Participated · Series H · Aug 2021

Databricks operates a cloud data platform and AI products, with its core cloud data warehouse generating $1.5 billion of its annualized run-rate revenue and growing 100% year-over-year. The company reported a $7 billion annualized run-rate revenue figure while growing at roughly 80% and being cash-flow positive. Databricks launched Lakebase in June 2025, which has reached a $100 million revenue run-rate, and its AI chatbot tool Genie is described as highly popular. The company maintains a roughly 100-person AI research team and faces multi-billion-dollar cloud commitments with major hyperscalers. Databricks has been active on the M&A front, acquiring companies including Electric (PGlite) and AI cybersecurity firm Panther, and it says it plans to continue investing in AI and acquisitions while remaining open to a future IPO.

Participated · Series G · Nov 2019

Paytm, operated by One97 Communications, offers a mobile wallet that lets users transfer money, pay bills, buy tickets, and access small loans; it also sells e‑commerce, games and ticketing services. The company has expanded merchant services, claiming 15 million merchants and presence in over 2,000 towns and cities in India, and also offers its wallet in Japan. Paytm plans to use fresh capital to court merchants and expand financial offerings such as lending and insurance, and has committed additional investments (including a stated ₹10,000 crore commitment and a September plan to invest $2.7 billion over two years). The firm reported a loss of $549 million for the fiscal year ended March, up from a $206 million loss the prior year, and said it has cut its burn by more than a third in the past six months. Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma has indicated the company may consider an IPO in two to three years. Paytm faces intensified competition in India from Google Pay, Walmart’s PhonePe and the impending WhatsApp Pay rollout. Paytm is an Indian payments gateway and digital wallet provider offering comprehensive payment services for customers and merchants. It provides mobile payment solutions to over 7 million merchants and allows consumers to make mobile payments from cards, bank accounts and digital credit. Paytm brought QR-based mobile payments to the Indian market and launched Paytm Payments Bank. The company has a stated mission to bring 500 million Indians into the mainstream economy through financial inclusion. Berkshire Hathaway's investment and the addition of its investment manager to the board underscore investor confidence in Paytm's financial-services growth trajectory. The articles report an implied company valuation of approximately $10–$12 billion tied to the recent transaction. Paytm is described as India's leading digital payments firm. The company's core business is in digital payments. It has raised $1.4 billion from SoftBank Group Corp. The round is noted as the largest funding round by a single investor in India. The investment is characterized as SoftBank's biggest bet in India's start-up ecosystem. Paytm E-Commerce operates a mobile commerce platform covering payments, recharges, shopping and movie tickets. The company reports over 200m registered users. Led by CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm is the consumer brand of One97 Communications. The company plans to use the funds to expand its online business. One97 Communications is backed by Ant Financial (Alipay), Mediatek, Sapphire Venture and Silicon Valley Bank. The articles describe the recent transaction as an equity stake sale that injected $200m into the business. Paytm operates a broad digital-commerce platform that provides mobile wallets, payments, ticketing, on-demand services, travel bookings, and a marketplace for physical goods. The company reports 135 million digital wallets in use and about 3 million transactions per day, claiming roughly 75% share of India’s digital wallets. Paytm says it has raised $760 million to date and plans to use new funding to expand and scale its payments and commerce businesses. A key near-term product plan is Paytm Payments Bank, an online bank for consumer savings and loans that the company has been building for months. Paytm will reorganize by splitting payments/financial services and its e-commerce sales platform into separate entities owned by parent One97 Communications. The company is partnering with Mediatek for integrations into smartphones, reflecting a strategic hardware-services tie-up mentioned in the articles.

Led · Series F · Oct 2014

Cardlytics is an advertising and technology company that pioneered card-linked marketing, targeting ads to individual consumers based on recent purchase behavior. Through partnerships with nearly 400 banks, including Bank of America, PNC Bank and Lloyds Banking Group, Cardlytics has insight into consumer spending across stores and categories for roughly 70% of U.S. households. Thousands of advertisers use its patented technology to reach consumers with relevant messages while ensuring personally identifiable information never leaves the bank. The company plans to use the newly raised funds to extend and expand the breadth of its capabilities to make marketing more relevant and measurable. Its latest financing of $70 million brings total venture funding to just over $170 million, reflecting its growth-stage financial position. Cardlytics is headquartered in Atlanta and maintains offices in London, New York and San Francisco. Cardlytics operates a transaction-driven marketing platform that delivers targeted, merchant-funded offers via partner financial institutions' electronic channels, including mobile, SMS, email and online banking. The company deploys technology within banks to leverage household purchase data while fully protecting consumer privacy and financial institution data. Its platform runs on a pay-for-performance model that eliminates merchant risk and enables precise targeting and measurability. Cardlytics said it will reach 70% of U.S. households in Q1 2012 and is positioning the product as a global solution. The company is pursuing U.S. and international growth through a long-term strategic alliance with Groupe Aeroplan. Founded in 2008 and based in Atlanta, Cardlytics has closed multiple funding events to scale operations. Cardlytics provides a transactional marketing platform that connects national and regional retailers and service providers with consumers via online banking channels. The platform leverages consumer transaction data, such as purchasing history, to target highly relevant offers to individual customers. Its multi-channel approach includes online banking, SMS, email, mobile and social networks. The company says financial institutions will be providing retail offers as rewards to over 10 million consumers based on individual purchase behavior by next fall. Cardlytics announced an $18 million financing led by ITC Holdings and Kinetic Ventures. All prior investors participated in the round, including Canaan Partners, Polaris Venture Partners and Total Technology Ventures; the company has not disclosed total capital raised to date.