Google Holdings backed Indian venture capital firm, VenturEast today announced the appointment of Sateesh Andra as the Managing Partner for their seed-stage technology focussed VenturEast Tenet Fund. Andra has been leading Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) investments in India over the last five years.
In his new role, Andra will lead the charge in helping portfolio companies scale from local to global markets by providing strategic counsel for global customer and partner acquisition. He will help create a Valley-like incubation ecosystem and help companies tap into global VC funding.
The fund is launching at $10M and Andra is targeting a corpus of $50 million for the next fund.
Voted as one of the best Venture Capital Funds for 2012, investors of VenturEast include prestigious global and Indian institutions like Lemelson Foundation, Proactive Fund, SIDBI Venture Capital Limited andTechnology Development Board.
Sponsored by Ventureast, the Tenet Fund is promoted by the Tenet Group of IIT Chennai which is spearheaded by Ashok Jhunjhunwala, academician and startup evangelist in India.
“We are excited to bring Andra in this role. There could not be a better fit or timing,” said Sarath Naru, Founder and Managing Partner, Ventureast. “Having been on both sides of the fence as a successful entrepreneur and as a Venture Partner, we know he can skillfully negotiate the gaps between strategy and execution on a global platform. His management style will be an asset to our companies as he is not one to hesitate rolling up his sleeves and get in the trenches when the company so needs.”
Andra will focus on early stage startups in technology sectors including Mobile, Cloud, Internet and high-impact Social businesses. Companies that bring technology-enabled innovation in Education Healthcare and Financial Services will be core to his portfolio. Andra is known for his commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship in Cleantech, and will continue to support innovation in this sector.
“Andra looks for passionate and focused entrepreneurs as partners, and has a unique ability to attract deal flow and manage relationships with VCs and strategic investors,” said Jhunjhunwala. “Andra’s appointment is an important step towards helping Indian companies navigate complex interconnected global markets giving Indian entrepreneurs a level playing field with Silicon Valley companies.”
Prior to DFJ, Sateesh Andra has worked with venture-backed technology start-ups in US and India for the past fourteen years. With hands-on start-up experience and in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of VC funding, he looks for passionate and focused entrepreneurs as partners. As a Venture Partner and one of the founding members of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) India, he helped investments in companies like iYogi, Cleartrip, Komli, Canvera, Attero etc.
He helped launch Hyderabad Angels, a platform to provide seed capital to start ups. As a private investor earlier, Sateesh has also invested in early stage US and Indian venture capital funds.
