Their story began at IIT-Madras and later took them to Stanford University, where their friendship blossomed. Co-founding Junglee, a database technology company, during their Ph.D., they crossed paths with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google.
While Larry and Sergey offered to sell Google for a million dollars initially, Venky and Anand lacked the necessary funds to make the purchase. However, their entrepreneurial journey didn't stop there. Junglee eventually transformed into a comparison shopping engine and was acquired by Amazon for $250 million in 1998. Later, while at Amazon, Venky and Anand convinced Jeff Bezos to consider acquiring Google for $300 million, but Larry and Sergey held out for a billion-dollar offer, leading to another missed opportunity.
Despite these near misses, Venky and Anand express their happiness for Larry and Sergey's success and hold no regrets. They continued their entrepreneurial endeavors, developing the marketplace business and the concept of Amazon Mechanical Turk before eventually leaving Amazon in 2000.
In 2005, the duo founded Kosmix, a social media data and analysis company that gained significant traction and was eventually acquired by Walmart in 2011 for over $300 million. This acquisition became the foundation for Walmart Labs, a technological hub for the retail giant.
Their success extended beyond Kosmix as well. Anand and Venky established Cambrian Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund, and made noteworthy investments, including an early investment in Facebook. They supported and guided various startups, leading to successful exits with companies like Teradata, Walmart, and Juniper Networks.
Continuing their journey, they founded Milliways Ventures in 2013, focusing on investing in deep tech startups. In 2015, they started Rocketship.vc, supporting and investing in numerous startups such as NoBroker.com, Khatabook, Mad Street Den, apna, Fampay, and more.
Now, Anand and Venky's latest venture takes them to the world of cricket. Recognizing the growing popularity of cricket in the United States, they have invested in the San Francisco Unicorns, aiming to bring the sport to a wider audience in the US.
