Sheila Gulati
About Sheila Gulati
Sheila Gulati founded Tola Capital in 2010 and is its managing director. She is based in the Seattle area and studied at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. She grew up alongside her family's software company in New York, according to a conference bio.
Before Tola, she spent about a decade at Microsoft. Her roles included Director of India Developer Platform and Evangelism, General Manager of US Developer and Platform Evangelism, and General Manager of Application Platform and Developer Marketing. She also worked in corporate development and strategy, and in an interview she described launching Azure and leading enterprise IT strategy. She began her career as an investment banker at Robertson Stephens.
Public databases list Gulati as an angel investor with a small number of personal deals. Crunchbase lists 5 personal investments and PitchBook lists 4. Tracxn records an angel round in Armoire in June 2019. Her most recent listed personal deal is the BottleCap AI seed in January 2026. These databases are incomplete, so treat the counts as a floor.
BottleCap AI raised a $7.5M seed round in January 2026, led by 20VC. Gulati took part as an angel. The company is based in Prague and builds efficient large language models. Its founders are Jaroslav Beck, Tomas Mikolov and David Herel.
Through Tola Capital, she invests in AI and enterprise software. GeekWire has also published an interview on how she assesses AI startups.
Tola Capital describes itself as investing globally in early-stage enterprise software and AI companies. Gulati's profile on NFX Signal ranks her in seed-stage SaaS and enterprise. Tola says it backs founders with enterprise technology experience. Her personal check size is not public, so it is left out here.
- BottleCap AI: efficient foundation models and an in-house app studio; seed round, January 2026, as an angel.
- Pulumi: infrastructure-as-code company; Gulati is listed as a board member and appeared at its $15M Series A announcement.
- Nooks: Tola Capital led its seed round, per Crunchbase.
- Klarity, Tana, Snapsheet, Sitecore: PitchBook lists her as a board member at each.
- Aurigo and DBtune: PitchBook lists her as a board member and advisor at Aurigo, and as an advisor at DBtune.
- Armoire: angel round in June 2019, per Tracxn.
- crunchbase.com/person/sheila-gulati
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/234053-02
- signal.nfx.com/investors/sheila-gulati
- tracxn.com/d/people/sheila-gulati/__4fbof3jpJGEXotQZfs0jK-VowGnJxmb0bD
- pulse2.com/tola-capital-sheila-gulati-profile
- montgomerysummit.com/speakers/sheila-gulati
- geekwire.com/2022/the-women-writing-checks-a-list-of-female-venture-ca
- geekwire.com/tag/sheila-gulati
Investing activity
Sheila Gulati appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $8M. The most recent is BottleCap AI (Seed, $7.5M, Jan 2026).
Sheila Gulati most often invests alongside The Twenty Minute VC, Mika Vormoo, Thomas Wolf and Illusian Founder Office, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Sheila Gulati
Does Sheila Gulati invest in AI startups?
Yes. Tola Capital invests in AI and enterprise software, and Gulati took part in BottleCap AI's $7.5M seed round in January 2026.
What is Sheila Gulati's angel check size?
It is not public. Neither her profiles nor the interviews we found state a personal check size.
What stage does Sheila Gulati invest in?
NFX Signal lists her under seed-stage SaaS and enterprise. Tola describes its focus as early-stage enterprise software and AI.
What is Sheila Gulati's background?
She founded Tola Capital in 2010 after about a decade at Microsoft, including as General Manager of Application Platform and Developer Marketing. Earlier she was an investment banker at Robertson Stephens.
Which companies has Sheila Gulati backed?
Public records show BottleCap AI, Armoire and Nooks (through Tola). She is also listed on the boards of Pulumi, Klarity, Tana, Snapsheet and Sitecore.
Where is Sheila Gulati based?
Tola Capital is in Seattle, and Crunchbase lists her location as Redmond, Washington, in the Greater Seattle area.
Is Sheila Gulati an angel investor?
Yes. Sheila Gulati invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Sheila Gulati invested in?
Sheila Gulati's AI investments include BottleCap AI. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Sheila Gulati invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Sheila Gulati has invested at Seed, with a median round of $8M.
Who does Sheila Gulati co-invest with?
Sheila Gulati's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are The Twenty Minute VC (1 deal), Mika Vormoo (1 deal), Thomas Wolf (1 deal), Illusian Founder Office (1 deal) and 20VC (1 deal).