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The Manifesto
We invest in people before ideas.
We know the types of people we are looking for. We invest in experts — authentic founders who are the best at what they do. Having a big idea matters, but being the person who can make it a reality matters even more.
The journey is just as important as the destination.
Yes, the destination is critical: we are in the business of helping build world-changing companies that create tremendous value. That said, we recognize that it will not always be smooth sailing. We want to be there for every part of the ride. We strive to be the investor you want to call, not the one you have to.
We invest as a team.
We are an equal partnership – figuratively and economically. For the past twenty years we have built our partnership with equal title, equal pay, equal carry, and equal votes in every investment. We are not political and we have tremendous trust in one another. We choose to spend time with each other and our families outside of work. While one of us may sit on your board, each one of us is a resource at your disposal.
Integrity matters.
Open, honest and direct communication is important. We believe in respect first and foremost. You’ll never see us pull out our phones in meetings. No kidding — at CRV, there’s a fine for doing that — something we’ve never had to collect.
We act fast and with deep conviction.
We are an investor team that works together every day. We make decisions quickly, often going from first meeting to a funding decision in a week. We hold ourselves to a high bar of being available.
We know entrepreneurs work around the clock and we’re there whenever they need us.
Work hard.
Big ideas change the world. Building a business on top of a big idea takes hard work and sacrifice. Our founders work hard and we work to give them an unfair advantage by being a multiplier on their efforts.
But, also play hard.
We are kite boarders, rally car racers, skydivers, bungee jumpers, fly fishers, downhill skiers, competitive sandwich eaters. We believe that extreme sports are like starting companies – you have to be all-in and you have to be focused. This is in our DNA.
We invest early as a lead investor.
Series A investing is our focus, with an occasional Seed or Series B investment. Our investments are focused and high touch. The relationships we build with founders last years, not months, often through pivots and growing pains. We are true partners who are patient and steadfast when things skew from plan.
This is not our first rodeo.
Or our second, or our third. CRV is one of the most experienced venture capital firms in the world. Our team is made up of entrepreneurs and operators who have worked at companies big and small. We have been investing for more than 40 years in everything from cell towers to mobile apps that touch the lives of millions everyday. Currently, we are actively investing out of our 15th Fund, raised in 2012.
Featured Entrepreneurs
Partnered 2009
“CRV invested in us when we were three guys working out of a loft in Copenhagen. Since then, CRV's conviction in us has never wavered. We feel lucky to have found such a dedicated partner who was there to help us during every stage of our company's growth.”
Mikkel Svane
Founder & CEO
Partnered 2007
“George was always incredibly supportive of me, through good times and bad. He believes in building relationships, not just companies.”
Evan Williams
Co-Founder
Partnered 2008
“George was truly supportive with capital and guidance from the very beginning of Yammer. When we needed to pivot and others lost faith, he doubled down. He believed in me and the company always. Without CRV's support in the midst of a global financial crisis, Yammer probably would never have gotten off the ground.”
David O. Sacks
Founder & CEO
Entrepreneurs
Izhar Armony
24M is pioneering a new business model in the energy storage business that combines the best of U.S. innovation and marketing with the manufacturing strength and reach of global industrial powerhouses.
24M’s strategy takes advantage of the widespread acceptance and appreciation of battery energy storage performance by multiple markets that has occurred during the last ten years, while overcoming the main obstacle of high cost.
CRV invested in 24M's Series A in 2010.
“I’ve worked with CRV for almost twenty years and I can truly say they are a partner in the best sense of the word. They’re with you in good times AND they provide incredibly thoughtful feedback and guidance, whether you’re considering an executive hire or a tough bus they put the full power of their people network at your disposal. Most of all, and for the entire time I’ve worked with them, they put the interests of the company and the entrepreneurs first. They’re the ideal VC.”
& Throop Wilder, President & CEO
Abacus Direct Corporation
Devdutt Yellurkar
Accompani is currently still in stealth. Its mission is to bring to life a whole new way to manage your relationships.
CRV partnered with Accompani in June 2013.
“CRV's track record speaks for itself - 70 IPOs, 90 M&As, more companies than anyone in the Unicorn club (mkt cap $1Bn+), and Devdutt I just think is fantastic, period.
Having been a CEO himself, he's supportive, incisive and well connected, with deep respect for the entrepreneur.”
& Amy Chang, CEO & Founder
Acopia Networks
Acquired by F5 2008
Active Network
Jon Auerbach
Affirmed Networks is transforming and advancing intelligence in mobile data networks. The company’s solution bundles gateway functionality with rich application and content delivery services into an industry-leading, virtualized solution.
CRV invested in Affirmed's Series A in June 2010.
Acquired by EMC 2013
Acquired by Nokia 2007
BigBand Networks
Acquired by Cisco Systems 2011
George Zachary
bop.fm creates a home for every song on the internet.
It aggregates popular music sources (Spotify, Rdio, YouTube, SoundCloud, and more) into one music service.
That means that anyone can play any song, using any service, and share with any friend, even using different music services.
CRV led bop.fm's Series A in September 2013.
Acquired by Motorola, Inc. 2006
Acquired by 3M 2006
C-Port Corporation
Acquired by Motorola, Inc. 2000
Izhar Armony
Capriza provides enterprise mobility solutions. The platform enables the creation, deployment and management of lightweight apps (called Zapps) that extend existing web-based enterprise applications to mobile. Leveraging existing business applications, infrastructure, and security policies, Capriza has a zero-API, virtualization-based approach that eliminates many of the barriers of traditional mobile apps and enables rapid creation of secure apps that mobilize a workforce. CRV partnered with Capriza in August 2011.
“During the funding process, we were very fortunate to entertain multiple offers to invest in Capriza from the very best, top tier VCs. It was becoming very evident early in the process that Izhar and the CRV team had a similar business philosophy to ours: disrupt huge markets with no fear and partner to build a legendary company. It's been 2+ years of very fruitful partnership, where we see Izhar and the CRV team as an extension of our executive team, all helping shape a dream into a reality.”
& Yuval Scarlat, CEO & Co-Founder
Chipcom Corporation
CIENA Corporation
Classpass is a platform for fitness. With ClassPass, customers get access to the best boutique fitness classes nationwide with one monthly subscription. There are tens of thousands of classes available to ClassPass members, including cycling, Pilates, yoga, boot camp, strength training, dance, and more.
CRV invested in ClassPass’ Series A in September 2014.
CloudGenix
CloudGenix is a new breed of networking company that is redefining and simplifying how companies connect people anywhere in the enterprise with applications across public, private and hybrid clouds. CloudGenix virtualizes enterprise networks and securely brings together users and high performance cloud and data center applications, while radically reducing remote office infrastructure requirements.
CRV invested in CloudGenix's Series A in April 2014.
Compete Inc.
Acquired by Taylor Nelson Sofres PLC 2008
Concord Communications
Conduit Labs
Acquired by Zynga 2010
Continental Cablevision
George Zachary
Cotap's mission is to help people work together better by simplifying mobile communication in the workplace. The Cotap text messaging app for coworkers allows 1-to-1 or group messaging within an email domain. CRV led Cotap's Series A in May 2013.
George Zachary
Crushpath is a content creation and distribution platform for sales and marketing teams. Crushpath is the leading small business platform for building an audience and getting interest, fast. It changes the marketing software game by delivering anyone a visual way to show their work, share it with the world and collect the attention they deserve.
CRV invested in Crushpath's initial venture round in August 2011.
“CRV trusts founders. They have the integrity and experience to understand the journey and to know when and how to help. CRV is truly on your team.”
& Sam Lawrence, Founder & CEO
Cybereason
Izhar Armony
Cybereason's platform provides tools to detect, vizualize and destroy cyber attacks in real time. The Cybereason automated platform collects subtle clues by learning to discern anomalies and distinguish between the benign and pernicious. This data is then analyzed using big data algorithms and proprietary knowledge enriched with external intelligence. CRV led Cybereason's Series A in May 2013.
DoorDash is an on-demand delivery service, currently focused on serving restaurants that do not have their own delivery staff. Over time, any merchant will be able to use the DoorDash platform of logistics software and drivers to deliver their goods within their local communities. CRV partnered with DoorDash during their Seed round in September 2013.
“We chose CRV because we shared in common a passion and vision to build a logistics network serving small business owners. Partly because he is a small business owner himself, Saar immediately understood what we wanted to create and showed both his industry smarts and pure hustle, two qualities that we found in particular to be an authentically good fit with DoorDash.”
& Evan Moore, Andy Fang, Stanley Tang & Tony Xu - Co-Founders
Izhar Armony
Driftt's mission is to help people work better together. Anywhere, anytime, on any device. Driftt is built to fit the way people work, live, and collaborate today. Be productive. Be happy. Your time is your own. Driftt together. Not apart.
CRV led Drifft’s Series A in September 2014.
Dropbox is a file sharing service for consumers and enterprises that allows people to securely share and collaborate.
Dropbox simplifies the work and personal lives of millions of people by letting them bring their documents, photos and videos anywhere and share them safely and easily.
Dropbox acquired CRV portfolio company Orchestra, developer of the mobile app Mailbox, in 2013.
CRV led Orchestra's Series A in October 2011.
Acquired by Siebel Systems 2005
EqualLogic
Acquired by Dell 2008
EqualLogic
Chris Baldwin
EqualLogic was a data storage solutions provider.
The company developed and shipped a hardware and software system that provided a new method for delivering scalable storage on a gigabit ethernet infrastructure.
CRV led EqualLogic’s Series A in July 2001.
Dell acquired EqualLogic in January 2008 for $1.4 billion in cash.
Jon Auerbach
Fiksu is a leading provider of mobile app marketing products that help app and game marketers reach their user acquisition goals. Its patent-pending Programmatic Mobile Demand Platform applies intelligent technology to proprietary big data to master all the challenges of mobile advertising - including tracking, optimization, media buying and integration. This cohesive approach spans the entire mobile ecosystem and ultimately delivers the best marketing performance. CRV partnered with Fiksu in November 2010.
“Fiksu's phenomenal growth and success has been possible due to the support and guidance of Jon Auerbach and the entire CRV Team.”
& Micah Adler, President, CEO & Founder
Flarion Technologies
Acquired by Qualcomm 2006
Flatiron School
Jon Auerbach
The Flatiron School trains highly motivated individuals in web application development.
No prior coding experience is required – only a strong desire to create.
Flatiron offers intensive, full time programs in a unique learning environment that includes a relentless focus on teamwork.
CRV invested in Flatiron School's Series A in February 2014.
“Working with CRV truly means working with CRV- not any individual partner. The collective partnership has a background in everything from infrastructure to social media, and I get to leverage every person’s entire network and expertise.”
& Adam Enbar, President
Acquired by CMGI 2000
Glyde is an online marketplace that makes it truly easy to buy and sell smartphones, tablets, MacBooks, iPods, and video games.
provided Seed funding to Glyde in October 2006.
“CRV has been a wonderful partner on Glyde’s journey.
They have helped us to both think strategically and also encouraged us to move quickly to action. They bring a fresh, energized perspective that challenges us, and they provide great support and counsel as we work through the implementation of the vision. ”
& Drew Lieberman, CEO
Izhar Armony
GrabCAD is leading the Open Engineering movement, helping engineers get products to market faster by connecting people, content and technology. GrabCAD Workbench makes it easy for engineers to share files, work with partners and complete projects on time, while the GrabCAD Community accelerates the design process by tapping into the knowledge and resources of the largest source of CAD content and engineering minds in the world.
CRV partnered with GrabCAD in October 2012. Stratasys acquired GrabCAD in September 2014.
“We chose to work with Izhar and CRV because of their unwavering support of entrepreneurs, and our shared appreciation for aggressive growth and success.”
& Hardi Meybaum, CEO
Acquired by Stratasys 2014
Bruce Sachs
GreatCall provides mobile services that are centered on simplicity, personalization and ease-of-use and focus on personal safety and health.
In addition to offering reliable and easy-to-use wireless devices, GreatCall also keeps consumers safe with exclusive health and safety apps and services. CRV was the first VC to invest in GreatCall in July 2007.
“CRV has been a valuable partner to GreatCall since investing in our first venture financing in 2007.
Bruce’s vast operating experience has helped navigate us through some tricky waters over the years, and his expertise in mobile services has been instrumental in developing our strategy and building our business.”
& David Inns, CEO
Acquired by Verisign 2004
George Zachary
Hi.Q is on a mission to increase health literacy around the world.
The company has developed Health IQ, the most comprehensive measurement of your health knowledge. Uncover your strengths in over 300 topics and 10,000 questions, compare yourself to experts and learn tips from the health conscious community.
Health IQ is available for free from the App Store.
CRV led Hi.Q's Series A in September 2013.
“I chose to work with George and CRV again because he truly understands the challenges of being an entrepreneur.
The entire CRV team has had the experience of starting and building companies and this shows in the support and respect they show their entrepreneurs.”
& Munjal Shah, Co-Founder & CEO
Izhar Armony
HubSpot is an inbound marketing software platform that helps companies attract visitors, convert leads, and close customers.
HubSpot acquired CRV portfolio company Performable in 2011. CRV was Performable’s sole venture investor and led its Series A in October 2009. HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) completed its IPO in October 2014.
Bruce Sachs
Icontrol Networks’ vision is to provide a connected home solution for every household, so people worldwide spend less time managing their lives and more time living them. Icontrol is making the connected home a reality through its software platforms, which are deployed by home security companies and service providers, and the all-in-one Piper home security and automation device for consumers. Icontrol is further pioneering the next generation of connected living through its OpenHome(TM) Partner Program, the first community for application and device makers to partner on a common platform. CRV led Icontrol's Series A in December 2005.
“CRV was Icontrol’s first venture investor in 2005, and Bruce helped recruit me as CEO in 2011. I recall being impressed with his deep knowledge of the broadband market and his excitement for building a new consumer product category. He’s made key executive introductions from his network and helped us become a leader in Connected Home technology.”
& Bob Hagerty, CEO
Acquired by Qualcomm 2010
Laurel & Wolf
Annie Kadavy
Laurel & Wolf is a digital marketplace that makes professional interior design services accessible and affordable for everyone. We believe in the power of great design and how it transforms how you live, work, and love! CRV led Laurel & Wolf’s Series A financing in December 2014.
“Annie and Saar embody absolutely everything I could have hoped to find in investors and so much more. They are supportive, insanely brilliant, passionate, tenacious, and are truly a part of the Laurel & Wolf family. Every time I meet with them, I walk away feeling inspired, excited, and ready to take on our next greatest challenge. We are beyond ecstatic to be working with CRV during this critical time in our company's growth and look forward to building a truly great business with them.”
& Leura Fine & Brandon Kleinman, Co-Founders
Bruce Sachs
Light is on a mission to reimagine the art and science of photography.
CRV invested in Light's Seed round in October 2013.
“We’ve both worked with CRV for years, Rajiv at Flarion and Dave at Vlingo.
Rajiv was a CRV EIR when he came up with the idea behind Light.
The CRV guys introduced us and now we are excited to build a CRV success story together.”
& Dr. Rajiv Laroia & Dave Grannan, Co-Founders
Magnetic’s full-service ad targeting solution powers agencies and advertisers to combine intent data with display advertising in order to reach relevant audiences at scale, acquire new consumers, influence purchasing decisions, and engage current customers. Through one unified platform, Magnetic enables customized audience targeting and media buying across multiple digital channels, inventory sources, and creative formats. Magnetic supports full-service campaign management, performance optimization, reporting and analytics. CRV led Magnetic's Series A in January 2010.
“Running a company is hard. The perfect idea, with the perfect team and perfect execution is fiction. The role of an investor is to pick great teams with great ideas and then use the learnings they have from seeing lots of other examples in the market to make sure that their investments win over others. Saar is great at this. First of all he's great at picking winners. But then when those winners need help and advice he is there with thoughtful and constructive - if sometimes painful and difficult - advice and help. As an entrepreneur that's what I'm looking for in a partner. He will always be my first call when I'm looking for a financial partner.”
& James Green, CEO
Maxthon is a state-of-the-art, multi-platform web browser that regularly outperforms other top browsers and offers users a seamless browsing and sharing experience. CRV invested in Maxthon in 2006.
Acquired by Playdom/ Disney 2010
MileIQ is a service of Mobile Data Labs, a company that believes strongly in the power of ambient data to make our lives easier and more enjoyable. We’re a team of designers, developers, businesspeople, and tax geeks who watched our friends and colleagues struggling with an everyday problem and believed a better solution was possible. Our flagship MileIQ service takes the hassle out of mileage tracking with a mobile app that catches drives automatically, syncs them to the cloud, and dramatically simplifies the process of generating accurate mileage expense reports. MileIQ enables the self-directed workforce--realtors, salespeople, consultants, business owners, and others who drive for work--to log their drives with ease and claim the full value of their deductible and reimbursable miles. CRV invested in MileIQ’s Seed round in January 2014.
“Network, Empathy, Candor, Availability, Experience and Friendship.
What more could an entrepreneur want?
Saar is someone we can always call and frequently comes to us with proactive help. The help may be a lead for a new candidate, an introduction to a partner, a strategic idea on how to improve the business - all of which represent that Saar keeps his companies top of mind and understands that building great companies isn't easy and takes a village.
Saar and his network are a huge part of our village.
Most importantly, Saar is a friend and with that friendship comes candor, empathy and fun.
& Chuck Dietrich & Dan Bomze, Co-Founders
Millennial Media
George Zachary
Millennial Media is the leading independent mobile advertising and data platform. Its technology, tools and services help app developers and mobile website publishers maximize their advertising revenue, acquire users and gain audience insights. The platform also enables offering advertisers powerful Mobile Audience Solutions (MAS) that utilize Millennial's significant scale, sophisticated targeting and uniquely engaging creative capabilities to deliver meaningful results. CRV partnered with Millennial in November 2007. Millennial Media (NYSE: MM) completed its IPO in March 2012.
Millennial Media
IPO March 2012
Bruce Sachs
Nantero has developed and patented fundamentally new nonvolatile memory technology applying carbon nanotubes on silicon, using standard semiconductor processes.
Nantero’s NRAM is a high-density nonvolatile Random Access Memory that is broadly applicable to a variety of functions served by FLASH, DRAM, and SRAM, but with advantages in density, reliability, and power consumption. CRV partnered with Nantero in August 2003.
“CRV is our long-time advocate. Commercializing new memory technology is no easy or fast task, and the CRV team has supported our efforts in many ways since investing in 2003. Bruce, in particular, has been a vital partner and board member and continues to actively work with us toward making the next generation of memory a reality.”
& Greg Schmergel, Co-founder, President & CEO
Ted Dintersmith
Netezza was a leading provider of analytic appliances that dramatically simplify high-performance analytics for business users across the extended enterprise.
Its family of products brought simplicity to a broad range of complex data warehouse and analytic challenges.
CRV invested in Netezza’s Series A in December 2000.
Netezza completed an IPO in July 2007 and in November 2010 was acquired by IBM for $1.7 billion.
NetGenesis
IPO, then sale to SPSS 2001
Acquired by OnDisplay 2000
ON Technology
OneCloud Software
Bruce Sachs
OneCloud Software is a data center startup that is “enabling the elastic datacenter” – simplifying and reducing enterprise datacenter costs by leveraging existing public cloud-based services.
CRV invested in OneCloud Software's Series A in October 2013.
“CRV has been our true partner from the start, assembling our founding team and providing our first home – CRV's Cambridge office! ”
& Marc Crespi, President & CEO
Devdutt Yellurkar
OneLogin is an innovator in enterprise identity management and provides a comprehensive solution for managing user identities, both in the cloud and behind firewalls.
OneLogin simplifies identity management with secure, one-click access for employees, customers and partners, through all device types, to all enterprise cloud and on-premise applications.
CRV invested in OneLogin's Seed round in August 2010.
Parametric Technology Corporation
Acquired by QLogic Corporation 2006
Patreon lets fans become patrons of their favorite artists and content creators. Unlike other fundraising services that raise for a single big event, Patreon is for content creators who create a stream of smaller works, like YouTube musicians, bloggers, writers, webcomics, or anyone posting digital media.
CRV invested in Patreon's Seed round in August 2013.
“CRV is always helpful and never intrusive: they simultaneously respect our expertise within our field while providing broad, insightful perspective. It's the perfect combination of regard and wisdom that founders need from investors to be innovative.”
& Jack Conte & Sam Yam, Co-Founders
George Zachary
Pebble has developed a highly customizable smartwatch that 85,000+ people brought to life through Kickstarter.
After setting the Kickstarter funding record, Pebble continues to develop a fully-functional and customizable smartwatch ecosystem.
CRV led Pebble's Series A in April 2013.
“Pebble raised its first round of VC financing from CRV because of the quality of their people. Each person we've met at CRV is extraordinarily knowledgeable, connected and tuned in to what's happening in tech. They each provide a strong network and set of startup experiences to learn from. George was our first point of contact with CRV and now sits on the board at Pebble.”
& Eric Migicovsky, Founder
Pirus Networks
Acquired by Sun Microsystems 2002
Progreso Financiero
Progreso Financiero is a leading financial services company serving the needs of the growing Hispanic market. Its mission is to help customers build credit in the U.S. and gain access to better lives and mainstream financial services.
CRV partnered with Progreso in November 2007.
“Saar was a great member of the Board of Directors.
He understood our business, asked good questions, challenged us to think differently about the business, but still provided unwavering support to me as CEO.”
& Raul Vazquez, CEO
Devdutt Yellurkar
Qubole is developing the next generation cloud data platform: a fast, easy, and reliable way to turn Big Data into business insight. With an unparalleled understanding of the cloud and a can-do attitude, they are addressing today’s challenges of storing and managing data.
CRV invested in Qubole's Seed round in October 2011.
“For us at it was very important to have partners in this venture who understood the company building process and had the patience and vision of building a great company. Right from the time we met Devdutt and Max at CRV we had a strong resonance of ideas on how we wanted to build Qubole. Then, when we met the rest of the partners, this feeling was further enforced. We felt that CRV understands how to build companies and guide them through the seed stage to multi-billion dollar enterprises. This comes from a strong operational experience - many partners have started and run their own companies - as well as from a stellar track record in the venture industry. The combination of these two traits was the most important reason why we chose to work with CRV.”
& Ashish Thusoo, Co-Founder & CEO
Acquired by Juniper Networks 2005
Refresh is developing mobile apps that deliver an instant dossier about people you know, people you meet, and even chance encounters, so you can get the most out of every conversation.
The Refresh dossier tells you what you need to know about someone right before you see them, so that you can spark a more authentic connection. CRV invested in Refresh's Seed round in April 2012. LinkedIn acquired Refresh in April 2015.
“Saar's commitment to our success is unwavering. He hustles and proactively adds value. He contributes like an extension of our management team. Those with an opportunity to work with Saar will see non-linear impacts to their business.”
& Bhavin Shah, Co-Founder
Rethink Robotics
Devdutt Yellurkar
Rethink Robotics develops intelligent, affordable, user-friendly robots that operate safely next to people in a wide range of manufacturing, production and R&D environments.
Rethink Robotics’ Baxter is the world’s first interactive production robot, making manufacturers of all sizes more efficient, their workers more productive, and helping to keep jobs from emigrating to lower-cost regions. The Baxter Research Robot is a humanoid robot platform with integrated sensors and an open software development kit allowing academic and corporate researchers to create custom applications.
CRV was the first VC to invest in Rethink in August 2009.
“CRV was the first VC to invest in the company when it was just an idea, and they've been helpful along the way as we turned the idea into a revolutionary new robot for American manufacturing.”
& Rodney Brooks, Founder, Chairman & CTO
Rive Technology
River Delta Networks
Acquired by Motorola 2001
Izhar Armony
RPX provides patent risk solutions, offering defensive buying, acquisition syndication, patent intelligence, insurance services, and advisory services. RPX has introduced efficiency to the patent market by providing a rational alternative to patent litigation. Its pioneering approach combines principal capital, deep patent expertise and client contributions to generate enhanced patent buying power. By acquiring problem patents, RPX helps to mitigate and manage the risk of potential patent assertions for its growing client network.
CRV led RPX's Series A in August 2008.
RPX (Nasdaq: RPXC) completed its IPO in May 2011.
“Izhar was the first person I called the day I decided to start RPX. Since then, Izhar and the entire CRV team have given us tremendous moral and business development support — key to our fast start.”
& John Amster, Founder & CEO
George Zachary
Scribd is the world's largest digital library.
Readers discover books and written works of all kinds on the Web or any mobile device, and publishers and authors find a voracious audience for their work. On Scribd, readers find everything from up-and-coming books by new authors, to court filings that have been making the news, to academic papers from scholars around the world. With a Scribd subscription, readers have unlimited access to best-selling books and premium documents, and can read them on any iOS and Android smartphone, tablet or desktop.
CRV partnered with Scribd in December 2008.
Jon Auerbach
SessionM provides a mobile loyalty platform that helps publishers reward their best users and advertisers connect with them at just the right moments. SessionM delivers more loyal users, deeper engagement, and higher revenues to developers and publishers.
SessionM is driving mobile ad innovation that enables advertisers to build their brand and drive consumers down the path to purchase.
CRV partnered with SessionM in April 2012.
“CRV is one of the few venture firms that truly puts the entrepreneur first and is there to help with any aspect of growing your business.”
& Lars Albright, Co-Founder & CEO
Devdutt Yellurkar
SignalFx is an advanced monitoring platform for modern applications. Powered by SignalFlow(TM) streaming and historical analytics technology, SignalFx enables users to create custom analytics pipelines on metrics data collected from thousands or more sources to create meaningful aggregations — such as percentiles, moving averages and growth rates — within seconds of receiving data. CRV partnered with SignalFx in January 2015.
“From the very first time we met Devdutt we recognized his empathy for the founder experience. He has been a great partner -- insightful, helpful, and supportive with a great network of resources he's willing to tap into at a moment's notice. We know that in Devdutt and CRV we have investors who share our core values and have the patience and long-term vision to help us build a great company.”
& Karthik Rau & Phillip Liu, Co-Founders
SimpliVity
Bruce Sachs
SimpliVity was established with the mission of simplifying IT by delivering a new data architecture that powers an assimilated infrastructure platform. SimpliVity's OmniCube(TM) utilizes standard x86 base systems to converge server and storage functionality, along with significant advanced functionality that today is delivered by numerous disparate appliances—all at a fraction of the cost and with extreme reduction in complexity. OmniCube goes further than infrastructure convergence to enable a global network of systems for managing and protecting the virtual machines and their data. CRV invested in SimpliVity's Seed round in October 2009.
“CRV has deep domain expertise, the right mindset and patience to back heavy IT inf and, importantly, individuals that I wanted to work with. Choosing CRV was an easy decision.”
& Doron Kempel, Chairman & CEO
Sincerely develops mobile applications that make it easy to send gifts of all types from mobile phones: Postagram sends printed postcar Ink Cards sends personalized greeting cards, PopBooth creates photostrips, and Sesame Gifts sends beautifully designed gifts– all from a user’s mobile phone.
In October 2013, Sincerely was acquired by Provide Commerce.
CRV invested in Sincerely's Seed round in May 2012.
“Saar has backed me for both Xobni & Sincerely - and I hope for many companies to come.
Saar is one of the most connected people in Silicon Valley and is probably the only VC who has ever introduced me to an engineer.
He can also connect you with an exec at Google or the CEO of a high flying startup.
Plus his varied interests outside of work make him someone you'd want to hang out with even if he couldn't cut you a check for $millions.
Saar loves nothing more than learning about and helping people.”
& Matt Brezina, Co-Founder & CEO
Acquired by Provide Commerce 2013
Sonus Networks
SpeechWorks
SpiderCloud
Bruce Sachs
SpiderCloud Wireless is the innovator behind a scalable and multi-access small-cell network platform that allows mobile operators to deliver unprecedented cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, capacity and smart applications to medium and large enterprises.
CRV invested in SpiderCloud's Series A in January 2008.
“I worked closely with Bruce and CRV at Flarion and benefitted from their experience, contacts and advice as we built the business. Working with Bruce and CRV again at SpiderCloud was not a hard decision.”
& Mike Gallagher, CEO
Stratus Computer
Sybase, Inc.
Symbol Technologies
Symphony Commerce
Devdutt Yellurkar
Symphony delivers enterprise-level commerce as a service to today’s fastest growing brands. Symphony's commerce services include integrated solutions for web stores, fulfillment, and marketing.
These services come together seamlessly to deliver intelligent and personalized experiences across the customer lifecycle, so brands can deliver a unified, branded commerce experience.
CRV partnered with Symphony Commerce in August 2014.
TalentBin developed a talent search engine for the entire web, enabling recruiters to find passive candidates wherever they are active online, based on their skills, interests and actions.
TalentBin gathers information from social networks and other sources to compile profiles on hard-to-find technical talent. CRV invested in TalentBin's Seed round in May 2010.
acquired TalentBin in February 2014.
“One thing you will quickly realize as an entrepreneur is that your initial shot on the goal will probably miss. And it may miss badly. So having a venture backer who can help you recover from those missed shots, who's been there before with others like you, and there themselves, and who has deep conviction in your ability to get to the right solution, and who will support you as you iterate there, is indispensable. And that's exactly what Saar and CRV have brought to the table with TalentBin.”
& Peter Kazanjy & Jason Heidema, Co-Founders
Acquired by Monster 2014
Tasteful, Inc.
Jon Auerbach
Tasteful's mission is to encourage people to make healthy decisions in their diet and lifestyle. Their first app, TastefulApp, helps people discover healthy dishes at restaurants nearby, focusing especially on diners with dietary preferences and restrictions. Tasteful will be launching in select markets in 2015. CRV invested in Almond Systems’ Series A financing in September 2014.
“I have had the pleasure of personally knowing Jon Auerbach and the CRV team over my years as an entrepreneur. The CRV partners are all approachable and down to earth, a trait not often found in Silicon Valley. They are great people focused on working with great people, and help provide valuable support and feedback as startups take off and grow. I am grateful for my relationship with CRV, and look forward to many successful years to come with them at my side.”
& Eswar Priyadarshan, CEO & Co-Founder (with Co-Founders Jon Altschuler & Ravi Chittari)
TerraPower
Izhar Armony
TerraPower is a nuclear energy technology company with the goal of providing the world with a more affordable, secure, and environmentally friendly form of nuclear energy.
TerraPower’s unique approach will greatly simplify the current nuclear energy supply chain and significantly mitigate many of the shortcomings of today’s nuclear energy technologies.
CRV invested in TerraPower's Series A in December 2008.
“We chose to work with Charles River because of the previous
good experience our founders had with them.”
& John Gilleland, CEO
Tophatter is an entertaining live marketplace that conducts live online auctions where buyers can interact and transact in a wide variety of categories. CRV invested in Tophatter's Seed round in November 2009.
“Saar has been a mentor, advisor, and friend long before he invested a cent in our company. He believed in us when we were just two guys & an idea, and he has supported us through numerous inventions & reinventions. We are extremely grateful to be a member of CRV's family.”
& Chris Estreich & Ashvin Kumar, Co-Founders
ToyTalk creates conversation-driven entertainment for families.
Toytalk's mobile app, created with its in-house software suite called PullString, allows kids to chat with a virtual talk show host.
PullString is the first platform for building interactive characters. Developers can animate and write dialogue within the suite, and an artificial intelligence engine builds a personality. CRV partnered with ToyTalk in October 2012.
“ToyTalk immediately benefited from Saar's involvement. As we navigate new ground, his candor & focus make us better.”
& Oren Jacob, CEO
George Zachary
Twitter is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. By developing a fundamentally new way for people to create, distribute and discover content, Twitter has democratized content creation and distribution, enabling any voice to echo around the world instantly and unfiltered.
CRV was the first VC to invest in Twitter in July 2007.
Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) completed its IPO in November 2013.
“George was always incredibly supportive to me, through good times and bad. He believes in building relationships, not just companies.”
& Evan Williams, Co-Founder
George Zachary
Udacity is reinventing education for the 21st century by bridging the gap between real-world skills, relevant education, and employment.
Its mission is to bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective higher education to the world.
Udacity offers a wide range of online courses, sponsored and developed together with corporations, to teach skills and knowledge relevant in high-tech careers. CRV led Udacity's Series A in December 2011.
“CRV works really hard to make my company succeed. Consistently the right advice at the right time. I love them.”
& Sebastian Thrun, Co-Founder & CEO
Acquired by Sallie Mae 2006
Usermind is developing enterprise software solutions that help business operations professionals to integrate multiple software applications, and build processes that make teams more productive and efficient.
Its software platform achieves business agility through orchestration and experimentation.
CRV invested in Usermind's Series A in September 2013.
“CRV has had deep conviction about our team and vision since the early days of our engagement with them. They work hard at all aspects of building the company - recruiting and closing key talent, connecting us to market movers and early adopters for customer development and providing strategic advice and feedback.”
& Michel Feaster & Przemek Pardyak, Co-Founders
Acquired by IBM 2004
Vignette Corporation
ViKi is an international video site that created a global video streaming platform and established a multi-lingual translation community adding subtitles to online videos. ViKi’s community of viewers crowdsourced subtitles in more than 160 languages and translated more than 400 million words. CRV invested in ViKi's Seed round in March 2008. Rakuten acquired ViKi in 2013.
“Saar is a rock star, with an unwavering commitment, be it at seed or exit.”
& Razmig Hovaghimian, Changseong Ho & Jiwon Moon, Co-Founders
Acquired by Rakuten 2013
Acquired by Nuance Communications 2012
Wave Accounting
Devdutt Yellurkar
Wave provides integrated online applications that help small business owners around the world run their businesses. A SaaS provider, Wave offers cloud-based integrated software and tools that are secure and easy-to-use, including invoicing, payments, accounting, payroll, budgeting, and a platform to collaborate with business partners. CRV led Wave's Series A in October 2011.
“From the first time we met Devdutt, we knew that we wanted to work with him. He is extraordinarily insightful and incisive, he's empathetic about what entrepreneurs go through (having been one himself), and he completely engaged in the conversation about our business, our challenges and our vision for Wave. Throughout the 2+ years we've worked with CRV, he has continually reinforced those conclusions about him and the entire CRV firm.
Having them in our corner has been a massive advantage and has been a significant factor in Wave's success.”
& Kirk Simpson & James Lochrie, Co-Founders
Devdutt Yellurkar
Webaroo’s universal messaging platform Gupshup enables users to communicate and share their short messages, privately with friends and colleagues or publicly with all on every mobile device, and can be accessed via SMS, WAP or Mobile Apps.
Webaroo’s messaging platform and its cloud communication services support over 2.1 billion mobile interactions per month, helping over 66 million users, 500 brands and 25,000 businesses to interact, engage and communicate using any mobile device.
CRV partnered with Webaroo in September 2008.
“CRV passes the VC litmus test — of being constructive when the going gets rough. They point out the mistakes, but also offer help. They don't add to your problems, instead advise how to address them. They put themselves in the founder's shoes before offering advice. They stay level-headed even when others may be losing theirs. They are the ideal partners an entrepreneur can have.”
& Beerud Sheth, Co-Founder & CEO
Webspective
Acquired by Inktomi 1999
Wonder Workshop
George Zachary
Wonder Workshop is building delightful robots for children to program. The company’s mission is to create a platform of learning and play for children – empowering them with joy and magic of programming robots at a young age. Wonder Workshop has introduced Dash & Dot,
robots that delight and engage children while teaching them programming concepts. CRV invested in Wonder Workshop's Series A in February 2014.
“I've known George for a few years and I have immense respect for him, and as a result, for CRV. CRV and George were investors in my previous venture, and helpful partners. I've wanted to work more closely with George since then, and I am excited that it's happening for Wonder Workshop.”
& Vikas Gupta, Co-Founder
Jon Auerbach
Wyth is a messaging app that helps you make plans naturally.
CRV invested in Wyth's Seed round in February 2013.
“The decision to work with CRV felt obvious. In our earliest conversations with Jon, Izhar and the rest of the CRV team, we saw broad experience across mobile, consumer and B2B. We also saw compelling interest in the problem we're solving and a strong understanding of what makes building a solution for this specific problem challenging.”
& Han Shu & Carla Pellicano, Co-Founders
Ted Dintersmith
Xamarin's mission is to create software development tools that make it easy to build mobile applications. Xamarin's cross-platform development software accelerates and simplifies the creation of high-performance, native consumer and corporate applications.
CRV led Xamarin's Series A in May 2012.
“The team at CRV are some of the best investors out there. We have access to all the partners, each contributes in their own way, and they all have Xamarin’s success as their clear goal.”
& Nat Friedman & Miguel de Icaza, Co-Founders
Acquired by Novell 2003
George Zachary
Yammer is a leader in enterprise social networking, providing a secure way for employees inside a company to communicate, collaborate, and share information.
CRV was the first VC to invest in the company in November 2008.
Yammer was acquired by Microsoft for $1.2 billion in July 2012.
“George was truly supportive with capital and guidance from the very beginning of Yammer.
When we needed to pivot and others lost faith, he doubled down.
He believed in me and the company always.
Without his support in the midst of a global financial crisis, Yammer probably would never have gotten off the ground.”
& David Sacks, Co-Founder
Acquired by Microsoft 2012
Acquired by Sterling Commerce 2005
Devdutt Yellurkar
Zendesk delivers the leading cloud-based customer service software.
Using Zendesk, companies ranging from small startups to large multinational enterprises can instantly deploy, simplify the process, and strengthen the effects of their customer service and support. Loved by customers for its simplicity and elegance, Zendesk is the easiest and fastest way to provide great customer service.
CRV led Zendesk's Series A in April 2009.
Zendesk (NYSE: ZEN) completed its IPO in May 2014.
“CRV invested in us when we were three guys working out of a loft in Copenhagen. Since then, CRV's conviction in us has never wavered.
We credit Devdutt, for his belief in us and for his ability to remain a stable force despite the turmoil of the 2008 credit crunch around us.
Devdutt fought hard on our behalf.
And his courage and conviction led everyone through. We feel lucky to have found such a dedicated partner who was there to help us during every stage of our company's growth.”
& Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl & Alexander Aghassipour, Co-Founders
Izhar Armony
SaaS / Mobile
“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.
- Mario Andretti ”
Cybereason
TerraPower
Acquired by EMC 2013
Conduit Labs
Acquired by Zynga 2010
Acquired by Stratasys 2014
Acquired by Verisign 2004
Acquired by IBM 2005
Acquired by Qualcomm 2010
Acquired by OnDisplay 2000
Acquired by Saba Software 2005
Acquired by Nuance Communications 2012
Acquired by Sterling Commerce 2005
Jon Auerbach
Mobile Consumer & Enterprise / Ad Tech / Infrastructure
“I look for world class teams. One part expertise. One part insight. Two parts drive.”
Flatiron School
Tasteful, Inc.
CCTV Wireless
Acquired by TerreStar 2008
Acquired by SBA Communications 2008
Quattro Wireless
Acquired by Apple 2010 (Co-led at Highland)
Starent Networks
Acquired by Cisco 2009 (Co-led at Highland)
Rafael Corrales
Consumer / Marketplaces / Hardware / X-factor
“As a startup founder, I went through many ups and downs…
I joined CRV to help support ambitious, extraordinary founders navigate that same journey.”
Cloud / SaaS / Enterprise Software / Big Data / Infrastructure
“CRV's focus on early-stage investments allows me to do what I enjoy the most - helping entrepreneurs succeed.”
CloudGenix
DataGravity
SimpliVity
Consumer & Mobile / Media / SMB SaaS
“We are not finance types. We are dreamers and extremely passionate about supporting our entrepreneurs, their products and their missions to make a dent in the world.”
Laurel & Wolf
Progreso Financiero
Acquired by Google
Brightroll
Acquired by Yahoo! (co-founder)
Acquired by Warner Brothers
Orchestra (product: Mailbox)
Acquired by Dropbox 2013
Acquired by Provide Commerce 2013
Acquired by Monster 2014
Acquired by Rakuten 2013
Acquired by Marchex
WonderHill
Acquired by Kabam 2010
Annie Kadavy
Consumer & Mobile / Future of commerce / Digital health
“Helping some of the most talented entrepreneurs on the planet paint the future is as good as it gets. Entrepreneurs are the world-changers that I respect most and I joined CRV because they believe the same.”
Laurel & Wolf
Bruce Sachs
Mobile and Enterprise Infrastructure/Cloud/Robotics & Consumer Electronics
“People are the most important ingredient… when I am lucky, those people let me help them be successful.”
DataGravity
OneCloud Software
SimpliVity
SpiderCloud
Acopia Networks
Acquired by F5 2008
BigBand Networks
Acquired by Cisco Systems 2011
Cedar Point Communications
Acquired by GenBand 2011
Flarion Technologies
Acquired by Qualcomm 2006
Hammerhead Networks
Acquired by Cisco Systems 2002
River Delta Networks
Acquired by Motorola 2001
Devdutt Yellurkar
Saas & Cloud / Big Data / Mobile Enterprise
“As a CRV-entrepreneur, I have first hand experience of how the team always believes in the founders. As a VC, that's the team I wanted to be on.”
Rethink Robotics
Symphony Commerce
Wave Accounting
George Zachary
Consumer & Enterprise Mobile
“I joined CRV because I liked the partnership approach that puts companies first. The focus is on the founder and that's how it should be.”
Millennial Media
Wonder Workshop
Accrue Software
Acquired by Vendio 2006
Critical Path
Acquired by Google 2010
Acquired by Playdom/ Disney 2010
Millennial Media
IPO March 2012
Sandcastle Inc.
Acquired by Adobe Systems
Acquired by Kroll- O'gara 1999
Shutterfly
Supertracks
Acquired by Centerspan 2001
Acquired by Z-Tel
Acquired by Microsoft 2012
Other Team Members
Rick Burnes
Partner Emeritus
Chris Baldwin
Partner Emeritus
Ted Dintersmith
Partner Emeritus
Partner Emeritus
Partner Emeritus
Adam Amero
Chief Financial Officer
Hillary Frank
Head of Talent
CRV - Bay Area
2882 Sand Hill Road, Suite 106
Menlo Park, CA 94025
CRV - Boston
One Broadway, 15th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142