Venky Karnam
InvestorFounder at Shift Left Ventures · Venture Partner at Afore Capital
San Francisco, California
Writes $100K – $250K checks · typically $250K
About
Venky Karnam serves as a venture partner at Afore Capital, a pre-seed and seed-stage fund, and invests independently in Indian startups. His portfolio includes Meesho, Groww, FamPay, Bueno Finance, Method Finance, FrontPage, and Basis.
Contact· self-published, not guessed
Invests in
Developer ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Experience
- Ahead VCPartnercurrent2025 — presentPalo Alto, California, United States
- Shift Left VenturesGeneral Partnercurrent2023 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Afore CapitalVenture Partner2017 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
- VariousAngel Investor2010 — 2018
- GoogleAds Infrastructure2010 — 2017
- AdMobInfrastructure2006 — 2010
- YahooShopping Search2005 — 2006
Investments
Investor
BasisFamPayGrowwMeesho
Per curated public sources.
Colleagues at Shift Left Ventures
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Venky Karnam?
- Venky Karnam serves as a venture partner at Afore Capital, a pre-seed and seed-stage fund, and invests independently in Indian startups. His portfolio includes Meesho, Groww, FamPay, Bueno Finance, Method Finance, FrontPage, and Basis.
- Where does Venky Karnam work?
- Venky Karnam is Founder at Shift Left Ventures.
- What does Venky Karnam invest in?
- Venky Karnam invests in Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, Fintech, SaaS.
- What check size does Venky Karnam write?
- Venky Karnam typically writes checks of $100K – $250K.
- What companies has Venky Karnam invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Basis, FamPay, Groww, Meesho.
- Where did Venky Karnam go to school?
- Venky Karnam studied at Northwestern University (MS, Computer Engineering); Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (B Tech, Electrical Engineering).
Same school
Also attended Northwestern University352
Hannah KrootMarketing Lead at Intel CapitalMikowai AshwillInvestor at Spark CapitalNaomi Pilosof IonitaBoard Partner at Menlo VenturesEric OngInvestor at LightbankBill PescatelloInvestor at LightbankScott JacobsonManaging Director at Madrona Venture Group
+ 346 more
Also attended Indian Institute of Technology, Madras118
Aravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AISundeep PeechuGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesRajesh SwaminathanInvestor at Khosla VenturesAparnaAdvisor at NewBuild.VCParthaAdvisor at NewBuild.VCIlanInvestor at Eudemian Ventures
+ 112 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Afore Capital31
Nate WangVP of Investments at Plum Alley InvestmentsRiley FinchInvestment Associate at NextGen Venture PartnersGaurav JainCo-founder, Managing Partner at Afore CapitalAnamitra BanerjiCo-founder, Managing Partner at Afore CapitalDerrick LiPrincipal at Afore CapitalKayla KavanaughInvestor at Afore Capital
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+ 25 more
Also worked at Google1,715
Ron ConwayFounder of SV AngelElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalTomasz TunguzFounder & General Partner at Theory Ventures
+ 1,709 more
Also worked at Yahoo305
Jess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalMike SpeiserManaging Director at Sutter Hill VenturesBrian ActonCo-founder of WhatsApp; co-founder of Signal FoundationStewart ButterfieldCo-founder of Slack and FlickrMax LevchinCo-founder of PayPal; founder, chairman & CEO of Affirm; partner at SciFi VCAmjad MasadCo-founder & CEO of Replit
+ 299 more