
Sierra Ventures
Description
Sierra Ventures is a long-established early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in San Mateo, California. Founded in 1982, the firm boasts over four decades of experience navigating and shaping the technology investment landscape. Their core focus lies in identifying and backing next-generation enterprise and emerging technologies, with a consistent commitment to innovation within the B2B software and infrastructure sectors. Sierra Ventures actively invests across critical areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, developer tools, and data solutions, targeting companies from Seed to Series B stages.
The firm is recognized for its hands-on investment approach, often partnering closely with founders to provide strategic guidance and operational support beyond just capital. Sierra Ventures emphasizes building enduring relationships and leveraging its extensive network to accelerate the growth of its portfolio companies. Their investment philosophy is deeply rooted in sector-specific expertise, enabling them to identify disruptive technologies and back strong management teams poised to redefine their respective enterprise markets. This proactive engagement is a hallmark of their strategy.
Sierra Ventures has consistently demonstrated its ability to attract capital, with its most recent fund, Sierra Ventures XIII, successfully closing at $215 million in 2023. This follows previous successful raises, including Sierra Ventures XII, which also secured $215 million in 2019, underscoring sustained investor confidence in their proven strategy. Over its extensive history, the firm has made more than 300 investments, leading to numerous successful exits for its portfolio companies, including notable names like Informatica, Teradata, and Greenplum. Their enduring presence and significant number of investments highlight their substantial impact on the technology ecosystem, particularly in fostering enterprise innovation.
Investor Profile
Sierra Ventures has backed more than 424 startups, with 8 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 142 rounds, about 33% of its total and boasts 91 exits across its portfolio.
Investment Focus Highlights
- Concentrates on Series A, Series B, Seed rounds (top funding stages).
- Majority of deals are located in United States, China, India.
- Strong thematic focus on Software, Information Technology, SaaS.
- Led 2 rounds in the past year.
- Typical check size: $2M – $10M.
Stage Focus
- Series A (27%)
- Series B (21%)
- Seed (16%)
- Series C (13%)
- Series D (7%)
- Series Unknown (7%)
- Series E (3%)
- Convertible Note (1%)
- Pre Seed (1%)
- Series F (1%)
Country Focus
- United States (86%)
- China (3%)
- India (2%)
- Canada (2%)
- Israel (2%)
- United Kingdom (1%)
- France (1%)
- Armenia (1%)
- Australia (1%)
- Mexico (1%)
Industry Focus
- Software
- Information Technology
- Saas
- Artificial Intelligence (Ai)
- Enterprise Software
- Analytics
- Machine Learning
- Mobile
- Internet
- Big Data
Frequently Asked Questions
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