# Shruti Gandhi

> Shruti Gandhi is the General Partner and Founding Engineer of Array Ventures, a pre-seed fund backing technical founders building enterprise data, AI infrastructure, security, and developer tools. A former IBM engineer turned startup founder turned VC, she made the leap from Mumbai to Manhattan to the Bay Area armed with a Columbia CS degree and a Chicago Booth MBA. With 100+ investments, 15+ exits (to Apple, Amazon, PayPal, ServiceNow, and others), and 25,000+ Substack subscribers, she is one of a vanishingly small cohort of women of color who raised and run their own VC fund - and she teaches AI at Columbia on the side.

- **Role:** General Partner at Array Ventures
- **Organizations:** Array Ventures, Columbia University, San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS), TiE Silicon Valley
- **From:** Mumbai, India
- **Nationality:** Indian-American
- **Education:** BS, Computer Science, Marist College, MS, Computer Science, Columbia University, MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- **Known for:** Founded Array Ventures with 3 funds and 100+ investments as a solo GP, 15+ portfolio exits to Apple, Amazon, PayPal, ServiceNow, Samsung, GoDaddy, McGraw Hill, Brocade/JAMF, WeWork, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Distinguished Young Alumni Award (2021)

## Career timeline

- **Early 2000s** — Joined IBM as software engineer in WebAhead emerging tech group; earned BS in CS from Marist College while working full-time
- **~2004-2008** — Research at IBM on instant messaging and location-based services became IBM Lotus Sametime commercial product
- **~2007-2010** — Led IBM Technology Adoption Program - internal incubator adopted by 120,000 employees within 2 years
- **~2009-2011** — Worked in IBM Global Innovation Outlook, a think-tank in the Chairman/CEO Sam Palmisano's office
- **2010** — Founded Penseev, a Big Data startup that aggregated social data to create visual life memories
- **2012** — Earned MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- **2012-2015** — Early VC investing roles at i2A Fund, HighBAR Partners, Lightbank, True Ventures, and Samsung Next
- **2013** — Co-founded TiE's Women Forum in Silicon Valley
- **~2015-2016** — Founded Array Ventures, raising Fund I focused on pre-seed enterprise software, AI, data, and security
- **2021** — Appointed Commissioner of San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS) on May 13, filling seat vacated by Carmen Chu
- **2021** — Received University of Chicago Booth School of Business Distinguished Young Alumni Award
- **2023** — Closed Array Ventures Fund III; portfolio surpasses 100 investments with 15+ exits
- **Ongoing** — Adjunct Professor in Columbia University CS Department, teaching AI and engineering

## Achievements

- Founded Array Ventures with 3 funds and 100+ investments as a solo GP
- 15+ portfolio exits to Apple, Amazon, PayPal, ServiceNow, Samsung, GoDaddy, McGraw Hill, Brocade/JAMF, WeWork
- University of Chicago Booth School of Business Distinguished Young Alumni Award (2021)
- One of fewer than 5% of women in VC - and a rare woman of color to run her own fund
- Built IBM's Technology Adoption Program, adopted by 120,000 employees within 2 years
- IBM research on IM and location services became commercial product IBM Lotus Sametime
- Co-founded TiE Women's Forum in Silicon Valley (2013)
- Appointed SFERS Commissioner overseeing SF city pension fund investments (2021)
- 25,000+ Substack newsletter subscribers
- Adjunct Professor at Columbia University teaching AI to CS students

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Active investing from Array Ventures Fund III; thesis focused on AI infrastructure, enterprise data, and developer tools
- **2025-01** — Capitaly published detailed 2025 investment thesis analysis covering Array Ventures' B2B SaaS and AI infrastructure focus
- **2023-06** — Speaking at Women in Tech Global Conference 2023 as featured speaker
- **2021-05** — Appointed Commissioner of San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS)
- **2021-01** — Received University of Chicago Booth Distinguished Young Alumni Award

## Links

- Website: https://www.array.vc/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutigandhi
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/atShruti
- GitHub: https://github.com/shrutigandhi

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/shruti-gandhi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-29