Together Fund Ropes In Former Google Executive Lakshmi Shankar As General Partner

SaaS and AI-focussed venture capital (VC) firm Together Fund has appointed former Google vice president of product strategy, Lakshmi Shankar, as its general partner to increase its investments in AI startups.

Shankar will head Together Fund’s San Francisco office and focus on investments in early-stage AI startups in India and the US, the VC firm said in a statement.

He brings with him over two decades of experience in the enterprise tech and consumer internet space. At Google, he played a key role in the growth of Google Search globally and the launch of the Search Generative Experience (now AI Overview).

Shankar, who holds a masters degree in software engineering and business management, also worked at Twitter (now X) for six years in various roles. 

Commenting on the appointment, Together Fund cofounder and Freshworks chairman Girish Mathrubootham said, “Lakshmi’s presence in San Francisco enhances our mission of building a robust US-India bridge. His insights and connections in the Silicon Valley tech ecosystem will be invaluable as we support and scale startups across these key markets.” 

Founded by Freshworks founder Mathrubootham, Eka Software founder Manav Garg, former Matrix Partners’ Shubham Gupta, and former Accel executive Avinash Raghava, Together Fund claims to be a founder-first VC firm. It is focussed on early-stage startups in SaaS and AI sectors.

Last year, Raghava left Together Fund to take up the role of CEO at SaaS collective SaaSBOOMi.

In July last year, Together Fund announced the first close of its $150 Mn second early stage fund. The VC firm counts startups like Jhana, Togai, TuneAI, RevenueHero, WorkHack, among others, in its portfolio.

As per a report, Dunzo cofounder Mukund Jha is in talks to raise INR 50-80 Cr ($6-10 Mn) from Together Fund for his new GenAI venture.

The development comes at a time when India, like other countries, is seeing an AI boom following the advent and success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Last month, Peak XV Partners MD Rajan Anandan said that the VC firm has invested in 25 AI startups so far and is looking for more such startups in the country.

Similarly, other investors are also ramping up their investments in the AI space. Last week, Inc42 reported that GenAI startup Gnani.ai raised INR 25 Cr ($3 Mn) from Info Edge. Earlier this week, IIFL Fintech acquired a 10% stake in GenAI startup Vitra.ai.

At the heart of the investment rush is the country’s burgeoning GenAI market, which is expected to become an over $17 Bn opportunity by 2030.