MIT Undergrad startup Karleki launches after raising $450K venture capital

MIT Undergrad startup Karleki launches after raising $450K venture capital

Published: 23-07-2021 15:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 4321 | Tags:

Karleki, an MIT undergrad startup has launched after raising $450K of venture capital from billionaire Eric Yuan, Cronos Ventures

Jason Tang, CEO of Karleki started Karleki during the pandemic in his MIT residence during his senior year. A double major in Mathematics with Computer Science and Management, Jason started Karleki after spending his summer working in the acquisitions group at private equity behemoth Blackstone. He attributes a lot of Karleki's success to his past experiences working at various financial firms and tech startups. He is joined this summer by Mikayla MattheisFred MejiaHanna Nazzaro, and Justin Ma.

Karleki is a single platform where any and all companies can raise money and gain publicity. Karleki's vision is to help companies be judged by their merit rather than by their connections.

Many entrepreneurs have a grand vision but do not have the connections to bring their vision to life. Karleki offers personal emails of all major venture capital investors, reducing the barriers for founders to reach out to investors and make their dreams come true. Traditionally, these coveted emails are held behind pricey paywalls by companies such as ZoomInfo or Pitchbook.

Karleki has launched at an opportune time. Most venture capital investors have only begun to realize how important the internet is for sourcing business. Angela Strange, a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz shares her insight, "99 out of 100 venture capitalists would not think that a startup would start their search for a venture capitalist through Google."

In terms of traction, Karleki already has thousands of top startups along with direct contacts of every major venture capital firm. Firms such as General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Matrix Partners, Khosla Ventures, Coatue Management, Google Ventures, Draper Associates, and GGV Capital have already partnered with Karleki to source deal flow.

Jason looks forward to an unimaginable future. "Over the past decades, we've seen new businesses rise that completely disrupt traditional consumer industries, Amazon for consumer products, Airbnb for hotels/lodging, Uber for car rides. We are on the cusp of digital revolution. We predict that traditional B2B industries such as finance and law are next. Karleki is betting on this shift."

The end goal? Karleki wants to make finding a business partner as easy as buying a Bluetooth speaker on Amazon. Karleki plans to raise a Series A either in Fall 2021 or Winter 2022 to fund product development and market expansion into other industries.

www.karleki.com