Mode VC

Kesar Varma

Partner atUpfront VenturesFirm active Sep 24California
Upfront Ventures websiteFirm profile

Kesar Varma is a Principal at Upfront Ventures. He previously worked as a product lead at Akido Labs and held venture roles at several firms.

What Kesar can write

Writes checks of$1M to $30M
Comes in atSeed, Series A, Series BCan lead the round
Ownership target7-10%At first check
Best routeA warm introAsk a founder in their portfolio.

Upfront Ventures writes $1M to $30M checks, larger than 83% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: Upfront Ventures.

Career

  1. Virtue VC · Venture Fellow
  2. Necessary Ventures · Venture Partner
  3. Mentors Fund · Venture Partner
  4. Akido Labs · Product and Engagement Lead
  5. Upfront Ventures · Partner
    Now
  6. Upfront Ventures · Principal
    Now

Focus

healthtechedtechdigital healthgaming tooling

Education

Washington University in St. Louis, bachelors in Medical Anthropology and Healthcare Management

Also at Upfront Ventures

Kevin ZhangGeneral Partner
Kobie FullerGeneral Partner
Stuart LanderGeneral Partner, Growth
Aditi MaliwalPartner
Nick KimPartner

Partners like Kesar

At firms with a similar stage, sector and check size.

Gordon Ritter
Gordon RitterFounder + General Partner, Emergence Capital
Eurie Kim
Eurie KimManaging Partner, Forerunner Ventures
Pete Bastien
Pete BastienPresident & Partner, Hitachi Ventures
Ben Horowitz
Ben HorowitzCo-Founder & General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
Ben Ling
Ben LingGeneral Partner, Bling Capital
Matthew VolosinPartner, Caffeinated Capital

Alert me when Upfront Ventures is active

One email when Kesar's firm raises a fund, adds a partner or shows new activity.

Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

Send Mode VC your deck

Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.

Send your deck

Questions

Who is Kesar Varma?

Kesar Varma is a Principal at Upfront Ventures. He previously worked as a product lead at Akido Labs and held venture roles at several firms.

How much does Kesar Varma invest?

Kesar Varma invests through Upfront Ventures, which writes checks of $1M to $30M at seed, series a, series b.

How do I pitch Kesar Varma?

A warm intro from a founder Upfront Ventures backed works best.

What did Kesar Varma do before Upfront Ventures?

Venture Fellow at Virtue VC; Venture Partner at Necessary Ventures; Venture Partner at Mentors Fund; Product and Engagement Lead at Akido Labs.

Last updated 2026-10-15. Is this you? Ask for a correction.