Hi, I'm Viraj Phanse - Investor at catalyx space
I thrive on discovering and nurturing early-stage enterprise AI ventures, particularly across the US-India corridor. My passion lies in helping founders build and scale impactful technology, leveraging my own journey from founding and exiting a startup to investing.
At a glance
Curated signals on strengths, focus areas, and how they can help.
Co-founded and exited a venture-backed AI startup, Dataflos, gaining deep operational expertise.
Currently invests in pre-seed/seed stage enterprise AI companies within the US-India corridor.
Can provide strategic guidance on product-market fit and GTM for AI startups.
🚀 Career trajectory
Foundation in Engineering & CS
Began with a strong technical foundation, earning an MS in Computer Science from UCLA.
✦ Computer Science
✦ UCLA
Operator & Product Leader
Gained hands-on experience in product management and strategic partnerships at Oracle, AWS, and Aerospike.
✦ Product Management
✦ AWS
✦ Oracle
✦ Aerospike
Entrepreneurial Venture
Co-founded and led an AI data startup, achieving an exit and gaining deep operational expertise.
✦ Startup Founder
✦ AI
✦ Venture Capital
✦ Exit
Venture Capital Investor
Now investing in early-stage enterprise AI companies, leveraging past operational and entrepreneurial success.
✦ Venture Capital
✦ Enterprise AI
✦ US-India Corridor
💪🏻 Superpowers
AI & Enterprise Software Navigator
Driving innovation in cross-border AI and enterprise solutions.
✦ Investing in pre-seed/seed stage AI startups focusing on US-India corridor.
✦ Leveraging operator experience from AWS and Oracle to evaluate tech.
✦ Guiding product and GTM strategy for early-stage enterprise AI companies.
Entrepreneurial Exit Strategist
Proven success in founding, scaling, and exiting tech ventures.
✦ Co-founded and led Dataflos (fka Blockfenders) to a successful exit.
✦ Navigated venture funding and cross-border operations.
✦ Translating startup challenges into investor insights.
Product & GTM Architect
Building scalable product roadmaps and market entry plans.
✦ Managed product strategy at AWS and Oracle.
✦ Led global strategic partnerships at Aerospike.
✦ Expert in digital transformation and business development.
I'm excited about
✦ Discovering promising pre-seed/seed AI startups in the US-India corridor.
✦ Connecting with founders building next-generation enterprise AI solutions.
✦ Exploring new investment thesis and innovative cross-border collaborations.
I can help with
✦ Provide strategic guidance on product-market fit for AI startups.
✦ Offer insights from scaling enterprise software and navigating GTM strategies.
✦ Facilitate connections within the US-India tech ecosystem for founders.
I would love your help on
✦ Insights into emerging AI trends beyond the current investment focus.
✦ Connections to potential co-investors or strategic partners for portfolio companies.
✦ Introductions to deep tech founders with unique enterprise AI solutions.