Arvind Purushotham, head of Citi Ventures, is one of the 100 leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2025 Powerlist.
Arvind Purushotham leads US investment bank Citi’s strategic investment arm, a group he helped found in 2010 and has headed for the past three years.
The team is structured to invest on behalf of Citi’s US personal wealth, banking and client organisations, with a focus on fintech, enterprise security, digital assets and generative AI.
Purushotham also helped set up and advises the Citi Impact Fund, a $500m fund which invests in tech startups in the areas of social impact.
Over the next year, the ventures team plans to build on its existing investments in genAI capabilities as the technology becomes widespread. “As companies embed genAI into their products, processes and tech stacks, startups will help them onboard and secure genAI-based tools before giving the tools access to sensitive data,” says Purushotham.
“When people are allowed to learn, they become great investors”
The team is also investing in startups focused on ecommerce hyper-personalisation. “Ecommerce is evolving quickly, thanks to advances in genAI and machine learning. Merchants will turn to startups to help anticipate customers’ desires and offer them tailored shopping experiences,” says Purushotham.
The team also has an eye on embedded lending, where lenders integrate services into non-financial digital platforms. “It will catalyse an overall increase in fintech investments,” he says.
The Citi Ventures team has exited more than 30 portfolio companies through acquisitions and initial public offerings. “I am particularly proud of our investments in DocuSign and Plaid, which are both respected and prominent players in their respective industries. Sourcing and investing in these companies early in their journeys are a testament to this team’s ability to build a winning investment model and use it to drive innovation across Citi,” says Purushotham.
Purushotham aims to hire investors who straddle the world between entrepreneurs and senior business leaders. “I look for key capabilities: pattern recognition, the ability to sift between noise and signal, a willingness to take on hard challenges and move fast. Then I let my team run. When people are allowed to learn, they become great investors,” he says.
The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100 individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
