Darian Shirazi

Darian Shirazi is a General Partner at Gradient Ventures, a venture capital firm that specializes in investing in artificial intelligence and data-rich companies. He has held this position since June 2019, where he leads investments in seed, Series A, and Series B stages. Gradient Ventures is notable for being backed by Google, which serves as its majority limited partner.12

Background and Career

Before joining Gradient Ventures, Shirazi founded Radius Intelligence, a leading B2B Customer Data Platform, where he served as CEO from 2012 until 2018. Under his leadership, Radius grew significantly, achieving over $15 million in annual recurring revenue and raising over $100 million in venture capital from top-tier firms.23

Shirazi began his career as a software engineer at Facebook, where he was one of the early hires and reported directly to Mark Zuckerberg. He also interned at eBay earlier in his career.12

Investments and Influence

As a venture capitalist, Shirazi has made early investments in several notable startups, including Lyft, Udemy, and Carbon Health. He is actively involved in the boards of various companies, such as Gigs, Range, Spline, and Chili Piper.23 His investment strategy focuses on identifying innovative companies that leverage AI technologies to create value.

Education and Personal Life

Shirazi studied at the University of California, Berkeley, though he left after two years to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family and enjoys activities like skiing and kitesurfing.23