Amar Varma
About Amar Varma
Amar Varma is the co-founder and CEO of Mantle, a Toronto company that builds software for private capital operations. He holds a BASc in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo (1999). SickKids Foundation says he started in the semiconductor industry and then moved into venture capital.
He co-founded Xtreme Labs in 2007, a mobile company that Pivotal later acquired and VMware later absorbed. He also co-founded Autonomic, which Ford Motor Company acquired, and he co-created Ford's Ford X accelerator. SickKids describes Hatch Labs, the parent company of Tinder, as one of the companies he started. He also co-founded the early-stage fund Extreme Venture Partners.
He co-founded Mantle in 2022, and the company raised a $10.5M seed round in 2023. He joined the SickKids Foundation board in June 2025. He and his family established the Varma Family Chair in Artificial Intelligence at SickKids, and he founded the Varma Chair in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Waterloo.
Third-party profiles show an angel record that runs from the early 2010s to 2026. The Org lists him as an angel investor since November 2013. In a podcast with Mark MacLeod, he said investors should also be active operators, so they understand market dynamics. Crunchbase, PitchBook and Tracxn each list only a small number of his investments, so the public record is partial.
In September 2026, Thri5 announced a $5.4M USD seed round (about $7.5M CAD). Whitecap Venture Partners and Mistral Venture Partners co-led it, and Varma took part as an angel. Thri5 is a Toronto company building an AI execution layer for retail.
Business Wire lists him among the existing backers of Beacon Software, which raised a $250M Series B in November 2025 to apply AI in real-world industries. The date and size of his own Beacon investment are not public. He has also said publicly that he is an AI optimist. Mantle itself is an AI-assisted equity and fund-operations platform.
Public profiles are inconsistent on stage and sector, so treat them as indicative. NFX Signal ranks him in Canada AutoTech at pre-seed and seed. It lists a check range of $5K to $50K with a $25K sweet spot. That figure comes from the directory, not from a statement by Varma. His recorded investments are mostly seed-stage companies in Canada and the US, covering software, retail technology and AI.
- Thri5: Toronto AI execution layer for retail; $5.4M USD seed, September 2026, co-led by Whitecap and Mistral.
- Beacon Software: applies AI and engineering talent to established industries; he is listed as an existing backer of its November 2025 Series B.
- ODAIA: seed round in September 2019; he later served on its board per PitchBook.
- Shopistry: $2M seed round in 2021.
- Thirstie: Tracxn lists a Series A participation in 2018 and an acquisition in 2024.
- signal.nfx.com/investors/amar-varma
- crunchbase.com/person/amar-varma
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/228766-87
- tracxn.com/d/people/amar-varma/__XOJCwPF7u75XGTrFT49RDRu3PeBsr1K7p0cPY
- sickkidsfoundation.com/aboutus/governanceandstaff/boardofdirectors
- theorg.com/org/mantle-2/org-chart/amar-varma
- markmacleod.me/conscious-investment-and-startup-growth-with-amar-varma
- uwaterloo.ca/engineering/news/alums-startup-lands-105m-and-launches-ne
Investing activity
Amar Varma appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $5M. The most recent is thri5 (Seed, $5.4M, Sep 2026).
Amar Varma most often invests alongside Whitecap Venture Partners, Mistral AI, Farhan Thawar and N49P, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Amar Varma
Who is Amar Varma?
He is a Toronto-based serial founder and angel investor. He is CEO and co-founder of Mantle and co-founded Xtreme Labs, Autonomic and Extreme Venture Partners.
Does Amar Varma invest in AI startups?
Yes. He took part in Thri5's $5.4M seed round in September 2026 and is a listed existing backer of Beacon Software.
What check size does Amar Varma write?
He has not stated a check size publicly. NFX Signal lists $5K to $50K with a $25K sweet spot, but this is a directory estimate.
What stage does Amar Varma invest at?
His recorded deals are mostly seed-stage, and NFX Signal ranks him at pre-seed and seed. He has also backed later rounds, such as Beacon Software's Series B.
What has Amar Varma built?
He co-founded Xtreme Labs (acquired by Pivotal) and Autonomic (acquired by Ford). He now runs Mantle, which raised a $10.5M seed round in 2023.
Where is Amar Varma based?
Crunchbase lists his location as Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He has mainly invested in Canadian and US companies.
Is Amar Varma an angel investor?
Yes. Amar Varma invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Amar Varma invested in?
Amar Varma's AI investments include thri5. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Who does Amar Varma co-invest with?
Amar Varma's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Whitecap Venture Partners (1 deal), Mistral AI (1 deal), Farhan Thawar (1 deal), N49P (1 deal) and MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (1 deal).
How can founders reach Amar Varma?
Founders on Lounge can see Amar Varma's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Amar Varma to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.