There are numerous Indians who worked abroad but later decided to return to India to launch their own businesses. One such person is Vani Kola, a venture capitalist from India, who worked in Silicon Valley (US) for 22 years. She is now the founder and managing director of Kalaari Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm based in India.
She graduated in engineering from Osmania University and later moved to the US for her master's from Arizona State University. In 1996, she founded the e-procurement company RightWorks, however, five years later, she sold it to ICG for USD 657 million. This is around Rs 5480 crore today. She then founded another firm Certus Software and sold it too. Vani then decided to move back to India to start her venture capital firm.
Born in Hyderabad, Vani collaborated with Vinod Dham and Kuar Shiralagi to launch the Indo-US Venture Partners fund backed by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). After four years, NEA decided to move out of this joint venture. In 2012, Kola then re-branded it as Kalaari Capital. Her firm has so far raised USD 850 million and funded over 110 startups, according to the company's website.
Apart from professional life, she is an avid reader and loves writing and sharing her thoughts. She has 87.6K followers on X. Vani used to be an adventurous hiker and runner who scaled the peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the 2000s, according to her website. She also participated in multiple marathons. A mother of two daughters, Vani is a nature enthusiast. She is married to Srinivas Kola.
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