Karim Atiyeh

Background

Karim Atiyeh was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon ¹. He attended Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour in Beirut before moving to the United States to study at Harvard University, where he earned a BA in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an MS in Computer Science ¹². While at Harvard, he served as a CS50 Teaching Fellow ³.

After graduating in 2011, Atiyeh moved to New York and spent two years as a consultant at Oliver Wyman ¹³. In 2014, he co-founded Paribus with his Harvard classmate Eric Glyman and friend Gene Lee ¹. Paribus was a consumer app that automatically tracked online purchases and secured refunds when prices dropped ⁴. The company went through Y Combinator’s S15 batch ⁵ and was acquired by Capital One in 2016, at which point it had approximately 700,000 users ¹.

In 2019, Atiyeh, Glyman, and Lee left Capital One and co-founded Ramp, a spend management platform and corporate card focused on helping businesses save time and money ⁶. As CTO, Atiyeh leads Ramp’s product and engineering teams ¹. Ramp has grown to serve over 40,000 businesses, reached over $1 billion in revenue in approximately five years, and was valued at approximately $16 billion as of 2025 ¹⁷. Atiyeh holds approximately 10% of Ramp ¹.

Atiyeh was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Enterprise Technology in 2017 for his work with Paribus ³. In July 2025, his net worth reached $1.3 billion, making him the youngest Arab American billionaire ¹.

Alongside his role at Ramp, Atiyeh is an active angel investor, frequently co-investing with Ramp co-founder Eric Glyman ⁸⁹.

Stated Thesis

Atiyeh has not published a formal angel investing thesis, but his public statements reveal a consistent philosophy centered on asymmetric outcomes and bold bets.

On investing and decision-making, Atiyeh has written: “You want to look for outcomes where, in the case of success, you have the potential for a 10x payoff. On the other hand, if you fail, maybe it’s a 1x loss” ¹⁰. He has also stated: “In business, you only have a limited amount of time to make a couple of smart bets. You want to focus on the ones that have the biggest potential” ¹⁰.

On investor selection as a founder, he has said: “Finding reputable investors who give you clean terms gives you the best potential for asymmetric outcomes” ¹⁰. His view of investors as partners is reflected in his statement: “We don’t think of investors very differently than we think of our employees” ¹¹.

Atiyeh has expressed strong conviction that technical founders have an advantage in the current era: “The technical folks are more likely to see the possibilities in terms of products than non-technical folks… because they see the possibilities better than other experts might” ¹¹.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 13 verified investments compiled from Tracxn, CB Insights, press releases, and TechCrunch. Sources indicate Atiyeh may have made up to 23 total investments ¹²; this analysis covers approximately 57% of his estimated total.

Sector distribution (13 verified investments): - Fintech / financial infrastructure: 5 of 13 (38%) — Pomelo, Divibank, Campfire, Beacon Software, Weav - AI / data infrastructure: 3 of 13 (23%) — Matia, LGND, Console - Enterprise SaaS / productivity: 3 of 13 (23%) — Granola, Capsule, Tomorro - Logistics / cross-border trade: 2 of 13 (15%) — Nuvocargo, Divibank

Note: Divibank spans fintech and LatAm logistics; counted once in fintech above.

Stage distribution (13 verified investments): - Seed: 4 of 13 (31%) — Weav, Divibank, LGND, Beacon Software (Series A) - Series A: 6 of 13 (46%) — Nuvocargo, Pomelo, Capsule, Console, Matia, Beacon Software - Series B: 3 of 13 (23%) — Campfire, Granola, Beacon Software (Series B)

Atiyeh invests across stages from seed to Series B, with the heaviest concentration at Series A. This is consistent with a founder-angel who backs companies once they have demonstrated initial product-market fit.

Geographic patterns: Portfolio is globally distributed. Verified investments include companies based in New York (Console, Campfire, Beacon Software), San Francisco, Latin America (Pomelo in Argentina, Divibank in Brazil, Nuvocargo on US-Mexico corridor), London (Granola), Paris (Tomorro), and Israel (Matia). Atiyeh’s Lebanese heritage and LatAm fintech experience at Ramp may contribute to his comfort with international investments.

Co-investor patterns: Atiyeh frequently co-invests with Ramp co-founder Eric Glyman — both are listed together in Nuvocargo, Beacon Software, and Console ⁸⁹¹³. Other recurring co-investors include Y Combinator alumni and fintech operators such as Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi (Brex founders) in Weav ¹⁴.

Founder profile preferences: Atiyeh’s portfolio skews toward technical founders building infrastructure or automation products. Several portfolio companies (Campfire, Console, Matia, Granola) are AI-native tools. His investments in Paribus-like automation products (expense management, contract management, data pipelines) suggest he gravitates toward founders automating tedious workflows.

Notable patterns: - Strong LatAm fintech thread: Pomelo (Argentina), Divibank (Brazil), and Nuvocargo (US-Mexico) reflect an interest in emerging market financial infrastructure ¹⁵¹⁶⁸. - AI-first enterprise tools: Recent investments (2025-2026) cluster around AI-powered enterprise software — Campfire (AI ERP), Console (AI IT support), Matia (AI data infrastructure), Granola (AI meetings) ^17131819. - Operator-angel pattern: Atiyeh invests as an active CTO of a $16B company, suggesting relatively small check sizes and value-add through technical and operational expertise rather than board seats.

Portfolio exits (2 known): - Cohere.io — acquired by Ramp in June 2023 ²⁰ - Weav — acquired by Brex in August 2021 for approximately $50M ¹⁴

Portfolio

This table includes 13 verified investments. Sources indicate Atiyeh may have made up to 23 total investments ¹²; this represents approximately 57% of the estimated total.

In Their Own Words

“In business, you only have a limited amount of time to make a couple of smart bets. You want to focus on the ones that have the biggest potential.” — Karim Atiyeh, Ramp blog, “To grow your business, you have to make big bets” ¹⁰

“You want to look for outcomes where, in the case of success, you have the potential for a 10x payoff. On the other hand, if you fail, maybe it’s a 1x loss.” — Karim Atiyeh, Ramp blog, “To grow your business, you have to make big bets” ¹⁰

“We don’t think of investors very differently than we think of our employees.” — Karim Atiyeh, Invest Like the Best podcast, Episode 445, October 2025 ¹¹

“Your code is the LLM now. Your code is the LLM plus instructions and an infinite loop.” — Karim Atiyeh, Invest Like the Best podcast, Episode 445, October 2025 ¹¹

“If you keep listening only to solutions that your customers propose to you, you’re likely not going to end up with that 10x product that’s going to alter the trajectory of your company.” — Karim Atiyeh, Ramp blog, “To grow your business, you have to make big bets” ¹⁰

“Companies are often reluctant to hire new grads, but there’s massive alpha in investing in young talent.” — Karim Atiyeh, X post, August 2024 ²⁴

“The ambition to build the best engineering team in New York was an early, articulated goal.” — Karim Atiyeh, 8VC Fireside Chat ²⁵

“Could we build Paribus for businesses, and help businesses save money automatically?” — Karim Atiyeh, 8VC Fireside Chat, on the genesis of Ramp ²⁵

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Nuvocargo’s blog post welcoming Atiyeh and other angel investors described the new angels as having “unmatched experience in building successful multi-billion dollar startups and scalable business models” but this is firm marketing copy, not an independent founder quote ⁸.

Sources