Ex-Softbank and Microsoft VC partners float new fund 'Touring Capital' to back AI startups

The Touring Capital Founding Team. (L-R): Priya Saiprasad, Samir Kumar, Carol Yi, Lee Feldman, Nagraj Kashyap, Evan Wijaya

Nagaraj Kashyap, former managing partner of Softbank Vision Fund (SVF) along with Priya Saiprasad and Samir Kumar from Microsoft's venture capital fund M12, have launched a new fund, Touring Capital, which will focus on backing software firms with deep artificial intelligence (AI) innovation.

"We founded Touring Capital with the shared belief that the software paradigm will evolve rapidly in the near term. Advances in AI will fuel major productivity gains across all sectors and lines of business and reshape the way we build and interact with software, " the VC firm said in a Medium blog post on Friday.

Saiprasad held a partnership role at Softbank Investment Advisers between 2021 and 2023 before joining Microsoft's venture fund, M12. Kumar, on the other hand, served as the managing partner at M12 from 2017 to 2022. Additionally, Kashyap was a partner at M12 from 2016 to 2021 before joining SVF.

The trio has founded and built Qualcomm Ventures and M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), collectively backing 16 unicorns and overseeing 26 successful exited investments.

"We’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to partner with generational founders including Eric at Zoom, Johan at Kahoot, Glen at Livongo, Abhinav at Innovaccer, Manny at Outreach, Qasar at Applied Intuition, and Andrew at Go1," the Blogpost read.

Touring Capital's founding team consists of Priya Saiprasad, Samir Kumar, Carol Yi, Lee Feldman, Nagraj Kashyap and Evan Wijaya.

Touring is a global fund and will back startups across North America, India, Australia, and Europe.

"Our debut fund will predominantly focus on investing in Series B and Series C rounds of category-defining software companies powered by AI, " the partners wrote in the blog.

This comes at a time when VCs in India and across the globe are doubling down on investment in AI companies.

Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital, BlackSoil and Prime Venture Partners, among others, began funding AI startups in 2023 after making zero such investments last year, according to data curated by Tracxn.

A major chunk of AI investments this year are going into generative AI startups, investors said, following the release of OpenAI's ChatGPT and the availability of APIs (application programming interfaces).

A recent report by Stellaris Venture Partners and World Bank Group arm International Finance Corporation said that Indian SaaS startups that utilise AI could create $500 billion in market value by 2030.

Touring will invest in AI-SaaS startups and has backing from family offices and a few founders.

"We are incredibly grateful to receive support from institutional firms, family offices, as well as a network of over 25 founders who we’ve previously worked with, highlighting our commitment to strong, long-lasting relationships with entrepreneurs, " read the blogpost.