Nilam Ganenthiran and Divya Gupta are transforming Main Street businesses with AI-powered software. They founded Beacon with a thesis that seems obvious in hindsight but required conviction to execute: the best way to digitize and transform the real economy is to acquire the thousands of mission-critical software companies that power everyday American infrastructure, then arm them with world-class talent, processes, and technology to help them better serve their Main Street customers. We think Beacon is at the forefront of a broader shift that’s bringing modern software and applied AI to the infrastructure of everyday life.

Nilam and Divya bring a compelling combination of technology and business acumen. Nilam joined Instacart as employee #12, scaled it as President, then became a Partner at D1 Capital Partners—an operator turned investor, with both the muscle to build category-defining companies and the capital markets fluency to finance them. Divya was a Partner at Sequoia Capital and previously held engineering roles at Databricks, Airbnb, and Palantir, blending technical depth with an instinct for what actually moves the business. Together, they have built an exceptional team across M&A, engineering, and operations that is poised to scale high-frequency acquisitions and deploy AI where it truly matters. In less than two years, their platform has already supported dozens of acquisitions.

That's why we led Beacon's Series A and are now doubling down by co-leading Beacon's $250M Series B. Our Creation strategy is designed to address the gap that Nilam and Divya are working to solve. Over the past three years, GC pioneered the AI-enabled roll-up playbook, partnering with founders like Nilam and Divya to transform entire service industries. 

A New Paradigm for Software Roll-Ups: Build, Buy, and Grow

Across North America, thousands of niche software companies quietly run workflows for schools, sports leagues, campgrounds, construction firms, government services, and local small businesses. These software entrepreneurs have spent decades earning the trust of their customers and understanding their needs better than anyone, but often lack the capital, AI expertise, and toolkits to modernize, even as AI rewrites the rules of what software can do.

Traditional acquirers rely on financial engineering to chase short-term results. Beacon’s thesis is different, taking a long-term approach that preserves a business’s legacy while expanding the scale of its ambition. They acquire the platforms customers already depend on, then embed leading AI, engineering, GTM, and ops talent to accelerate durable growth and deliver more value to customers without compromising the business’s independence or identity.

"Beacon exists to transform the industries that quietly power our everyday lives. After nearly a decade helping grocers modernize at Instacart, I realized Main Street businesses everywhere need to be equipped for the technology revolution ahead. By pairing the deep expertise of the entrepreneurs we back with Beacon's AI and technology capabilities, we are helping industries modernize while protecting the legacy of the teams who built them." — Nilam Ganenthiran, Founder & CEO

The early results are striking. Across its family of businesses, Beacon has leveraged its AI expertise to re-write entire backend systems, launch new product lines, execute complex cloud migrations, automate tedious back-office functions, and improve lead generation. To date, they have expanded acquired companies’ Rule of 40 metric by an average of 1,000 basis points after just one year of acquisition—not through cost-cutting, but by building with their applied AI and operational playbook. 

We're proud to deepen our partnership with Nilam, Divya, and the Beacon team as they scale this playbook across Main Street.