Rajiv Menon Joins Decibel as Managing Director for APJ

We are excited to announce that Rajiv Menon has joined Decibel and will be leading our efforts in the Asia Pacific Region. He most recently served as Managing Director of Cisco Investments where he led Asia Pacific, China and Japan teams and served as global lead for investments and acquisitions. Rajiv has been a partner to Decibel and our companies since our founding in 2019 and was instrumental in helping us establish our presence in Singapore over the past three years. In his new role he will be helping our portfolio companies accelerate their growth in Asia through early adopters, channel partners, and government agencies.  He will be joining us next week at our first Frontier AI Summit hosted in partnership with Temasek as a part of Singapore International Cyber Week. Please also read more about Rajiv and our plans in Asia in our Q&A:

How did the partnership between Decibel and Cisco start?

Cisco was the founding investor in Decibel and I have been a part of the Cisco team that has interfaced with Decibel since 2019. Through that time, I have seen the firm grow its portfolio and presence and build strategic partnerships with major multinationals including Cisco. I helped grow the Decibel presence in Singapore including the firm’s first Sovreign AI Summit in 2024 which was one of the first conferences of its type in the region. I have admired the firm’s ability to spot technology trends early and to help larger organizations peer around the corner and prepare themselves for what is to come.

What have you learned about startups that expand in APAC? Any advice?

At Cisco I have had the opportunity to invest in startups and larger growth companies  at almost every stage. There is no such thing as “too early” to explore expansion in this region as there is great market potential for those that have a commitment to investing early. Having said that, I do think many startups make one of two mistakes: (i) they tend to stay too long in “missionary mode” and fly-in / fly-out for years without hiring a regional leader and (ii) they expect overnight success when in reality trust and commercial momentum takes more time in Asia which tends to be more risk averse. I also think everyone forgets that each city and country has its own unique challenges and opportunities that require depth and expertise.

Where are the opportunities for startups in AI Engineering and Cybersecurity in APAC?

The entire world has embraced AI but the APAC region stands out for how deliberately governments are approaching it. Every nation has a sovereign AI strategy that ties AI investments directly to jobs, industry competitiveness, and economic growth. Singapore is a great example - the country adopted its first National AI Strategy in 2019, and updated it substantially in 2023 and again in 2026 to ensure the country was capitalizing on every major technology shift. In my last role at Cisco, I was responsible for deploying Cisco’s $1 billion AI fund throughout APAC and it is clear that every country views AI as a critical long term investment. At the same time, geopolitical tension has led to the rise of cyberwarfare and AI security is front and center in this part of the world. There has never been a better time for founders building in AI and cyber to come to the region.

You are a competitive polo player - what skills in that domain have translated to the startup world?

Polo is one of the most challenging sports both physically and mentally. Polo horses weigh over 1,000 pounds and you need to be able to steer them through a hockey game at greater than 35 miles per hour. You need to be strong enough to give clear direction but at the same time you need to let it ride and play to its strengths. Over thousands of hours of practice and constant "give and take", you learn the horse's strengths, it learns yours, and eventually the two of you move as one, executing at high-speed with precision. I have found this is a great metaphor for building strong teams and a culture of continuous improvement. We are never fully in control of an outcome alone and need to learn to be in sync with others in order to win on the field.

How can startups get help from Decibel in Asia going forward?  

I have been a founder of an early stage company and have helped founders do business in this region for several decades. Asia requires a unique playbook - different languages, regulations, cultures, and buying patterns mean the approach has to be tailored to each market, not applied as one blanket strategy. I'm happy to be in the trenches and to help founders make things happen. I'll also be there for them when things don't go to plan. When I was a founder, I would have loved to have someone like that on my team and am excited to play that role now at Decibel!

‍