Menlo Ventures
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Menlo is basically the VC equivalent of that friend who shows up to every trend fashionably early but with actual substance. Menlo Ventures has been at the forefront of AI, investing across the stack—from infrastructure and foundational models to transformative applications in enterprise, consumer, and healthcare. Our team stands out with a potent combination of deep technical expertise and operational experience. They've got the track record (Uber, Roku, Chime all before they were cool) and the conviction—The Anthology Fund is a $100 million initiative created through a partnership between Menlo Ventures and Anthropic to fuel the next generation of AI startups. Launched in partnership with Anthropic to accelerate AI-first innovation, the fund has received thousands of applications from entrepreneurs worldwide. The Anthropic partnership isn't just check-writing; it's strategic access to the hottest AI company right now. Menlo Ventures' Inception Fund is a pre-seed fund and more; beyond the capital, we partner with exceptional founders at the earliest stages of company building. Dedicated 10-20 hours per week for idea vetting and iteration with the Menlo team for up to three months. They actually roll up their sleeves with founders pre-product, which most VCs just talk about. Fair warning: they're not taking meetings just to be polite—they're building conviction for the long haul.
- —Best for: Technical founders building AI-first or utilitarian consumer products
- —Watch out for: High conviction bar—they really mean it when they say 'ALL IN'
- —Known for: Getting in early on category-defining companies before the hype
We invest in transformative, early-stage tech companies that are changing the way we live and work. Menlo Ventures invests at the intersection of bio and tech, with a differentiated approach in core thesis areas including therapeutic platforms, transformative technologies, digital health, and healthcare SaaS. Menlo is ALL IN on AI.
The firm typically invests in seed and Series A rounds, with typical investment size ranges from $100,000 to $10 million. Menlo Ventures primarily invests in Series A and Series B stages. The firm emphasizes sectors such as enterprise software, consumer, healthcare, fintech, AI, infrastructure, and marketplaces. Their investment expertise encompasses diverse focus areas such as AI, bio and healthcare, consumer, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, fintech, SaaS, and supply chain automation.
Venky is a partner at Menlo Ventures focused on investments in both the consumer and enterprise sectors. Prior to joining Menlo, he was a managing partner at Globespan Capital Partners. At Globespan, Venky led numerous successful investments including Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Upwork (UPWK), Redfin (RDFN), Amobee (acquired by SingTel for $321M), and Rover (acquired by Blackstone). Prior to Globespan, Venky was one of the founders of Trigo Technologies and also previously worked at McKinsey & Co. and at Microsoft where he started his career as a program manager.
As an early-stage investor, Shawn focuses on companies that serve the "utilitarian consumer"—the individual seeking better, faster, and cheaper ways to move through life. This approach inspired Shawn to invest early in Roku, Uber, and Chime, long before they became household names. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then joined Chicago startup Open Port Technology as a developer, obtained a patent, and joined Menlo in 2002 after receiving his MBA from Stanford GSB.
The firm was founded in 1976 by H. Dubose Montgomery. Menlo Ventures's Founder & Partner Emeritus is H. Dubose Montgomery. He founded one of the earliest venture capital firms in Silicon Valley and has been instrumental in building Menlo's reputation over nearly 50 years.
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