Questions & answers about Sharath Keshava Narayana

Frequently asked questions

Who is Sharath Keshava Narayana?
Sharath Keshava Narayana is the CEO and co-founder of Sanas, a real-time voice-AI platform for contact centers, and the founder of Carya Venture Partners, an early-stage fund. He began his career moonlighting at a Bangalore call center at 19, which shaped his lifelong thesis that technology should make front-line agents better rather than replace them.
What company does Sharath Keshava Narayana lead?
He is CEO and co-founder of Sanas, a voice-AI company for contact centers whose software runs on roughly a million agent desktops. He also founded and invests through Carya Venture Partners, backing more than 40 early-stage AI companies.
What is Sharath Keshava Narayana's view on AI replacing jobs?
He frames it as augmentation, not replacement, arguing that AI does not replace humans but exposes who was actually adding value. He is publicly critical of automating away entry-level roles, which he calls the R&D lab that produces a company's future leaders.
What is the 'trust surface' concept Sharath writes about?
The trust surface is his term for the accumulated credibility a startup earns with a small number of buyers, hires, and investors. He argues that founder-led distribution should expand this trust surface rather than chase LinkedIn engagement metrics, because trust is what actually converts into pipeline, talent, and capital.
What is Carya Venture Partners?
Carya Venture Partners is the early-stage venture fund founded by Sharath Keshava Narayana, through which he has backed more than 40 AI and software startups. His investing lens favors founders building durable, complex moats over companies whose only advantage is software that AI can commoditize.