Ventureast Proactive Fund II

Dr. Srikanth Sundararajan is a General Partner with Ventureast, and works closely with the Ventureast Proactive Fund’s portfolio to help them scale their business operations. 25+ years of innovative software and entrepreneurial experience and 8+ years in investments with a host of leading technology firms in India and the US. Prior to Ventureast, Srikanth was the Worldwide Head of Corporate Strategy and Technology and previously, Chief Operating Officer of Persistent Systems, Pvt. Ltd. He was instrumental in establishing industry-leading practices in the areas of Cloud Computing, Mobility, Analytics, and Collaborations, which today drive 50% of the company’s revenues. Before Persistent Systems, Srikanth founded Pretzel Logic, a software product services business, and was Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of HCL and later worldwide CTO for Cognizant. Srikanth has a B.Tech degree from IIT Madras, and earned his MS and PhD in Computer & Information Sciences from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Srikanth is a Visiting Faculty at Virginia Tech, and IIT Bhubaneswar, where his focus areas are Cloud Computing and Software Engineering.

Siddhartha Das has been a General Partner with Ventureast since 2006. With over 19 years’ corporate and venture capital experience with Intel Corporation, Siddhartha oversees technology related investments of the Ventureast Proactive Fund. Siddhartha had previous stints with the corporate research and product development teams at Intel Corporation where he managed groups which developed cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. He has been granted 5 US patents for his inventions in semiconductor and optical technologies. Siddhartha was also part of the investment arm Intel Capital and has worked on some of the most successful venture investments in the telecom, consumer Internet and software technology sectors. As the Head of Intel Capital in South Asia, Siddhartha oversaw more than 15 investments resulting in 9 exits. Siddhartha completed a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, and a PhD from Cornell University, New York. He is a mentor to many India based entrepreneurs.

Ramesh is a General Partner primarily overseeing the Ventureast Life Fund III and the Biotechnology Venture Fund. He has been with Ventureast for over 15 years, and was part of the APIDC team prior to its partnership with Ventureast. Ramesh has been involved with more than 50 investments across sectors, many of which have realized unprecedented returns. He works closely with early-stage to growth-stage companies in pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, manufacturing, infrastructure services, healthcare, dairy products, and alternative fuels. Having seen the complete cycle of fund raising, investments, and exits while at Ventureast, Ramesh approaches venture funding by working patiently with entrepreneurs through their highs and lows till success is achieved. Ramesh is a director on the boards of more than 10 companies, which include portfolio companies as well as group companies of Ventureast.

Jaya Surya works with the Investment Team at VenturEast and is based out of Bangalore. He focuses on sourcing and evaluation of investments in early-stage and growth-stage companies with Technology as a key differentiator. Operating at the convergence of supporting Founders, impacting Under-served Markets and driving Innovation and Technology diffusion motivates him to work harder every day. For Founders, he looks forward to being a friend who is just a call away. Prior to VenturEast, Jaya Surya worked with Ernst & Young where he served Power & Utilities sector contributing towards shaping and accelerating Energy transition and Climate change mitigation initiatives.

Rohit works in the Finance function at VenturEast, with over 6 years of experience in strategic finance. At VenturEast, he handles transaction structuring, risk management, portfolio valuations, fund management, investors' relations and regulatory & taxation matters. Prior to joining VenturEast, Rohit worked at Wipro Ltd. as a Business Finance Manager, where he amassed over 3 years of experience in business finance and deal pricing.

At Ventureast, Mahesh works in finance function. He oversees various functions, such as portfolio monitoring & financial analysis, investor reporting, fund structuring, regulatory compliance, taxation, portfolio valuation, and fund operations. Mahesh is a Chartered Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce. In addition to his existing qualifications, he is currently pursuing a degree in LLB. Prior to joining Ventureast, Mahesh served at Ernst and Young, where his responsibilities included client engagement in tax matters, technical research and advising clients on regulatory & tax matters.