Former Google VP of Search Lakshmi Shankar joins India’s leading SaaS & AI VC firm Together as General Partner

Manav Garg

5 August 2024

Lakshmi will head the San Francisco office and focus on early-stage investments in AI startups in the US India corridor

Bangalore, India – August 5, 2024 – Together Fund, a leading venture capital firm with a unique founder and operator-led approach, is excited to announce the appointment of Lakshmi Shankar as General Partner. This strategic addition reinforces Together Fund’s commitment to SaaS and AI, and building a robust US-India bridge.

Lakshmi Shankar brings over 20 years of experience in building and scaling enterprise technology and consumer-internet products. As the former VP of Product Strategy at Google, Lakshmi was key in the growth of Google Search globally and the launch of the Search Generative Experience (now ‘AI Overview’), Google’s AI response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s New Bing, and Perplexity.

Before his tenure at Google, Lakshmi held pivotal roles at Twitter (now ‘X’), where he collaborated closely with Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, and Kayvon Beykpour, CPO of Twitter. Lakshmi was also central to incubating new growth bets and monetization opportunities, and led several strategic acquisitions of start-ups to accelerate Twitter’s scaling efforts and strategic direction. He also advised global CEOs across various industries on growth strategies at EY and started his career as a Software Engineer at IBM, earning numerous patents in the Enterprise Cloud space. Lakshmi is a Stanford GSB Sloan Fellow, Imperial College Alumni and an IIT Madras Visiting Lecturer of AI & Entrepreneurship.

“Together Fund is at the forefront of AI and SaaS, and Lakshmi’s addition to our team underscores our commitment to staying ahead in this dynamic field,” said Manav Garg, Founder of Eka and Co-founder of Together Fund.

Girish Mathrubootham, Chairman of Freshworks (FRSH) and Co-founder of Together Fund, added, “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.”

“I am excited to join a team dedicated to empowering the next generation of innovators,” said Lakshmi Shankar. “Together Fund’s unique approach and focus on AI align perfectly with my vision for the future of technology.”

With Lakshmi Shankar on board, Together Fund is set to further solidify its leadership in AI, driving innovation and supporting startups that are transforming industries.

About Together Fund Together Fund is a premier venture capital firm led by founders and operators, committed to empowering startups with the resources, expertise, and network they need to scale and succeed. With a strong focus on AI and SaaS, Together Fund partners with visionary entrepreneurs to drive transformative change.

Media Contact:

Kaushik Srinivasan Together Fund Kaushik@together.fund