Sierra Ventures

Sierra Ventures is an American venture capital firm based in San Mateo, California. It is focused on early stage emerging technology companies.

Sierra Ventures
TypePrivate
IndustryVenture Capital
Founded1982 (1982)
Headquarters,
Key people
Mark Fernandes, Managing Director
Tim Guleri, Managing Director
Ben Yu, Managing Director
Peter Wendell, Founder
Websitewww.sierraventures.com

History

The firm was founded by Peter Wendell in 1982 in Menlo Park, California.[1][2] Early investments included Healtheon, Intuit, Micromuse, and StrataCom.[1]

The firm is run by managing directors Mark Fernandes, Tim Guleri, and Ben Yu and is based in San Mateo, California.[3]

Investments

As of 2019, Sierra Ventures had invested over $1.9 billion.[4] The firm's initial investment averages between $500,000 and $7 million and on average it invests up to $15 million over the life of a company.[3][5]

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.[6] The board also counsels portfolio companies on how to scale and adapt as necessary.[7][8]

Sierra Ventures is currently investing out of its eleventh fund, which closed in 2016 with $170 million.[3][9] In March 2019 the firm began raising its twelfth fund.[10]

Some notable past investments include:

  • Adometry – online advertising attribution company, acquired by Google in 2014.[11]
  • AuthenTec – mobile security company, acquired in 2012 by Apple for $365 million.[12]
  • Bina Technologies – big data science platform for researchers and clinicians, acquired in 2014 by Roche.[13]
  • Frontbridge – electronic messaging and security services provider, acquired in 2005 by Microsoft.[14]
  • Greenplum – database analytics and software developer, acquired in 2010 by Dell EMC.[15]
  • Healtheon – online healthcare resource, merged with WebMD in 1999.[1][16]
  • Intuit – business and financial software company, went public in 1993; now valued at over $55 billion.[17]
  • Intuitive Surgical – surgical robotic developer, went public in 2000;[18] as of July 2019, the company has a market capitalization of over $60 billion.[19]
  • InvenSense – MotionTracking sensor chip provider, acquired by TDK in 2016 for $1.3 billion.[20]
  • MakeMyTrip – India-based online travel company, went public in 2010.[21]
  • Micromuse – provider of network management software, acquired by IBM in 2005 for $865 million.[22]
  • Nexgate – cloud-based social web security, acquired in 2014 by Proofpoint for $35 million.[3]
  • OnLink – provider of eCommerce sales and marketing applications, acquired by Siebel Systems in 2000 for approximately $607.5 million.[23]
  • Ooyala – developer of video content workflow management systems, acquired in 2012 by Telstra for $43 million.[24]
  • Quinta – developer of next-generation data-storage technology, acquired by Seagate Technology in 1997 for $325 million.[25]
  • Redlock – cloud security software developer, acquired in 2018 by Palo Alto Networks for $173 million.[26]
  • Sourcefire – network security hardware and software developer, acquired in 2013 by Cisco.[27]
  • 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.[28]
  • Tempo – AI-enhanced calendar application, acquired in 2015 by Salesforce.[29]
  • Theravance Biopharma – biopharmaceutical company, went public in 2014.
  • Treasure Data – cloud-based data collection, storage and analysis services, acquired in 2018 by ARM for $600 million.[30]
  • 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.[31][32]
  • Terayon – developer of cable modem systems for broadband access, went public in 1998.[33]
  • Ximalaya – Chinese audio platform.[3]

References

  1. Young, Susan (1 October 2001). "New Economy Notables: Peter C. Wendell". HBS Alumni. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. Clark, Meaghan (3 November 2013). "21 Stanford professors who could be your biggest startup investor". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  3. Loizos, Connie (7 January 2016). "Sierra Ventures Closes 11th Fund With $170 Million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  4. Yu, Ben (31 March 2019). "The convergence of 5G and AI: A venture capitalist's view". VentureBeat. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  5. "Company Overview of Sierra Ventures". Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  6. High, Peter (22 July 2019). "As Sierra Ventures Announces 12th Fund, MD Mark Fernandes Offers A Look Inside The Firm". Forbes. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  7. Gage, Deborah (23 August 2013). "Sierra Ventures' New Partner Taps Tough Startup Experience". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  8. Schubarth, Cromwell (15 August 2013). "Q&A: Sierra VC Tim Guleri on his firm's CIO advantage". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  9. "The Daily Startup: Guardant Health Raises Nearly $100 Million Series D". The Wall Street Journal. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. Temkin, Marina (21 March 2019). "Sierra Ventures seeks $175 mln for 12th flagship fund". Venture Capital Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  11. Shields, Mike (6 May 2014). "Google to Acquire Online Attribution Firm Adometry". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  12. Rusli, Evyln M. (27 July 2012). "Apple to Acquire AuthenTec for $365 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  13. McCormick, Jason (23 December 2014). "Big Data's Bina acquired by Big Pharma's Roche". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  14. Fried, Ina (31 August 2005). "Microsoft completes FrontBridge acquisition". CNET. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  15. Malik, Om (6 July 2010). "Big Data = Big Money: EMC Buys Greenplum". Gigaom. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  16. Slud, Martha (20 May 1999). "Healtheon, WebMD to merge". CNN Money. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  17. "Intuit Inc. History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  18. Doe. "Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) IPO". Nasdaq. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  19. "Intuitive Surgical Inc". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  20. Fenner, Robert (21 December 2016). "TDK Agrees to Buy InvenSense for About $1.3 Billion in Cash". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  21. Cowan, Lynn (12 August 2010). "MakeMyTrip, Up 89%, Has Best IPO Since 2007". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  22. "IBM to Acquire Micromuse Inc". IBM. 21 December 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  23. Spangler, Todd (11 December 2013). "Internet-Video Startup Ooyala Reels In $43 Mil from Australia's Telstra". Variety. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  24. "Seagate Technology to Acquire Rest of Quinta Seagate". The New York Times. 3 July 1997. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  25. Krause, Reinhardt (3 October 2018). "Palo Alto Networks Acquires Redlock To Boost Cloud Security". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  26. de la Merced, Michael J. (23 July 2013). "Cisco to Buy Sourcefire, a Cybersecurity Company, for $2.7 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  27. De La Merced, Michael J. (23 July 2013). "Cisco to Buy Sourcefire, a Cybersecurity Company, for $2.7 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  28. Kim, Eugene (29 May 2015). "Salesforce jumps on the artificial intelligence bandwagon with a surprise acquisition". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  29. Turner, Giles; Lanxon, Nate (29 July 2019). "SoftBank-Owned ARM Is Said to Agree to Buy Treasure Data". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  30. "NCR Completes Teradata Spin Off" (Press release). NCR. October 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007.
  31. "Teradata Corp". MarketWatch. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  32. "Terayon Communication Systems (TERN) IPO". Nasdaq. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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