March 27, 2008: IDG Ventures India today announced that Kiran Karnik, Ex- President, NASSCOM and a recipient of the Padma Shri joins IDG Ventures India on their Global Advisory Board which is constituted of icons like Dr. N Balasubramanian, Dr.K B Chandrasekhar, Mr. Arjun Malhotra, Dr. Sridhar Mitta, Dr. Jagdish Sheth and Dr. V Sumantran.

Mr Kiran Karnik was President of NASSCOM, the premiere trade body and the “chamber of commerce” for the IT software and services industry in India, till January 2008.

During his 6 years at NASSCOM, Mr. Karnik was widely recognized as a thought-leader and guiding force for the Indian IT industry. He is credited for promoting “Brand India”, especially by show-casing India’s technological strength to the world.

In a career of almost four decades, Mr. Karnik has been conferred many awards and accolades. He has been awarded the Padma Shri in 2007 and the ‘DATAQUEST IT Person of the Year – 2005’. Business Week named Mr. Karnik as one of the ‘Stars of Asia’ in 2004. He was selected as Forbes magazine’s ‘Face of the Year 2003’, for being a driving force behind India’s off shoring wave.

He has been a member of many key government committees, and is presently a member of the Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Minister of India.

On his joining IDG Ventures Global Advisory Board, Mr. Karnik said “Entrepreneurship is in a very exciting stage in India. Services have been India’s forte. Now we can look forward to the next set of great product and internet companies to come out of India. I am excited to be a part of the IDG Ventures India team and contribute to these next generation companies.”

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Sudhir Sethi, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, IDG Ventures India said, “We are pleased to have Kiran join our advisory board; he is an icon in the Indian Industry. His experience and leadership in the global market as well as insights into building businesses globally from India will be immensely valuable for our portfolio companies and partners to leverage upon”.

About IDG Ventures

IDG Ventures is a global network of venture capital funds with over $2 billion under management and a portfolio of over 220 companies built over the last 15 years. The IDG Ventures network is comprised of five independent partnerships managing funds in North America and Asia. Each partnership makes investments on behalf of its limited partners, including International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research (IDC), and conferences and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, each IDG Ventures fund helps companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition.

With partnerships in San Francisco, India, Korea, Boston and multiple locations throughout China and Vietnam, the IDG Ventures network offers the international perspective and the local market expertise to help companies grow from start-ups to global success stories.

IDG Ventures India manages a US$150 Million venture capital fund focused on helping entrepreneurs grow innovative companies on a global basis. IDGV India believes the market for technology products and services in India, the proven value of India as an offshore resource base and the entrepreneurial spirit and talent of its people, create an extremely bright future for venture capital investing in the country.

For more information go to www.idgventures.com

Contact Information

Mr. Sudhir Sethi
Founder, Chairman & Managing Director
IDG Ventures India Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
Tel: +91 80 40434836
Email: sudhir_sethi@idgvcindia.com