhInvestor and Board Membercurrent2020 — present
  5. Agenda HeroInvestor and Board Membercurrent2020 — present
  6. OtterTuneInvestorcurrent2020 — present
  7. DivebellInvestor and Board Membercurrent2019 — present
  8. Daughters of RosieInvestor & Board Membercurrent2019 — presentBerkeley, California
  9. Invisible AIInvestor & Board Membercurrent2019 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  10. ForethoughtInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  11. WorkonaInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentSan Mateo, California
  12. AvomaInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentPalo Alto, California
  13. Compound EyeInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentPalo Alto, California
  14. AuroraInvestorcurrent2017 — presentPalo Alto, California
  15. Crave.io Inc.Investor & Board Membercurrent2016 — present
  16. Traptic, IncInvestor & Board Membercurrent2016 — presentPalo Alto, California
  17. Nexkey, Inc.Investor & Board Membercurrent2015 — presentSan Mateo, California
  18. LyftInvestorcurrent2010 — presentSan Francisco, CA
  19. Auth0Investor and Board Observercurrent2014 — presentBellevue, WA
  20. KidAdmit, Inc.Investor and Board Membercurrent2014 — presentSan Francisco, CA
  21. OsmoInvestor and Board Membercurrent2013 — presentPalo Alto, CA
  22. Enuma, Inc. (formerly LocoMotive Labs, Inc.)Investor and Board Membercurrent2012 — presentBerkeley, CA
  23. OccipitalBoard Membercurrent2011 — presentSan Francisco,CA
  24. BoomerangInvestor and Advisorcurrent2011 — presentMountain View, CA
  25. LucidChartInvestorcurrent2011 — presentUtah
  26. EverlawInvestor and Board Membercurrent2011 — presentBerkeley, CA
  27. Twilio, Inc.Investorcurrent2009 — presentSan Francisco, CA
  28. DNAnexus, Inc.Investorcurrent2009 — present
  29. CrowdFlowerInvestorcurrent2009 — presentSan Francisco, CA
  30. GradescopeInvestor and Board Member2014 — 2018Berkeley, CA
  31. Coin, Inc.Investor and Board Member2012 — 2016San Francisco, CA
  32. Stanford UniversityVisiting Lecturer2015Stanford, CA
  33. Dishero, Inc.Investor and Board Member2014 — 2015San Jose, CA
  34. Caarbon Corp.Investor and Board Member2014 — 2015San Francisco, CA
  35. Nimble VRInvestor and Board Member2012 — 2014San Francisco, CA
  36. Stanford UniversityVisiting Lecturer2014Stanford, CA
  37. MobileSpan Inc.Investor and Board Observer2012 — 2014Santa Clara, CA
  38. Lytro Inc.Founding Advisor & Investor2005 — 2014Palo Alto, CA
  39. HighlightCam, Inc.Investor & Board Observer2009 — 2013Palo Alto, CA
  40. TorbitInvestor and Board Member2011 — 2013Sunnyvale, CA

Skills & more

Mentoring6Strategy44Management7SaaS9Enterprise Software7Early-stage Startups20Venture CapitalBusiness Strategy44Entrepreneurship99Angel Investing32Product Innovation4IT Strategy4
+12 moreMergersKnowledge ManagementStrategic AlliancesStart-upsCloud ComputingMobile ApplicationsProduct ManagementUser Interface DesignFinancial ModelingVenture FinancingMergers & AcquisitionsMachine Learning

From Dr.'s professional profile.

Deals · 10

Compound Eye, Inc.Board seat

via K9 Ventures · filed May 2025 · $13M raise

PragliBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Jan 2025 · $237.5K raise

Mindset LabsBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Sep 2021 · $3M raise

press ↗

Forethought Technologies, Inc.Board seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Jan 2019 · $9.5M raise

EverlawBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Jul 2018 · $25.3M raise

ESharesBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Oct 2017 · $41.5M raise

press ↗

TrapticBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Sep 2017 · $3M raise

CurrantBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Oct 2016 · $3.5M raise

GradescopeBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Feb 2016 · $2.8M raise

Locomotive LabsBoard seat

via K9 Ventures · filed Feb 2015 · $4M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Board seats

Occipital

Per SEC Form D filings.

Network2

Investors connected to Dr. in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dr. Manu Kumar?
Serial entrepreneur and founder of K9 Ventures who started the firm in 2009 to address the gap in seed-stage funding. Previously founded SneakerLabs (acquired for $100M+) and iMeet (merged with Netspoke and sold to Premiere Conferencing), and conducted doctoral research on computer interfaces at Stanford.
Where does Dr. Manu Kumar work?
Dr. Manu Kumar is Co-founder of Carta and Chief Firestarter at K9 Ventures and Board director at Pragli and Board director at Mindset Labs and Board director at Everlaw.
What does Dr. Manu Kumar invest in?
Dr. Manu Kumar invests in AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, Enterprise Software, Hardware, Mobility & Transportation, SaaS.
What companies did Dr. Manu Kumar found?
Dr. Manu Kumar founded Carta.
What boards does Dr. Manu Kumar sit on?
Dr. Manu Kumar holds tracked board seats at Compound Eye, Inc., Currant, EShares, Everlaw, Forethought Technologies, Inc., Gradescope, Locomotive Labs, Mindset Labs, Occipital, Pragli.
Where did Dr. Manu Kumar go to school?
Dr. Manu Kumar studied at Stanford University (Ph.D., Computer Science); Stanford University (Masters, Computer Science); Carnegie Mellon University (MS, Software Engineering (Business concentration)).

Founder mafias

Stanford University mafia903

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

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Carnegie Mellon University mafia231

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

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Carta mafia13

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

+ 6 more

Carta mafia8

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

+ 1 more

Auth0 mafia7

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Same school

Shared employers