Ex-Tech Mahindra Exec Rajashree R Joins Kalaari Capital

Former Tech Mahindra executive Rajashree R has joined venture capital (VC) firm Kalaari Capital as a venture partner. 

In a post on LinkedIn, Rajashree said that she will oversee deeptech and AI investments in her new role at the VC firm. 

“I’m embarking on a new chapter as Venture Partner at Kalaari Capital… My own journey has been kaleidoscopic, spanning business and technology transformation, product and platform building, global marketing, and brand stewardship. I look forward to harnessing this experience to help strengthen India’s deeptech and AI ecosystem,” read the post. 

An alumna of Institute of Rural Management, Rajashree counts more than two decades of experience under her belt, having previously worked with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for 19 years. She joins Kalaari Capital after a two year-long stint as the chief growth officer for America strategic verticals at Tech Mahindra.

The appointment comes more than a year after Priyanka Gill, who also cofounded The Good Glamm Group, quit Kalaari Capital as a venture partner to launch her own venture.

Founded in 2011 by Vani Kola, Kalaari Capital primarily invests in early stage and growth stage startups. The Bengaluru-based VC firm has raised more than $850 Mn to date and has backed more than 110 new-age tech ventures across segments like AI, healthcare, consumer internet and SaaS. 

Its portfolio includes brands such as Dream11, Signzy, BlueStone, Digantara, Cure.Fit, among others. More recently, the VC firm led SaaS startup Nudgebee’s $3 Mn seed round in April and doubled down on enterprise tech startup Mozark during its $40 Mn Series B round in March.

The development comes amid a broader top-level churn in the Indian VC ecosystem. Earlier this year, Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma quit Peak XV Partners to float their new VC firm, Mettle Capital.

Another former Peak XV Partners MDs Shailesh Lakhani and Harshjit Sethi also quit the VC firm to float Ambition Capital, and are looking to raise $250 Mn for the maiden fund. Earlier this month, former Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India) CEO Ashish Dave launched his own venture capital firm to back growth-stage startups.

In January this year, Puneet Kumar, who earlier cofounded SuprDaily, also exited VC firm Nexus Venture Partners to float a new venture. 

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