# Nagraj Kashyap

> Nagraj Kashyap is co-founder and General Partner of Touring Capital, a San Francisco-based venture firm that closed a $330 million Fund I in September 2025 focused on AI-powered SaaS companies at the early-growth stage. He brings 20+ years of venture capital experience, having previously founded Qualcomm Ventures (2003), launched M12 (Microsoft's venture arm, 2016), and served as Managing Partner at SoftBank Vision Fund II. His portfolio includes breakout companies such as Zoom, Waze (10x return, acquired by Google), Xiaomi, Cloudflare, Fitbit, Kahoot!, Livongo, and Outreach.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and General Partner at Touring Capital
- **Organizations:** Touring Capital, M12 (Microsoft Ventures), Qualcomm Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund II, National Venture Capital Association, UT Austin Computer Science Advisory Council, SDSU Fowler College of Business Dean's Advisory Board
- **From:** New Delhi, India
- **Nationality:** Indian-American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science, University of Mysore, M.S. in Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin, MBA, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Founded Qualcomm Ventures in 2003 and built it to a $1B+ portfolio with 140+ investments over 13 years, Led Zoom's early institutional funding round at Qualcomm Ventures, Led Waze's Series B round; generated ~10x return when Google acquired Waze in 2013 for over $1B

## Career timeline

- **pre-2003** — Software engineer at Nortel, Motorola, and 3Com/US Robotics; then management consultant at PRTM (now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers)
- **2003** — Joined Qualcomm as founding team member, building Qualcomm Ventures from scratch
- **2003-2016** — Grew Qualcomm Ventures from 3 to 30 people globally and from $10M to $250M+ invested; built portfolio of 140+ companies including Zoom (early institutional round), Waze (Series B), Xiaomi (Series A), and Fitbit
- **2013** — Waze acquired by Google; Qualcomm Ventures generated ~10x return on its Series B investment
- **2016** — Left Qualcomm to found M12, Microsoft's corporate venture fund, as Corporate VP and Global Head
- **2016-2021** — Built M12 to 100+ portfolio companies across North America, EMEA, India, and Australia; investments included Kahoot!, CloudSimple (acquired by Google), and Livongo
- **2021** — Joined SoftBank Investment Advisors as Managing Partner, leading software and consumer investments including Go1, Netradyne, and Arkose Labs
- **2023-09** — Co-founded Touring Capital with Priya Saiprasad and Samir Kumar
- **2025-09** — Touring Capital closed oversubscribed $330M Fund I; portfolio of 12 companies with 1 unicorn and 1 successful exit (SafeBase acquired by Drata)

## Achievements

- Founded Qualcomm Ventures in 2003 and built it to a $1B+ portfolio with 140+ investments over 13 years
- Led Zoom's early institutional funding round at Qualcomm Ventures
- Led Waze's Series B round; generated ~10x return when Google acquired Waze in 2013 for over $1B
- Founded M12 (Microsoft's venture fund) in 2016 and grew it to 100+ portfolio companies across four continents
- Co-founded Touring Capital in 2023; closed oversubscribed $330M Fund I by September 2025
- Backed unicorns including Zoom, Waze, Xiaomi, Cloudflare, Fitbit, Kahoot!, Livongo, and Outreach
- Multiple appearances on GCV Powerlist (2014, 2016, 2019, 2020) as top corporate venture capital leader
- Advisory Council member, UT Austin Department of Computer Science
- Dean's Advisory Board member, SDSU Fowler College of Business

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Touring Capital closed its oversubscribed $330M Fund I, with 12 investments, 1 unicorn, and 1 successful exit (SafeBase acquired by Drata).
- **2025-09** — SafeBase, a Touring Capital portfolio company, was acquired by Drata just 10 months after Touring led its $33M Series B.
- **2024-ongoing** — Five portfolio companies — Netradyne, Daloopa, Numa, Cusp, and Exaforce — announced up-rounds.

## Links

- Website: https://touringcapital.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nagrajkashyap

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/nagraj-kashyap
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17