Dr. Manu Kumar
InvestorUnicorn founderCo-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.
Pragli's investors · 1
Co-founders at Pragli
Board director at Mindset Labs
Intro paths
In turn, Dr. can intro founders to Mindset Labs's investors below.
Mindset Labs's investors · 1
Board director at Everlaw
Intro paths
In turn, Dr. can intro founders to Everlaw's investors below.
Everlaw's investors · 9
Co-founders at Everlaw
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
- OsmoInvestor and Board Membercurrent2013 — presentPalo Alto, CA
- Enuma, Inc. (formerly LocoMotive Labs, Inc.)Investor and Board Membercurrent2012 — presentBerkeley, CA
- OccipitalBoard Membercurrent2011 — presentSan Francisco,CA
- BoomerangInvestor and Advisorcurrent2011 — presentMountain View, CA
- LucidChartInvestorcurrent2011 — presentUtah
- EverlawInvestor and Board Membercurrent2011 — presentBerkeley, CA
- Twilio, Inc.Investorcurrent2009 — presentSan Francisco, CA
- DNAnexus, Inc.Investorcurrent2009 — present
- CrowdFlowerInvestorcurrent2009 — presentSan Francisco, CA
- GradescopeInvestor and Board Member2014 — 2018Berkeley, CA
- Coin, Inc.Investor and Board Member2012 — 2016San Francisco, CA
- Stanford UniversityVisiting Lecturer2015Stanford, CA
- Dishero, Inc.Investor and Board Member2014 — 2015San Jose, CA
- Caarbon Corp.Investor and Board Member2014 — 2015San Francisco, CA
- Nimble VRInvestor and Board Member2012 — 2014San Francisco, CA
- Stanford UniversityVisiting Lecturer2014Stanford, CA
- MobileSpan Inc.Investor and Board Observer2012 — 2014Santa Clara, CA
- Lytro Inc.Founding Advisor & Investor2005 — 2014Palo Alto, CA
- HighlightCam, Inc.Investor & Board Observer2009 — 2013Palo Alto, CA
- TorbitInvestor and Board Member2011 — 2013Sunnyvale, CA
Skills & more
+12 more
MergersKnowledge ManagementStrategic AlliancesStart-upsCloud ComputingMobile ApplicationsProduct ManagementUser Interface DesignFinancial ModelingVenture FinancingMergers & AcquisitionsMachine LearningFrom 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
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
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
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.
+ 896 more
Carnegie Mellon University mafia231
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
+ 224 more
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
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Also attended Carnegie Mellon University410
+ 404 more
Also attended Modern School14
+ 8 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Boomerang1
Also worked at LucidChart12
+ 6 more
Also worked at Stanford University722
+ 716 more


































































