Sharma was previously the chief product and technology officer at fashion e-tailer Myntra, where he was responsible for driving technology strategy and culture.
He has also worked as vice president for software at Lytro, a light field camera startup. Prior to that, he has held executive roles at RockYou, StumbleUpon and Yahoo.
Sharma is a computer science graduate from IIT-Kharagpur and holds a master’s degree from the University of Maryland.
At pi Ventures, which focuses on applied artificial intelligence, machine learning and Internet of Things, Shamik will work with portfolio companies’ founders to help them design their product roadmaps and hire talent. His role also involves bringing startups to their deal pipeline.
Sharma’s “deep and broad technical expertise, product design, and business experience will play a key role in enriching our investment decisionsâ€, said Manish Singhal, founding partner, pi Ventures.
The fund, launched in August 2016 by LetsVenture founder Singhal and entrepreneur Umakant Soni, plans to invest in 18-20 startups over the next three to four years. Its investment focus is on artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things-enabled companies based on healthcare, smart cities, fin-tech, retail, cyber security, logistics and enterprise automation across India.
In March, venture capital firm Accel Partners invested an undisclosed amount in pi Ventures. Prior to that, World Bank arm International Finance Corporation proposed to infuse $3 million into the firm’s maiden $30-40 million fund.
In the same month, pi Ventures had announced the first close of its maiden fund at $13 million, with the backing of technology entrepreneurs that included former Infosys CFO and Aarin Capital chairman TV Mohandas Pai, Flipkart’s Binny Bansal, MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra and Info Edge’s Sanjeev Bikchandani, and angel investor Bhupen Shah.
The fund has also received capital from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), besides family offices from the US, Canada, Singapore and India.
Some of the recent investments of pi Ventures include breast cancer screening startup Niramai Health Analytix, medical technology startup SigTuple Technologies Pvt. Ltd and Gurgaon-based Zenatix Solutions Pvt Ltd, an IoT-based energy management startup.
