Semil Shah

Semil Shah is a prominent venture capitalist and the Founding General Partner at Haystack, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. He has been with Haystack since its inception in 2013, focusing on seed investments across various sectors, particularly in technology and startups. Under his leadership, Haystack has grown to manage over $450 million in assets and has made significant investments in successful companies such as Instacart, DoorDash, and Giphy.13

Shah's educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree in Economic Development and Strategy from Harvard University. Before founding Haystack, he held various roles in product marketing and operations at several startups, including Swell (acquired by Apple) and Rexly (acquired by LiveNation).23

In addition to his role at Haystack, Semil Shah is also a Venture Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where he has been involved since 2018. His investment strategy emphasizes finding and partnering with visionary founders who are building innovative solutions for the future.134