Together Fund appoints former Google exec Lakshmi Shankar as General Partner

Venture capital firm Together Fundhas appointed former Google executive Lakshmi Shankar as General Partner, a move aimed at strengthening the SaaS-focused fund’s emphasis on artificial intelligence, while bolstering its US-India ties.

Shankar, who was the former VP of Product Strategy at Google, brings over two decades of expertise in building and scaling enterprise technology and consumer-internet products.

He was also instrumental in the global expansion of Google Search and the launch of the Search Generative Experience (now 'AI Overview'), which served as Google's AI counter to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s New Bing, and Perplexity.

Shankar will head the VC’s office in San Fransisco and lead early-stage artificial intelligence (AI) investments.

"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," said Girish Mathrubootham, Chairman of Freshworks and Co-founder of Together Fund. 

Before his time at Google, Shankar played key roles at Twitter (now 'X'), working closely with CEO Jack Dorsey and CPO Kayvon Beykpour. He was also central in developing new growth strategies and monetisation opportunities, and led several strategic acquisitions of startups to drive Twitter’s scaling and strategic goals.

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

In December, Together Fund launched Together AI Studio to help startups leverage the potential of artificial intelligence (AI). Together AI Studio will support Together’s AI-focused investments from initial concept through scalable growth, hiring, achieving product-market fit, and organisational development.

"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.

Established by founder-operators like Girish Mathrubootham, Chairman of Freshworks, and Manav Garg, Founder and CEO of Eka Software, Together Fund launched its first fund in July 2021 with $85 million in capital. The Bengaluru-headquartered early-stage VC had marked the first close of its $150 million fund in 2023.

(The article has been updated to add more context)