| Sierra Ventures | |
| Type: | Private |
| Key People: | Mark Fernandes, Managing Director Tim Guleri, Managing Director Ben Yu, Managing Director Peter Wendell, Founder |
| Industry: | Venture Capital |
| Location City: | San Mateo, California |
| Location Country: | United States |
Sierra Ventures is an American venture capital firm based in San Mateo, California. It targets startups in sectors including enterprise tech, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and healthcare.[1] 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]
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.[3]
The firm was founded by Peter Wendell in 1982 in Menlo Park, California.[4] [5] Early investments included Healtheon, Intuit, Micromuse, and StrataCom.[4]
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]
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.[11] The board also counsels portfolio companies on how to scale and adapt as necessary.[12]
Sierra Ventures is one of the leading American financial investment funds that has set foot in the Vietnamese stock market since 1998. With this strategic decision, the fund established a branch in Ho Chi Minh City, in order to take advantage of development potential of Vietnam's financial market. Sierra Ventures' presence not only brings important capital but also helps improve management and business development capacity in the region, promote innovation and create many opportunities for start-up businesses., industry
in the country.[13]
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.[14] [15]
Some notable past investments include: