Deven Parekh, Insight Partners: Software, Startups, and Scale-ups in the Age of AI

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Deven Parekh, renowned technology investor, civic leader, and managing director of Insight Partners, the global software investment firm. Over the course of the wide-ranging conversation, we learn about Insight's deep expertise and differentiation in software investing, Parekh's own evolution as a business leader, and how he thinks about the current moment — as an investor, engaged nonprofit board member, and New Yorker. We begin with Parekh's early days. He entered college as a budding scientist, but soon "traded his early love of biochemistry for economics," and graduated from Wharton into a career in finance, first at Blackstone and then the merchant bank Berenson Minella & Company. When Parekh joined Insight Partners in 1999, it was a team of approximately ten; today Insight is a 450-person global firm, with over $90 billion in assets under management, and investing out of its thirteenth fund. Parekh walks us through the distinguishing elements of Insight's strategy, including a singular focus on software across the full investment continuum from early-stage venture to private equity like buyouts; a nearly 70-person strong and proactive sourcing team; and a dedicated operations group, Insight OnSite, that works in a hands-on way with portfolio companies. Having made over 140 investments over his career — across business cycles and dynamic market conditions — Parekh underscores the value of flexibility in Insight's approach. For example, "venture buyouts" — acquiring controlling interests in strong but not-yet-public software companies — initially structured in response to liquidity challenges in private markets — have become one of Insight's strongest-performing deal archetypes, with over 70 completed to date. Parekh also explains Insight's approach to artificial intelligence: as an investment opportunity, particularly in early-stage companies; as a tool to improve Insight's own operations; and as a lever for value creation across the portfolio, where the OnSite team helps incumbent software companies integrate AI into their products and business models.  We touch on Parekh's civic commitments, including as a board member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the US International Development Finance Corporation. In this moment of market and geopolitical volatility and uncertainty, Parekh believes nonpartisan policy institutions have a particularly important role to play. Parekh is also a devoted New Yorker. He believes the city — where Insight is based, where he and his wife (and partner in all things, including philanthropy) raised their family, where he serves on several boards — is thriving in the post-Covid world. "I feel really bullish about New York," he says. Parekh's optimism is also abundant when we speak about the next generation. "Young people give me hope," he says. And his advice to them: "Have a plan, but follow your passion." Mentioned in this episode:  Insight Partners Council on Foreign Relations Carnegie Endowment for International Peace US International Development Finance Corporation The Economic Club of New York NYU Langone Tisch New York MS Research Center