Jalak Jobanputra, a venture capitalist known for having backed companies with exits to AOL, IBM, Oracle and several IPOs, has been named Managing Director and Founding Partner at RTP Ventures, a newly formed USD120M fund closely associated with ru-Net, a Moscow-based USD700m international investor.
With a vision of targeting innovative companies and differentiating technologies that will see tomorrow’s growth, Jobanputra joins managing director Kirill Sheynkman at RTP Ventures’ New York City headquarters. She will focus on consumer internet, mobile, payments, e-commerce, and social enterprise deals.
"I am thrilled to join a team of investors who are dedicated to cross-border, global venture capital investing," says Jobanputra. "It is my goal, and that of my partners, to give entrepreneurs and startup companies greater access to a wide range of the best resources from a regional and global stance, regardless of where that market might be based."
Prior to joining RTP, Jobanputra served as Director of Emerging Market Mobile Investments at Omidyar Network, a fund founded by Pierre Omidyar, co-founder of eBay. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President at the New York City Investment Fund (NYCIF) where she managed technology and digital media venture investments. During her tenure at NYCIF, Jobanputra invested in technology start-ups including TxVia and Outside.in, later acquired by AOL. Additionally, she spearheaded the formation of NYCSeed in 2008, committed to funding early stage NYC tech entrepreneurs. She began her venture career in 1999 in Silicon Valley at Intel Capital and was previously a startup founder and media and telecom investment banker.
Named one of 2010’s Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Development Center, Jobanputra is on the Board of Directors of the Center for an Urban Future and sits on the Executive Committee of the Social Investment Council of Echoing Green, among others. She serves as a Mentor for Techstars NYC, a Charter Member of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and an Advisory Board Member of Astia NYC. A frequent speaker at conferences including Mobile World Congress and TechCrunch Disrupt, Jobanputra has contributed to publications including Forbes and Business Insider, as well as maintaining her own blog ( www.thebarefootvc.com).
