Deedy Das, a rising star in venture capital, is fast becoming known as a go-to investor for AI startups. Now a partner at Menlo Ventures, Das has made a name for himself by combining deep technical expertise with sharp deal instincts—traits that are increasingly in demand in today’s AI-driven startup landscape. Das joined Menlo after a career that included engineering roles at Facebook and Google, and a pivotal early role at Glean, an enterprise search company. At Glean, he helped scale the business from a blank slate to a $7.2 billion company, playing a central role in evolving its platform from a simple search tool to a smart, AI-powered assistant capable of understanding and acting on user data. His leadership on Glean’s “tiger team” was instrumental in integrating advanced natural language processing and deep learning capabilities, helping the company grow from $100 million in annual revenue in 2024 to a projected $250 million by year-end. His experience gave him early insight into the potential of platforms like OpenRouter, which allows developers to access multiple large language models through a single interface. Having built a similar system at Glean, Das recognized the market need immediately. When he met founder Alex Atallah, he didn’t hesitate: “This is absolutely going to be useful,” he told him. Though he couldn’t formally commit at the time, his confidence helped pave the way for Menlo’s early investment through the Anthology Fund. The firm later led a $40 million Series A, and OpenRouter has since seen its token throughput grow 25-fold, from 10 trillion to over 250 trillion annually—a clear sign of explosive growth. Das’s other notable investments include Wispr Flow, which transforms spoken language into polished writing, and Goodfire, a research lab focused on understanding model behavior. Both were backed through the Anthology Fund before Menlo made follow-on investments. His ability to spot high-impact ideas early has earned him a spot on Business Insider’s 2024 list of rising venture capital stars. What sets Das apart is not just his technical depth, but his disciplined approach. He once questioned the unusually strong retention metrics in a startup’s pitch, suspecting data manipulation. By pulling the raw data and using AI tools like Claude Code to re-analyze it, he uncovered inconsistencies—proving his instincts were right. Das also uses AI to supercharge his own workflow, leveraging tools like Wispr to manage communication and Claude to build custom agents for research, LinkedIn scraping, and calendar intelligence. “It’s kind of strange,” he laughs. “We invest in the cutting edge, but most venture firms don’t use any cutting-edge tech to do their own work.” As venture capital evolves, investors like Das—who come from engineering and startup trenches—are proving essential. Founders want partners who speak their language, understand their tech, and can cut through hype. With his blend of technical insight, strategic vision, and hands-on experience, Deedy Das is helping define the next generation of venture capital.