Sanjiv Parikh is managing partner for Avanta Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of US-based insurer CSAA Insurance, where he oversees venture capital deals, startup incubation and acceleration initiatives, and corporate development with partner Steve Bernardez. Parikh helped CSAA launch the unit in 2017 and defined its areas of focus on insurance and financial technologies, advanced mobility and adjacent fields involving risk management and customer experience. Bernardez was brought on board from an institutional venture capital firm, Onset Ventures, in March 2019 to help Avanta Ventures identify opportunities in verticals including mobility and insurtech, applying artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of […]

Author: Sanjiv Parikh, Avanta Ventures Managing Partner This morning, Avanta Ventures hosted Autotech Council members for their first “Startup Review Live!” meeting.  Welcoming 30 Technology Scouting and Business Development executives from Silicon Valley-based OEMs, Tier 1 vendors, and automotive technology leaders to our offices in Mountain View to hear from 3 young companies innovating in Optics, Passenger Monitoring, and Additive Manufacturing.  Members, who would usually have to travel for an event like this were able to join via their laptops and mobile devices thanks to Avanta Venture’s state-of-the-art meeting space. Following each presentation, startups were questioned by myself, Tim Wong from […]