Kris Canekeratne
About Kris Canekeratne
Kris Canekeratne (Krishan A. Canekeratne) is the Founder, CEO and Chairman of Kaya Intelligence, Inc. Kaya is an enterprise AI infrastructure company. It sells a Governed AI Execution Platform for business-critical processes, with built-in governance, auditability and controllable AI costs. Crunchbase lists him in New York, and he has a Computer Science degree from Syracuse University.
Before Kaya he co-founded Virtusa in 1996 and led its strategy and operations for 25 years as Chairman and CEO. Virtusa went public and was sold to Barings in 2021. Local press put the deal at $2 billion, and he left his chairman and CEO roles by June 30 of that year.
Earlier in his career he was part of the founding team at INSCI Corporation, where he was a senior vice president from 1992 to 1996. He also co-founded edocs, which provided electronic account management and customer care and was later acquired by Oracle.
Crunchbase lists 2 personal investments, 0 lead investments and 0 exits. The two are a seed round in Hukkster and a Series A in Play2Pay. Crunchbase does not show the Hukkster date or amount.
The Play2Pay round was announced in July 2021. TechCrunch reported that Telesoft Partners led it and that individual investors, including Canekeratne, took part. Tracxn also lists the Play2Pay investment, at $13M for the round.
No public record shows him angel investing in AI startups. His AI work is operating work: he founded Kaya Intelligence in 2022, per Crunchbase, and runs it. He is a founder-operator in enterprise AI rather than a documented AI seed investor.
He has not published a thesis, check size or fund size. A third-party directory, EasyVC, tags him as pre-seed and seed, but it cites no sources, and its own AI note says it found no verified recent deals. The two known deals were a seed round and a Series A. Both Play2Pay (financial technology, per Tracxn) and Hukkster are US companies. His operating background is enterprise software and digital engineering services for banking, financial services, insurance and healthcare clients.
- Play2Pay: mobile platform that turns user engagement into bill payments. He was an individual investor in its $13M Series A, announced July 2021.
- Hukkster: listed on Crunchbase as a seed-round investment. Date and amount are not public in the sources found.
- crunchbase.com/person/kris-canekeratne
- kayaintelligence.com/kris-canekeratne
- kayaintelligence.com/company
- techcrunch.com/2021/07/15/play2pay-raises-13m
- finledger.com/articles/play2pay-snags-13m-to-turn-mobile-engagement-in
- tracxn.com/d/people/kris-canekeratne/__7bEwDV-l9dING2U31qVIZkcV31pD6MY
- wbjournal.com/article/following-2b-acquisition-virtusa-founder-ceo-to-
- rtinsights.com/author/kris-canekeratne
Investing activity
Kris Canekeratne has made 2 investments according to Crunchbase across 2 portfolio companies, and has founded 2 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Kris Canekeratne
Does Kris Canekeratne invest in AI startups?
No public record shows an AI startup investment by him. He is the founder of Kaya Intelligence, an enterprise AI company. His two listed angel investments are Hukkster and Play2Pay.
What is Kris Canekeratne's check size?
It is not public. No source found gives a check size, and Crunchbase shows no lead investments.
What stage does Kris Canekeratne invest in?
His two known deals were a seed round (Hukkster) and a Series A (Play2Pay). He has not stated a stage focus publicly. A third-party directory lists pre-seed and seed without citing a source.
What companies has Kris Canekeratne founded?
He founded Kaya Intelligence and co-founded Virtusa (1996) and edocs. He was also an early team member at INSCI Corporation. Virtusa was sold to Barings in 2021.
How should founders approach Kris Canekeratne?
He has no public pitch process. His public contact points are his LinkedIn profile and the Kaya Intelligence website. His current focus is running Kaya, so a pitch should be short and specific.
Is Kris Canekeratne an angel investor?
Yes. Kris Canekeratne invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 2 investments.
Where is Kris Canekeratne based?
Kris Canekeratne is based in New York, New York, United States.
How can founders reach Kris Canekeratne?
Founders on Lounge can see Kris Canekeratne'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 Kris Canekeratne to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.