Venture capital firm Together Fund has appointed Lakshmi Shankar, former Vice President of Search at Google, as a general partner to head its San Francisco office. Shankar will focus on early-stage investments in artificial intelligence (AI) startups within the US-India corridor.
This move reinforces Together Fund‘s commitment to software-as-a-service (SaaS), AI, and strengthening the US-India bridge, the firm said in a statement. Founded by Girish Mathrubootham, the founder of Freshworks, and Manav Garg, the founder of Eka Software, Together Fund aims to leverage Shankar’s extensive experience in the tech industry.
Shankar played a pivotal role in the global expansion of Google Search and the launch of the Search Generative Experience, now known as ‘AI Overview’. Before Google, Shankar held significant positions at Twitter (now ‘X’), where he drove growth initiatives, monetization strategies, and led several strategic acquisitions that supported the company’s scaling efforts. He will join Mathrubootham, Garg, and Shubham Gupta, a former Matrix Partners India executive, as the fourth general partner at Together Fund.
“I am excited to join a team dedicated to empowering the next generation of innovators,” Shankar said. “Together Fund’s unique approach and focus on AI align perfectly with my vision for the future of technology.”
Founded in 2021, Together Fund primarily invests in startups across horizontal and vertical SaaS, developer tooling, cloud-native infrastructure, and AI applications. The firm’s investment sizes range from $1 million to $5 million. Last year, Together Fund announced its second fund at $150 million, nearly doubling the size of its previous fund to capitalize on opportunities in the Indian SaaS and AI sectors.
“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 of Together Fund.
A report by Bain & Company projects that the Indian SaaS industry will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20-25%, reaching approximately $35 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 2027.
