Kirthiga Reddy has taken a venture partner position at Vision Fund, the $98.6bn fund formed by telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, and will be joined by Carolina Brochado, TechCrunch has reported.
Reddy joined SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund, after an eight-year stint at social media company Facebook, having led its global marketing partnerships after spending six years as managing director for India and Southeast Asia.
In her new role, Reddy will focus on investments in artificial intelligence, robotics, health, bioengineering and the internet-of-things technology sectors, and she told TechCrunch she is “actively recruiting” staff, particularly female investors.
Reddy had worked at software provider Phoenix Technologies and smartphone maker Motorola prior to Facebook. She said in a LinkedIn post announcing the move: “Like in other investment firms, the venture partner role enables quick integration of new talent from non-investing backgrounds, which is a perfect fit for me.
“I look forward to bringing my technical and business expertise – from both enterprise and consumer technology, in developed and emerging markets – to the Vision Fund team. I will be based out of San Carlos, Silicon Valley.”
Brochado has meanwhile agreed to join Vision Fund’s London office in the UK, following four years at venture capital firm Atomico, TechCrunch reported yesterday, after sources revealed she has told Atomico’s portfolio companies of her forthcoming move.
Atomico hired Brochado in 2014 and made her a partner two years later. During her time at the firm she sourced and led investments in portfolio companies including ethical food supplier Farmdrop, logistics platform OnTruck and market research provider Streetbees.
Brochado held positions at private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and investment bank Merrill Lynch prior to Atomico, which told TechCrunch in a statement: “We are deeply grateful for the substantial contribution she has made to Atomico in the time she has spent with us.
“We are proud of her, and we look forward to working with her in her new role across the street at Softbank Vision Fund.”