Sierra Ventures’ CXO Advisory Board, which is composed of more than seventy-five Fortune 1000 CIOs, CTOs, CMOs, and CISOs, has advised portfolio companies since 2006.[2][3]
The firm is run by managing directors Mark Fernandes, Tim Guleri, and Ben Yu and is based in San Mateo, California.[6]
In 2024, the firm added a 4th managing partner, Shashank Saxena. Saxena founded vendor management startup VNDLY and sold it to
Workday for $510 million.[7]
Investments
As of 2024, Sierra Ventures had invested over $2 billion.[1][8] The firm focuses on Seed and Series A-stage companies with a typical investment between $1 and $3.5 million for seed and $4 and $8 million for a Series A.[9][10]
Sierra Ventures’ CXO Advisory Board, a group of Global 1000 Chief Information, Technology, Data, Security, and other technology focused Officers and IT executives, advises on the firm's strategic investment decisions.[2] The board also counsels portfolio companies on how to scale and adapt as necessary.[11][12]
Sierra Ventures is currently investing out of its thirteenth fund, which is focused on early-stage software startups and closed in 2023 with $265 million. The firm's previous two funds closed at $215 million and $170 million.[1][13][14]
Some notable past investments include:
Adometry – online advertising attribution company, acquired by
Google in 2014.[15]
Applitools - AI-based visual test automation software company, acquired in 2023 by Thoma Bravo for $250 million.[16]
AuthenTec – mobile security company, acquired in 2012 by
Apple for $365 million.[17]
Bina Technologies – big data science platform for researchers and clinicians, acquired in 2014 by Roche.[18]
Deep Lens - a patient recruitment platform for oncology-focused clinical trials, acquired by Paradigm in 2023 for an undisclosed sum.[19]
Frontbridge – electronic messaging and security services provider, acquired in 2005 by
Microsoft.[20]
Greenplum – database analytics and software developer, acquired in 2010 by
Dell EMC.[21]
Intuit – business and financial software company, went public in 1993; now valued at over $55 billion.[23]
Intuitive Surgical – surgical robotic developer, went public in 2000;[24] as of July 2019, the company has a market capitalization of over $60 billion.[25]
InvenSense – MotionTracking sensor chip provider, acquired by TDK in 2016 for $1.3 billion.[26]
Lemonaid Health - virtual care and pharmacy provider, acquired by 23andMe in 2021 for $400 million.[27]
MakeMyTrip – India-based online travel company, went public in 2010.[28]
Micromuse – provider of network management software, acquired by
IBM in 2005 for $865 million.[29]
Nexgate – cloud-based social web security, acquired in 2014 by
Proofpoint for $35 million.[6]
NextInput – provider of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensing solutions for human-machine interface (HMI), acquired in 2021 by Qorvo.[30]
OnLink – provider of eCommerce sales and marketing applications, acquired by
Siebel Systems in 2000 for approximately $607.5 million.[31]
Ooyala – developer of video content workflow management systems, acquired in 2012 by
Telstra for $43 million.[32]
Quillbot - AI writing platform, acquired by Course Hero in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.[33]
Quinta – developer of next-generation data-storage technology, acquired by
Seagate Technology in 1997 for $325 million.[34]
Redlock – cloud security software developer, acquired in 2018 by
Palo Alto Networks for $173 million.[35]
Shape Security – fraud prevention platform, acquired by F5 in 2019 for $1 billion.[36]
Sourcefire – network security hardware and software developer, acquired in 2013 by
Cisco.[37]
StrataCom – supplier of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Frame Relay high-speed wide area network (WAN) switching equipment, acquired in 1996 by Cisco for approximately $4 billion.[38]
Tempo – AI-enhanced calendar application, acquired in 2015 by
Salesforce.[39]
Theravance Biopharma – biopharmaceutical company, went public in 2014.[citation needed]
Treasure Data – cloud-based data collection, storage and analysis services, acquired in 2018 by ARM for $600 million.[40]
Teradata – provider of database and analytics-related software and services, acquired by NCR Corporation in 1991 for $250 million; subsequently spun out by NCR in 2007 and now trades on the NYSE (symbol TDC) with a $3B market cap.[41][42]
Terayon – developer of cable modem systems for broadband access, went public in 1998.[43]
Sierra Ventures’ CXO Advisory Board, which is composed of more than seventy-five Fortune 1000 CIOs, CTOs, CMOs, and CISOs, has advised portfolio companies since 2006.[2][3]
The firm is run by managing directors Mark Fernandes, Tim Guleri, and Ben Yu and is based in San Mateo, California.[6]
In 2024, the firm added a 4th managing partner, Shashank Saxena. Saxena founded vendor management startup VNDLY and sold it to
Workday for $510 million.[7]
Investments
As of 2024, Sierra Ventures had invested over $2 billion.[1][8] The firm focuses on Seed and Series A-stage companies with a typical investment between $1 and $3.5 million for seed and $4 and $8 million for a Series A.[9][10]
Sierra Ventures’ CXO Advisory Board, a group of Global 1000 Chief Information, Technology, Data, Security, and other technology focused Officers and IT executives, advises on the firm's strategic investment decisions.[2] The board also counsels portfolio companies on how to scale and adapt as necessary.[11][12]
Sierra Ventures is currently investing out of its thirteenth fund, which is focused on early-stage software startups and closed in 2023 with $265 million. The firm's previous two funds closed at $215 million and $170 million.[1][13][14]
Some notable past investments include:
Adometry – online advertising attribution company, acquired by
Google in 2014.[15]
Applitools - AI-based visual test automation software company, acquired in 2023 by Thoma Bravo for $250 million.[16]
AuthenTec – mobile security company, acquired in 2012 by
Apple for $365 million.[17]
Bina Technologies – big data science platform for researchers and clinicians, acquired in 2014 by Roche.[18]
Deep Lens - a patient recruitment platform for oncology-focused clinical trials, acquired by Paradigm in 2023 for an undisclosed sum.[19]
Frontbridge – electronic messaging and security services provider, acquired in 2005 by
Microsoft.[20]
Greenplum – database analytics and software developer, acquired in 2010 by
Dell EMC.[21]
Intuit – business and financial software company, went public in 1993; now valued at over $55 billion.[23]
Intuitive Surgical – surgical robotic developer, went public in 2000;[24] as of July 2019, the company has a market capitalization of over $60 billion.[25]
InvenSense – MotionTracking sensor chip provider, acquired by TDK in 2016 for $1.3 billion.[26]
Lemonaid Health - virtual care and pharmacy provider, acquired by 23andMe in 2021 for $400 million.[27]
MakeMyTrip – India-based online travel company, went public in 2010.[28]
Micromuse – provider of network management software, acquired by
IBM in 2005 for $865 million.[29]
Nexgate – cloud-based social web security, acquired in 2014 by
Proofpoint for $35 million.[6]
NextInput – provider of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensing solutions for human-machine interface (HMI), acquired in 2021 by Qorvo.[30]
OnLink – provider of eCommerce sales and marketing applications, acquired by
Siebel Systems in 2000 for approximately $607.5 million.[31]
Ooyala – developer of video content workflow management systems, acquired in 2012 by
Telstra for $43 million.[32]
Quillbot - AI writing platform, acquired by Course Hero in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.[33]
Quinta – developer of next-generation data-storage technology, acquired by
Seagate Technology in 1997 for $325 million.[34]
Redlock – cloud security software developer, acquired in 2018 by
Palo Alto Networks for $173 million.[35]
Shape Security – fraud prevention platform, acquired by F5 in 2019 for $1 billion.[36]
Sourcefire – network security hardware and software developer, acquired in 2013 by
Cisco.[37]
StrataCom – supplier of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Frame Relay high-speed wide area network (WAN) switching equipment, acquired in 1996 by Cisco for approximately $4 billion.[38]
Tempo – AI-enhanced calendar application, acquired in 2015 by
Salesforce.[39]
Theravance Biopharma – biopharmaceutical company, went public in 2014.[citation needed]
Treasure Data – cloud-based data collection, storage and analysis services, acquired in 2018 by ARM for $600 million.[40]
Teradata – provider of database and analytics-related software and services, acquired by NCR Corporation in 1991 for $250 million; subsequently spun out by NCR in 2007 and now trades on the NYSE (symbol TDC) with a $3B market cap.[41][42]
Terayon – developer of cable modem systems for broadband access, went public in 1998.[43]