Dhruva Rao

Dhruva is a Research Analyst at Type One Ventures, where he helps shape the firm’s investment theses and evaluates new companies across its deep tech verticals. His most recent research has covered Physical AI, Grid technology, and AI and compute, and he turns that work into detailed reports and newsletters for the firm. He also sources deal flow, executes diligence on prospective investments, and conducts LP prospecting.

Startups have been part of Dhruva’s life for as long as he can remember. Both of his parents are serial entrepreneurs and investors, and growing up around that is where his interest in building companies and backing founders comes from. In college, he started his own venture: a social app that helped students connect with each other and find org events happening on campus in real time.

Before joining Type One, Dhruva was on the product team at Orchestrade, a startup building a P&L and risk management platform for asset managers. Earlier, he gained investment exposure at a Registered Investment Advisory fund, where he honed his equity investing and fund operations skills. He also worked at State Farm’s Labs and Ventures division, where he first picked up the research, sourcing, and diligence skills he uses every day.

Dhruva is driven by his inquisitive nature, which comes partly from his engineering training. He likes to take a problem apart piece by piece and probe with questions until it makes sense. When a new topic or thesis catches his eye, you can often find him going down a rabbit hole of articles, videos, and conversations. In venture, that habit helps him get up to speed on unfamiliar markets quickly and spot links between fields that seem unrelated at first.

Dhruva grew up in Dallas and holds a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Outside of work, he’s a big sports fan. He plays volleyball and closely follows football and soccer. He’s also a movie buff who enjoys going to the theater.