Ex-LinkedIn India Head Ashutosh Gupta Joins Avataar Venture Partners

Months after announcing the culmination of his decade-long stint with LinkedIn, Ashutosh Gupta on Friday (June 21) took to the social media platform to announce that he has joined venture capital (VC) firm Avataar Venture Partners as an “operating partner” and “head of GTM CoE”.

Gupta joined the SaaS and B2B technology-focused growth-stage VC firm in May, following a brief career break. Over his ten-year tenure at LinkedIn, he spent about half of that time serving as the country manager for India.

The platform has credited his leadership with key milestones, such as surpassing the 100 Mn user mark and launching the Hindi language version.

Before joining the Microsoft-owned social media platform in 2013, he served as the head of industry and technology services for Google for two years. 

Throughout his nearly three-decade-long career, he has held various positions at companies like ICICI Securities, Infosys, and Cognizant. Notably, Gupta has not previously been involved with a VC firm.

Founded in 2019 by Nishant Rao, the VC firm invests in Indian startups with an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over $15 Mn. It has backed companies such as RateGain, Amagi, and InsuranceDekho. 

Its latest investment was in SaaS startup Capillary in 2023, when it led the startup’s $45 Mn Series D funding round. The round also saw participation from limited partners Pantheon, 57Stars, and Unigestion.

The VC has raised three funds to date. Its last fund was launched in October 2022 with a target size of $350 Mn. 

Gupta’s appointment comes at a time when a number of VCs in India are seeing a top-level churn. In May, Y Combinator’s Puneet Kumar jumped ship to Venture Partners. Besides, the month also witnessed similar moves when IvyCap Ventures’ managing partner Tej Kapoor joined ICICI Venture as a director/ partner. 

Last month, Venture Highway’s Aviral Bhatnagar announced his departure from the firm, while Peak XV Partners’ managing director Piyush Gupta is also exiting the VC firm to start his own fund.