Amish Desai

Amish joined Lightspeed’s growth private equity team in 2024. In that post, he partners with founders and executive teams leading growth-oriented businesses across the enterprise landscape. He focuses on building Lightspeed’s strategy in leading AI technology and services businesses.

“Joining Lightspeed presented a unique opportunity to align my career in private equity investing with a firm that has invested in AI for over a decade, and ultimately partner with businesses that will create meaningful long term value” Amish says.

Previously, Amish built and scaled the tech-focused buyout practice at Elliott Management, where he closed over $20bn in transactions across the enterprise software, services and media spaces. Before that, he worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company where he saw how operational rigor could give companies flexibility even when they’re at different stages of growth.

Amish’s upbringing played a key role in shaping his personal and professional paths. Growing up in the Detroit suburbs during the global financial crisis, Amish saw how economic hardships harmed nearby neighborhoods as auto factories eventually shut down and erased local jobs. But Amish also witnessed a revitalization in Southeast Michigan in the following years when the investment cycle built the foundation for economic change–giving him a close-up view into how capital can spur real progress. Growing up in the Midwest didn’t just seed an interest in what would ultimately drive Amish’s career decisions, but also the values he hopes to bring to work every day — hard work, grit, and treating people the way you want to be treated, with genuine kindness and mutual respect.

“Growing up with parents who immigrated to the US in the ’70s with next to nothing and established their own businesses, a daily emphasis was placed on focusing on what was in your control and putting your head down to do the hard work,” Amish says.

In his free time, Amish loves to explore San Francisco with his wife and daughter, try new cuisines and wines, and occasionally make a futile attempt to lower his golf handicap. He holds a bachelor of business administration from the University of Michigan.