Founder of Microsoft Ventures Rahul Sood joins Jaffna Stallions as co-owner.

Founder of Microsoft Ventures Rahul Sood joins Jaffna Stallions as co-owner.

Rahul Sood, a highly successful Seattle based tech entrepreneur and founder of Microsoft Ventures, has joined the ownership group of Jaffna Stallions franchise cricket team in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). Mr. Sood will play a key role to support Jaffna Stallions’ brand development and growth worldwide, Jaffna Stallions said in a statement. “We are delighted to welcome Rahul Sood, creator of Microsoft Ventures as a co-owner. He brings a wealth of experience and international business acumen with his trailblazing entrepreneurship at VoodooPC and Unikrn. He will further sharpen our branding and enhance our international presence,” said Mr. Anandan Arnold, Chief Strategy Officer of Jaffna Stallions. Mr. Sood is the co-founder of Unikrn, the global esports entertainment platform. “The popularity of cricket is huge, and everyone knows the IPL has a massive global fanbase, so I was super excited to see Sri Lanka launch the Lanka Premier League. Cricket is far and away the most popular sport in Sri Lanka, so this will be one of the biggest moves in sports in decades,” said Rahul Sood, co-Founder of Unikrn and creator of Microsoft Ventures. “I’m looking forward to becoming a co-owner in the Jaffna Stallions and help establish its place in the world of cricket.” Prior to starting his latest endeavor, Mr. Sood created the first incubation fund for startups at Microsoft, and eventually he consolidated their global startup activities and launched Microsoft Ventures. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Sood spent 18 years in multiple startups prior to joining Microsoft. He founded luxury and gaming computer manufacturer VoodooPC, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HP). He went on to serve as the CTO of HP Gaming. Sood is an early shareholder and advisor to Maingear, Razer, ZED, and Vrvana which was recently acquired by Apple. Unikrn’s mission as a global esports entertainment platform is to heighten the experience of watching and participating in esports. Unikrn is a venture backed with investment from billionaire Mark Cuban and Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher among others. Mr. Sood, a Canadian, is active in the startup community, helping and mentoring a variety of startups. In his spare time, Mr. Sood enjoys wake surfing and wake boarding, stand-up paddle boarding, cycling, racing cars and spending time with his family.