Venky Karnam
InvestorFounder at Shift Left Ventures · Partner at Ahead VC
San Francisco, California
Writes $100K – $250K checks · typically $250K
Find your path to Venky
240 people in our graph share verified history with Venky — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Toby CoppelunlockedVenky: together at Yahoo (2005–2006)
×9Venky: together at Yahoo
Venky: together at AdMob
Venky: together at Afore Capital
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 University637
Mikowai AshwillInvestor at Spark CapitalNaomi Pilosof IonitaBoard Partner at Menlo VenturesEric OngInvestor at LightbankBill PescatelloInvestor at LightbankScott JacobsonManaging Director at Madrona Venture GroupAnna WangAssociate at March Capital Partners
+ 631 more
Also attended Indian Institute of Technology, Madras222
Aravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AISundeep PeechuGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesRajesh SwaminathanInvestor at Khosla VenturesAshok SanthanamManaging Director at Copper Sky CapitalHanyang WangDirector at Qualcomm VenturesAparnaAdvisor at NewBuild.VC
+ 216 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Afore Capital29
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
+ 23 more
Also worked at Google2,000
Kai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundHunter WalkCo-founder & Partner at HomebrewAydin SenkutFounder & Managing Partner at FelicisLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalGArash FerdowsiCo-founder of Dropbox
+ 1,994 more
Also worked at AdMob13
Jules MaltzInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)John HadlPartner at Archer Capital GroupShaoib MakaniFounder, Motive at Houghton Street VenturesJim PayneFounder / General Partner at Breakpoint CapitalNihal MehtaCo-Founder and General Partner at Eniac VenturesRussell BuckleyInvestor at Ballpark Ventures
+ 7 more
Also worked at Yahoo462
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
+ 456 more