Prashant Shukla
Partner at origin-ventures
Reviewed Updated Jul 8, 2026This profile is AI-generated. If you spot an error, please help us fix it by sharing a URL to the correct information.
Background
Prashant Shukla is a Partner at Origin Ventures, based in Origin’s San Francisco office 1. Origin Ventures is a Chicago-founded early-stage firm with offices in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Chicago, D.C., New York, and Los Angeles; the firm’s most recent fund, Origin Ventures VI, closed with $140M in commitments, bringing total AUM to nearly $500M across a ~25-year firm history 2.
Shukla joined Origin Ventures as a Senior Associate in May 2017 while still finishing business school, sourcing his first deal for the firm before graduating 31. He was promoted to Partner on July 20, 2021, alongside Scott Stern 34.
Before venture, Shukla was the first product manager at Metromile, the pay-per-mile auto insurance startup, where he joined in 2012 and the company later scaled to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and raised over $200M in equity financing 1. He began his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, advising telecom, healthcare, and education clients on emerging technologies 1. He holds an MBA and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago and undergraduate degrees in Economics, Business, and Environmental Economics & Policy from UC Berkeley 1. He also serves on the board of Art in Action, a K-8 visual arts nonprofit 13.
Stated Thesis
At his promotion to Partner in July 2021, Origin described Shukla’s focus as “the ‘picks and shovels’ of e-commerce infrastructure, no/low-code software companies, and B2C marketplaces” 3.
Origin’s firm-level focus has since evolved with Fund VI toward what the firm calls the “Artificial Intelligence Economy,” spanning both “bits” (software and computing) and “atoms” (physical infrastructure) — with portfolio spanning energy storage, e-commerce logistics, optical computing chips, AI sales tools, defense robotics, and medical imaging automation 2. Shukla’s own current stated focus, per Origin’s team page, is “AI infrastructure, frontier tech, software, and marketplaces” 1.
On his approach to founders, Shukla has written: “The key is to do it with empathy, explanation, and sincerity — I offer to help startups in ways that do not always involve investing capital” 5. He has framed Origin as “a partnership made up of caring, intelligent people with strong ethical principles” and stated that “companies tend to do well when founders and VCs collaborate and listen to each other” 5.
Inferred Thesis
Sample-size note: This analysis draws on Origin Ventures’ team page portfolio listing for Shukla (13 named companies) plus board seats named in the July 2021 promotion release (9 boards) — a public “in-scope” list of roughly 17 distinct companies once deduplicated. Percentages are computed against that named set and are directionally illustrative, not exhaustive 13.
Stage: Predominantly seed and early Series A. Confirmed personally-led rounds include Opticore’s $7M seed (December 19, 2024, co-led with Jetha Global) and the $7.5M seed extension (September 2025, led by returning investors including Origin) 678. Origin also participated in Lemurian Labs’ $28M Series A (announced December 3, 2025), a round Shukla personally authored the investment memo for on Origin’s blog 910.
Sector concentration in the named portfolio (n≈17): - AI compute / frontier tech: Opticore (optical / photonic computing), Lemurian Labs (hardware-agnostic AI compiler), H3X (high-power-density electric motors) — 3 companies (~18%) 196 - E-commerce infrastructure: Clearjet (belly-cargo air logistics), Burq (last-mile delivery API), BlackCart (returnless returns / try-before-you-buy), Hammoq (resale ops automation) — 4 companies (~24%) 1113 - HR / workplace tech: 15Five (performance management), Everee (payroll), Blueboard (employee recognition) — 3 companies (~18%) 13 - Vertical marketplaces / SaaS: Tock (restaurant reservations), Pronto (undisclosed), Glimpse (short-term rental data), Solesavy (sneaker community), Trala (music lesson marketplace), ControlRooms (industrial ops), Measured Insurance (parametric insurance) — 7 companies (~41%) 13
Board pattern: Origin’s July 2021 press release names Shukla on the boards of BlackCart, Hammoq, 15Five, Blueboard, Glimpse, Everee, Pronto, Measured Insurance, and Trala 3. He was Board Observer at Tock from May 2020 to May 2021 and Board Observer at Burq starting April 2022 12. This is a heavy-board-participation profile — 9+ current board seats/observerships attributed by a single primary source.
Co-investor patterns: Named co-investors on personally-attributed rounds include Pebblebed Ventures and Hexagon (Lemurian Series A co-leads), Jetha Global (Opticore seed co-lead), Oval Park Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, Uncorrelated Ventures, Untapped Ventures, and Silicon Catalyst Ventures (Lemurian) 91067.
Founder profile: Shukla’s Metromile operating background (first PM, scale to $200M+ raised) is reflected in Origin’s stated preference for founders with “proven track records of value creation” and Origin’s self-description as “former operators, founders, and engineers” 23.
Portfolio
Investments where Shukla’s personal involvement (memo author, sourcing partner, or board seat) is supported by primary Origin materials or a press release naming him.
| Company | Year | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15Five | 2018 | Board observer since Sep 2018 | 12 |
| Tock | 2020 | Board observer May 2020 – May 2021 | 12 |
| Hammoq | 2021 | Board observer since May 2021 | 12 |
| BlackCart | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Blueboard | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Glimpse | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Everee | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Pronto | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Measured Insurance | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Trala | 2021 | Board seat (per July 2021 promotion release) | 3 |
| Burq | 2022 | Board observer since Apr 2022 | 12 |
| Opticore | 2024 | Seed ($7M, co-led with Jetha Global, Dec 19, 2024) | 67 |
| Opticore | 2025 | Seed extension ($7.5M, returning investors, Sep 2025) | 8 |
| Lemurian Labs | 2025 | Series A ($28M, Pebblebed & Hexagon co-led; Shukla authored the memo) | 910 |
| Clearjet | 2025 | Origin portfolio (listed in Fund VI announcement) | 2 |
| H3X | 2025 | Origin portfolio (listed in Fund VI announcement) | 2 |
| ControlRooms | 2025 | Origin portfolio (listed on Shukla’s team page) | 1 |
| Solesavy | 2025 | Origin portfolio (listed on Shukla’s team page) | 1 |
Notes: Years for pre-2024 board seats reflect the earliest primary-source date I could confirm (LinkedIn-derived Signal listings; Origin’s July 2021 promotion release named the board slate). Where an exact investment date could not be resolved I used the primary-source announcement year rather than guessing. Lemurian Labs’ Series A round has a fully verified 2025-12-03 date; Opticore’s seed close has a verified 2024-12-19 date.
In Their Own Words
On working with founders and using rejection as a signal of care:
“The key is to do it with empathy, explanation, and sincerity — I offer to help startups in ways that do not always involve investing capital.” — Prashant Shukla, “Why I Joined Origin Ventures,” Origin Ventures blog 5
On the investor-founder relationship:
“Companies tend to do well when founders and VCs collaborate and listen to each other.” — Prashant Shukla, “Why I Joined Origin Ventures,” Origin Ventures blog 5
On what draws him to the work:
“Learning to navigate this inherent trickiness is what gets me up in the morning.” — Prashant Shukla, “Why I Joined Origin Ventures,” Origin Ventures blog 5
On why he joined Origin:
“Origin is a partnership made up of caring, intelligent people with strong ethical principles.” — Prashant Shukla, “Why I Joined Origin Ventures,” Origin Ventures blog 5
What Founders Say
From Burq CEO Salman Habib, quoted on Origin Ventures’ team page for Shukla:
“The Origin team has been integral to our growth since inception… Prashant’s operational expertise has been invaluable.” — Salman Habib, CEO of Burq 1
Additional independently-sourced (i.e., non-firm-hosted) founder testimonials about Shukla’s specific working style could not be located in this research pass.
Sources
-
Origin Ventures, “Prashant Shukla — Partner | San Francisco,” accessed July 2026. https://www.originventures.com/team/prashant↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Origin Ventures, “Origin Ventures Closes $140M Sixth Fund,” accessed July 2026. https://www.originventures.com/blog/origin-ventures-closes-140m-sixth-fund↩↩↩↩↩
-
Origin Ventures, “Origin Ventures Promotes Scott Stern and Prashant Shukla to Partner,” July 20, 2021. https://www.originventures.com/blog/origin-ventures-promotes-scott-stern-and-prashant-shukla-to-partner/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Newswire (Origin Ventures press release), “Origin Ventures Promotes Scott Stern and Prashant Shukla to Partner,” July 20, 2021. https://www.newswire.com/news/origin-ventures-promotes-scott-stern-and-prashant-shukla-to-partner-2144659↩
-
Origin Ventures, “Why I Joined Origin Ventures: Prashant Shukla,” accessed July 2026. https://www.originventures.com/blog/why-i-joined-origin-ventures-prashant-shukla↩↩↩↩↩↩
-
Finsmes, “Opticore Raises $7.5M in Funding,” September 2025. https://www.finsmes.com/2025/09/opticore-raises-7-5m-in-funding.html↩↩↩↩
-
SuperbCrew, “Opticore Raises Additional $7.5M In Funding,” accessed July 2026. https://www.superbcrew.com/opticore-raises-additional-7-5m-in-funding/↩↩↩
-
Pulse 2.0, “Opticore: $7.5 Million Secured For Advancing Photonic Computing Chips,” accessed July 2026. https://pulse2.com/opticore-7-5-million-secured-for-advancing-photonic-computing-chips/↩↩
-
Origin Ventures (Prashant Shukla, author), “Liberating A.I. From Hardware Lock-In: Software Is The Key To Our Investment In Lemurian Labs,” December 3, 2025. https://www.originventures.com/blog/ending-ais-hardware-lock-in-the-key-to-our-investment-in-lemurian-labs↩↩↩↩
-
GlobeNewswire (Lemurian Labs press release), “Lemurian Labs Raises $28 Million Series A to Liberate AI from the Constraints of Hardware,” December 3, 2025. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/12/03/3198947/0/en/Lemurian-Labs-Raises-28-Million-Series-A-to-Liberate-AI-from-the-Constraints-of-Hardware.html↩↩↩
-
Origin Ventures (Prashant Shukla, author), “Lighting Up A.I. — Why We Invested in Opticore,” December 3 (year per byline context). https://www.originventures.com/blog/lighting-up-ai-why-we-invested-in-opticore↩
-
NFX Signal, “Prashant Shukla’s Investing Profile — Origin Ventures Partner,” accessed July 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/prashant-shukla↩↩↩↩↩