NEA’s Ravi Viswanathan on CleanTech and Building Companies
By kamla bhatt • May 25th, 2008Category: Business & Tech, Diaspora, Featured, Ideas, India, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, VC & Private Equity Funding
Ravi Viswanathan is a partner in New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a prominent venture capital firm headquartered on the East Coast with a strong presence in Silicon Valley. NEA has committed capital of about $8.5 billion and has invested in over 550 companies with over 160 that have gone public.
Ravi joined NEA in 2004 and has led investment rounds in a handful of companies, including 4 that have an India connection. Ravi’s area of interest is Information Technology, but he has a strong interest in cleantech companies and sits on the board of Deeya and Suniva.
I caught up with Ravi at this year’s TiECon in Santa Clara where we spoke about cleantech, Deeya, investing and India and what is that he enjoys the best about being a venture capitalist. “At the core it is company building, where I can use my business and technical skills that I have developed,” says Ravi.
With a PhD and an MBA from Wharton Ravi brings strong research skills to the table. Prior to joining NEA Ravi worked for different organizations including Goldman Sachs.
Technorati Tags: ravi viswanathan,nea,venture capital,deeya,suniva,technology,cleantech,india,ideas,vc interview
Kamla Bhatt is the host and producer of an Internet Radio show where listeners can find stories about the new and emerging India and the global Indian community. As a pioneer of 'internet radio' format in India Kamla started her first show News about India, followed by TalkNewsIndia in 2005. In 2006 she premiered her new show: The Kamla Bhatt Show: Life, People and Ideas. 
[…] a venture capitalist and an entrepreneur who are doing some very interesting things in this space. Ravi Viswanathan is partner at NEA, a well-known VC firm and Rajeeva Lahri, is a first time entrepreneur, who […]
Could not able to hear conversation properly. It is not audible .
Rama:
We have tested and checked from different locations and the audio works. Cd you check if your speaker or speaker volume is working? Do you have the volume turned out all the way up?
Do let us know.
Thanks for writing in and letting us know.
Kamla
Your phrasing the question about there still being 2 more quarters to go was brilliant.
Also, please don’t assume that folks with PhDs are necessarily bookish. I think the response given to your question was quite revealing. The world is NOT flat. Those who think so, forget that there are mountains and valleys, rivers and streams. The vastness of landscape which is full of mirages and jungles, let alone ROUND… Enough of metaphors. Tom Friedman speaks to the American audience by instilling an awkward sense of fear - it speaks to Indians (and they love him for it) because he blows their trumpets. However, he lacks any true insight beyond anecdotal evidence. Nor does he truly understand the political, economic and historical motivation of societies. Friedman at the end of the day is a sensational journalist but neither a successful financial wizard nor respected philosopher. He has made his millions telling stories to those who want to hear what he says.
Thanks Anon for your feedback.
Excellent point about the co-relation between a PhD and being bookish.
I hear what you say about Tom Friedman. I liked the book because he was able to paint a nice, big picture of what was happening at the macro level using anecdotes as you point out. I was disappointed that there was no theoretical framework or a lens through which Friedman was viewing this flat world. Having that lens would have helped understand how some policy decisions are taken at the government level etc. etc.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Kamla
This interview was really good and I think what Rama is saying is that the volume was a little bit lower in this interview than in other interviews - I had to turn my volume up to the max - but it worked fine and I loved the overall theme Ravi and you talked about. Yeah - he is pretty cool for a phd holder.
In regards to Tom Friedman, I don’t really think anybody takes that book that seriously. Everyone who reads it understands that it is sensationalist I think. Nonetheless, it does have its validity in portions and added to the good press that went India’s way. He recommended you read it - never said it was a bible for budding entrepreneurs I guess. I hope you get him back for another interview some time in the future.