Semil Shah

Semil Shah is the Founder and General Partner at Haystack and a Venture Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since launching Haystack in 2013, he has managed seven early-stage venture funds and grown the firm to over $300 million in total assets under management. Through these vehicles, he has invested in more than 100 technology startups, securing early stakes in prominent consumer and enterprise companies such as Instacart, DoorDash, Figma, and HashiCorp. Before establishing his career in institutional venture capital, he worked as an independent consultant and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Michigan, followed by a Master's degree in Economic Development and Strategy from Harvard University. Shah currently focuses on identifying seed-stage founders who are building foundational software platforms and marketplace businesses.