Three venture capital industry veterans have quit M12, the VC arm of Microsoft Corp, and floated Touring Capital to invest in early-growth stage, artificial intelligence-powered software-as-a-service startups.
Touring, led by founding partners Nagraj Kashyap, Priya Saiprasad, and Samir Kumar, said Thursday it is partnering with Oakley Capital, an investment firm with $10 billion under management, to build a new VC platform.
The team also made its first investment by leading the Series C1 financing round in Pixis, an AI-powered software for digital marketers. Pixis raised $85 million in the new round, taking the total capital it has raised thus far to $209 million.
The new and existing investors who participated in the funding round include Grupo Carso, General Atlantic, Celesta Capital and Chiratae Ventures, Pixis said in a separate statement.
Pixis said it will use the funding to deepen its AI capabilities, accelerate global expansion, invest in R&D to refine and launch a generative AI-powered creative studio, and build strategic product and business partnerships. The company said its platform is used by more than 200 global brands including DHL, Carsome, JOE & THE JUICE, Kavak, and HDFC Bank.
Touring Capital said its founding partners previously held leadership roles in M12 as well as Qualcomm Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund II. The firm said it is backed by institutional firms and family offices, as well as more than 20 former founders who previously worked with its leadership team.
The VC firm said its founding team has worked together across three platforms since 2012. Kashyap, Kumar, and Saiprasad have collectively invested in 16 unicorns and led 26 successful exits, the firm said.
Touring Capital aims to source deals in and outside of Silicon Valley. In addition to sourcing deals from across North America, the firm will focus on India, Australia, Israel and Europe. The firm's debut fund will predominantly focus on investing in Series B and Series C rounds of category-defining SaaS companies powered by AI, it said.
“While we're a first-time fund, we’re not a first-time team. Our partners bring more than sixty years of experience investing in best-in-class software unicorns including Zoom, Kahoot, Livongo, Outreach, Applied Intuition, Innovaccer, and Go1,” said Kashyap. “Our deep, cross-generational industry expertise uniquely positions us to support entrepreneurs from a variety of backgrounds and equip them with a network of global relationships that extend beyond Silicon Valley and the U.S.”