A New York investment firm is launching two venture capital funds that will target Louisiana startups, and an associate dean at Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business will head the funds.

Valmiki Capital Management LP said Peggy A. Babin be president and chief executive officer of Valmiki 504 LLC on Feb. 1. Valmiki’s goal is to bring world class investing expertise and connections to the New Orleans startup ecosystem. Babin will be in charge of putting that team together.

Valmiki Bayou Partners I & II LP will start with $5 million in funding. Valmiki will also raise additional capital from local investors.

The Valmiki funds have already made investing commitments to six local companies and expect to announce joint ventures with local academia, incubators and business organizations over the next few months.

Valmiki Capital was founded in 2008 by Ravi Suria, who received his master’s in business administration from Tulane in 1995. Suria had worked as an analyst at PaineWebber and Lehman Brothers and as a portfolio manager at Duquesne Capital and Moore Capital Management.