VD
Vardhan Dharnidharka
Principal at Stellaris Venture Partners
· Bangalore, India
Check size
$500K - $10M
Lead stage
Seed
Deals tracked
5
Sectors
AI/ML, Software
AI/ML
Software
Deeptech
SaaS
FinTech
B2C/Ecommerce
Seed
Series A
Pre-Seed
Early-stage
India
About Vardhan
Vardhan Dharnidharka is a Principal Investor at Stellaris Venture Partners, a Bengaluru-based early-stage VC firm focused on AI, SaaS, and Deeptech. He brings operational experience from roles at Lyft, ClickUp, and Bloomberg, where he held engineering and product leadership positions. Dharnidharka is positioned as an AI domain expert within Stellaris' investment thesis and actively participates in fund strategy and portfolio development
Investment thesis
AI/ML expert bringing deep engineering leadership to early-stage technology investments
Vardhan is the resident AI/ML expert at Stellaris, leveraging deep engineering leadership and product expertise to invest in AI-native startups across enterprise software, consumer internet, and fintech. With a track record of building and scaling AI/ML products at Bloomberg, Lyft, and ClickUp, he brings technical depth to early-stage investments where AI functions as a horizontal capability reshaping how software is built, sold, and consumed. Stellaris plans to deploy $100-150M from Fund III into AI-native companies, viewing proprietary data, feedback loops, distribution, and genuine product-market fit as key investment criteria beyond flashy AI demos
Investment philosophy
Stellaris views itself as more than just a fund with capital—it's a fund of founders. The firm leads investments with conviction and remains committed to the journey of building companies from zero to one and beyond. Vardhan brings over a decade of experience scaling AI/ML products that touch millions of users, combining operator expertise with investment acumen.
Investment focus
Vardhan invests in seed-stage AI, SaaS, and Deeptech startups with a focus on founders building defensible technology and avoiding commodity AI plays. His thesis emphasizes founders who understand GTM strategy and avoid becoming unpaid distribution channels for larger platforms
Areas of expertise
Recent activity
Live platform data · proprietary, citable layer
Notable portfolio
Arrowhead
Atlas
Partners Announces
Notable deals
Arrowhead – Voice AI startup, $3M seed led by Stellaris (Jan 2026)
Frequently asked
Does Vardhan Dharnidharka invest at Seed stage?
Yes. They invest at Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed stage.
Their geographic focus includes India.
What is their typical check size?
Vardhan Dharnidharka's typical check size is $500K - $10M.
They currently invest through Stellaris Venture Partners.
What sectors does Vardhan Dharnidharka focus on?
Vardhan Dharnidharka primarily invests in AI/ML, Software, Deeptech, SaaS.
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