Where does Dr. Manu Kumar work?

Dr. Manu Kumar is Chief Firestarter at K9 Ventures.

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)).

Dr. Manu Kumar

Investor

Chief Firestarter at K9 Ventures

Palo Alto

Find your path to Dr. Manu Kumar

1,140 people in our graph share verified history with Dr. Manu Kumar — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Javier SolterounlockedDr. Manu Kumar: together at Carnegie Mellon University (1992–1997)

Dr. Manu Kumar: together at Carta

×2Dr. Manu Kumar: together at Stanford University

Dr. Manu Kumar: together at Otter Tune

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

m•••@k9ventures.comreveal

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareHardwareMobility & TransportationSaaS

Experience

K9 VenturesFounder & Chief Firestartercurrent2009 — presentPalo Alto, CA
HiHello, Inc.Co-Founder and CEOcurrent2018 — presentPalo Alto, California
CartaCo-founder, Investor & Board Observercurrent2012 — presentPalo Alto, CA
tbhInvestor and Board Membercurrent2020 — present
Agenda HeroInvestor and Board Membercurrent2020 — present
OtterTuneInvestorcurrent2020 — present
DivebellInvestor and Board Membercurrent2019 — present
Daughters of RosieInvestor & Board Membercurrent2019 — presentBerkeley, California
Invisible AIInvestor & Board Membercurrent2019 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
ForethoughtInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
WorkonaInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentSan Mateo, California
AvomaInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentPalo Alto, California
Compound EyeInvestor & Board Membercurrent2017 — presentPalo Alto, California
AuroraInvestorcurrent2017 — presentPalo Alto, California
Crave.io Inc.Investor & Board Membercurrent2016 — present
Traptic, IncInvestor & Board Membercurrent2016 — presentPalo Alto, California
Nexkey, Inc.Investor & Board Membercurrent2015 — presentSan Mateo, California
LyftInvestorcurrent2010 — presentSan Francisco, CA
Auth0Investor and Board Observercurrent2014 — presentBellevue, WA
KidAdmit, Inc.Investor and Board Membercurrent2014 — presentSan Francisco, CA

Skills & more

Early-stage Startups20Venture Capital

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

Investor

Agenda HeroAuth0BackTypeBaydincard.ioCardMunchCartaCoinDnanexusFigure EightForethoughtGentrace HighlightCamHiHelloIndexTankInvisible AIKidAdmitLucid SoftwareLyftLytroMobileSpanNexkeyNimble VROccipitalOsmoPestoTapCanvasTorbit TwilioWorkona

Sources: SEC Form D filings · curated public sources.

Colleagues at K9 Ventures

Manu Kumar

General Partner at K9 Ventures

Network2

Gary KremenScout

Investor at Sand Hill Angels

George BischofScout

Partner at Meritech Capital Partners

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 Chief Firestarter at K9 Ventures.
What does Dr. Manu Kumar invest in?: Dr. Manu Kumar invests in AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, Enterprise Software, Hardware, Mobility & Transportation, SaaS.
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.
What companies has Dr. Manu Kumar invested in?: Investments tracked here include Agenda Hero, Auth0, BackType, Baydin, card.io, CardMunch, Carta, Coin, Dnanexus, Everlaw, Figure Eight, Forethought, and 20 more.
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)).