Lakshmi Narayanan Is Backing Startups With Experience Built at Scale

Lakshmi Narayanan’s journey in the tech world spans decades, most notably as the former CEO and Vice Chairman of Cognizant Technology Solutions. Having played a key role in scaling one of the world’s leading IT services companies, he now brings that experience into the startup ecosystem as an investor.

Beyond Cognizant, Narayanan has also served as Chairman of NASSCOM and is a founding member of The Chennai Angels—one of India’s most active angel investment networks. His involvement across these platforms reflects a deep commitment to supporting entrepreneurship in the country.

As an investor, he has backed around 20 startups across a wide range of sectors, including consumer businesses, enterprise software, healthcare, education, and hardware. His portfolio features companies like Dunzo, Furlenco, InsuranceDekho, Astrome Technologies, and Hitwicket—each operating in very different markets but solving real-world problems.

What stands out in his approach is his breadth of perspective. Having worked at scale in a global enterprise, Narayanan understands both operational depth and market expansion. This allows him to evaluate startups not just for their early traction, but for their long-term potential.

He tends to back businesses that combine strong fundamentals with practical use cases, rather than purely trend-driven ideas.

With a couple of exits and a steady investment journey, his focus appears to be on building sustainable companies rather than chasing quick wins.

Lakshmi Narayanan’s story reflects how deep industry experience can shape thoughtful, balanced investing.

Because in the end, building great companies isn’t just about speed—it’s about staying power.