We see more
of the world - faster.

Meet Lotus, the fund building the future.

Our two pillars

Hedge Fund

As public market investors, we invest in mature companies benefitting from the trends transforming our world.
We’ve posted top-decile returns using our proprietary data-driven approach.

Prior to Lotus, we built Sentieo, an Al-driven financial research platform that is used by some of the world's top investment funds.

VC Investing

We believe that entrepreneurs and their world-changing ideas drive forward human progress.
As venture investors, we write $500k to $1mm checks for startups across sectors and geographies.

We invest in startups between pre-seed and Series A across both software and consumer companies, with a focus on productivity, societal health, and well-being.

A VEHICLE FOR DIFFERENTIATED PERFORMANCE

Lotus leverages its proprietary alternative data (alt-data) signals engine and bottom-up fundamental approach with the objective of significantly outperforming the market and delivering above-average absolute returns.

DISTINCT LEADERSHIP AND VISION

Alap Shah is an experienced technologist and investor who has pioneered the curation and application of alternative datasets to produce rapid, differentiated insights. Lotus is the result of the evolution and enhancement of Mr. Shah’s 15+ years of developing alt-data strategy.

ALT-DATA EDGE

The Fund’s proprietary solution, Oracle, transforms alt-data into deep, idiosyncratic early insight – long before conventional research or quarterly results typically reflect emerging trends. This allows us to granularly model key company metrics in (near) real-time, including gross profit.

THE VALUE OF A PUBLIC / PRIVATE LENS

The Fund’s expertise across equity markets and startups provides an early window on new trends and benefits from the ability of its alt-data analytics to provide insight into public and private entities alike.

PROPRIETARY PROCESS BUILT FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS

The Firm’s systematic process and proprietary alt-data solution drive a contrarian approach designed to identify opportunity regardless of market conditions.

QUANT + FUNDAMENTAL = QUANTAMENTAL

Lotus’s “quantamental” approach combines the data-driven insight of a quant process with the discretionary advantage of a fundamental approach, all backed by a single platform.

Meet the team

  • Alap Shah

    Principal

    Alap Shah is an investor and entrepreneur who relishes combining the two roles. He was previously the CEO and Chairman of Sentieo, a financial data platform he co-founded for hedge funds, mutual funds, investment banks, corporates and active individual investors. Sentieo had successfully secured over $70 million in funding with a successful exit to AlphaSense in 2022.

    With fifteen years of professional investment experience, Alap's expertise spans large global equity portfolios at two of the world’s largest and most successful hedge funds (Viking Global and Citadel) to LBO and growth equity investments (Castanea Partners) to early-stage investments (White Ops, Wiser, Earnest Research, Powerlytics). He is also a co-founder and investor in Thistle, a health foods subscription service. Alap graduated from Harvard with an AB in Economics with honors.

  • Naman Shah

    CTO and Partner

    Naman Shah is an entrepreneur and engineer with a deep-rooted expertise in product management. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

    Naman co-founded Sentieo, an award winning financial research platform, where he spent more than a decade as the President leading the Product, Engineering and Design teams (200+ individuals). Prior to Sentieo, Naman co-founded Sarvajal, a social enterprise in India devoted to delivering clean drinking water to the bottom of the pyramid. Naman is also a Co-founder & Investor in Thistle, a healthy food delivery subscription service. At Lotus, Naman leads the engineering team and brings his professional expertise to the evaluation of potential private investments.

  • Johnny Hwin

    Private Investment Lead

    Johnny Hwin is an entrepreneur and technologist with a proven track record in building high-growth companies. He is a co-founder of Thistle, a tech-driven food company, and holds both a B.A. in Social Psychology and an M.S. in Technology Entrepreneurship from Stanford University, where he launched his first company out of the well-known Stanford Facebook App Class.

    Leveraging his expertise in building scalable ventures, he has served as a key advisor and consultant to a number of leading technology companies, including Asana, DreamWorks, Lever, and Patreon.

  • Simon Chang

    Head of Research and Analytics

    Simon leads a high-performing team across software engineering and investment analysis. He drives the development of proprietary tools for analyzing alternative data and maximizing financial returns. As one of the first beta users of Sentieo, Simon brings deep expertise in data-driven insights and research methodologies. Before moving into research and technology, he was a middle school teacher, a background that helps him effectively lead his team.  Simon graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in Economics.

  • Siddhant Chadha

    Lead Engineer

    Siddhant is a technologist and investor who bridges advanced data engineering with strategic investment insights. Formerly at Goldman Sachs, he led the development of pioneering platforms—including a data onboarding solution, a machine learning–driven Data Quality Management system, and modernized microservices architecture—to streamline data integration and quality assurance. Recognized as an Open Source All Star by Goldman Sachs and a guest speaker at Trino Summit 2023, Siddhant is passionate about mentoring the next generation of data engineers through initiatives like Data Engineering Things and his contributions to the Trino Software Foundation. He now spearheads the creation of innovative, data-driven investment strategies at Lotus. Siddhant holds a B.Tech in Computer Science from Delhi College of Engineering.

  • Ankit Patel

    Lead Engineer

    Ankit Patel is an accomplished engineer who leverages his deep technical expertise and strategic insight to drive robust, innovative solutions. Prior to joining Lotus, he had an extensive career at Goldman Sachs, leading dynamic technical teams and contributing across various domains, including data engineering, data distribution, and client onboarding. A B.Tech graduate in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Roorkee, Ankit combines technical prowess with a passion for continuous improvement. Outside of work, Ankit is an avid outdoor enthusiast who delights in trekking, running, and engaging in a wide range of adventure sports.

  • Prashant Kumar Pankaj

    Engineer

    Prashant is a Software Engineer with a strong foundation in computer science. Prior to Lotus, he worked at Walmart Global Tech, where he contributed to developing scalable microservices, optimizing data processing systems, and enhancing overall application performance. His work included implementing key features such as data compression to boost throughput and ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory standards.
    At Lotus, Prashant is contributing to enhancing technological capabilities, building on his prior experience. He graduated from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, with a B.Tech in Computer Science.

  • Utsav Patel

    Quantitative Analyst

    Utsav is a quantitative analyst who focuses on bringing insights through data and connecting the engineering and analyst components of the fund. Before Lotus, he graduated with a PhD in particle physics from Duke University, where he studied Higgs Bosons. He has also co-authored papers in nuclear physics and cosmology. With over 8 years of research experience, Utsav brings his mathematical and statistical expertise to the financial research sector to accentuate fundamental analysis. Outside of his work, Utsav is an avid sports fan who loves watching every manner of sport, running, and playing basketball.

  • Jacob Brown

    Chief of Staff

    Jacob Brown is an engineer who has advised AI startups and built fintech products. He was previously a quantitative strategist at Deutsche Bank, where he developed behavioral models that predict the impact of political and economic events on global financial markets. As a graduate of Princeton University, Jacob developed a patent-pending system to discover cyber vulnerabilities and protect large-scale IoT systems. Jacob’s other interests include backcountry hiking and thinking about the sociopolitical impact of AI systems. His insights have been published in several news outlets including the Wall Street Journal.

  • Matt Ciurleo

    Analyst

    Matt Ciurleo is an analyst who has spent two years with Lotus. As both a hobby & business, he ran a high end boutique yo-yo company with customers in all 50 states and 20+ countries. Matt graduated from Harvard with an BA in Economics with honors.

Contact Us

Senior Investment Analyst

Join the team

Explore open roles—Senior Investment Analyst and beyond—and help Lotus lead the charge in data-driven investing.”

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