Sapphire Ventures

Sam Wilkins Joins Riviera Partners as Partner in Tech-Focused Search Firm’s Venture Capital-Backed Practice

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 29, 2024
Private equity, Box, OpenTable, Apollo Global Management, Y Combinator, Uber, Dropbox, Venture capital, Accel, NEA, Insight Partners, Sequoia, Sapphire Ventures, Partner (business rank), Zendesk, DNA

San Francisco, CA , Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riviera Partners , the leading global executive search firm specializing in executive leadership placements in technology, product, and design talent, has welcomed Sam Wilkins as its newest Partner, joining the firm’s Venture Capital-backed practice led by Managing Partner Eoin O'Toole .

Key Points: 
  • San Francisco, CA , Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Riviera Partners , the leading global executive search firm specializing in executive leadership placements in technology, product, and design talent, has welcomed Sam Wilkins as its newest Partner, joining the firm’s Venture Capital-backed practice led by Managing Partner Eoin O'Toole .
  • Throughout his tenure, he cultivated relationships in the US by working with a diverse array of Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Publicly backed technology companies.
  • “We are delighted to welcome Sam to the team,” said Eoin O’Toole, Managing Partner at Riviera Partners.
  • “In addition to being an incredible search professional, Sam embodies the entrepreneurial DNA shared by the founders with whom we work.

Defense Unicorns Raises $35 Million Series A to Advance National Security through Open Source Software

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Technology, Other Defense, Contracts, Homeland Security, Security, Public Policy, Government, Software, Artificial Intelligence, Defense, Software factory, DevOps, Internet, Woman, Atmosphere, Air force, Multimedia, YAYE, Homeland security, National security, Entrepreneurship, Risk, Synthetic media, Department of Defence, Sapphire Ventures, Partner (business rank), Navy, Machine learning, Environment

Defense Unicorns , a software startup providing open source software and AI capabilities for National Security systems, today announced it has raised a $35 million Series A funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital .

Key Points: 
  • Defense Unicorns , a software startup providing open source software and AI capabilities for National Security systems, today announced it has raised a $35 million Series A funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa Capital .
  • Leveraging Defense Unicorns’ solutions, national security systems can quickly adopt modern technologies wherever the mission happens, whether in space, undersea or elsewhere.
  • Powered by these projects, Defense Unicorns currently offers three core capabilities as a service: Your App Your Environment (YAYE), Software Factory and AI for National Security .
  • Defense Unicorns has over 125 employees and is currently hiring for a number of roles, including product managers, data scientists, platform engineers, software engineers and more.

2023: A Remarkable Year of Achievements and Milestones for Huntress

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
SMS, Computer security, ANZ, Rise, Microsoft, SMB, GDPR, MDR, Comcast, CCPA, Learning, Sapphire Ventures, Glass, Research, Acquisition, Woman, Environment, Paper, MOVEit, ARR, SAT, Luigi, Fortification, CISO, Travel, SOC, MSP, Risk management

The momentum propelling us forward makes me even more confident in our future,” said Kyle Hanslovan, CEO at Huntress.

Key Points: 
  • The momentum propelling us forward makes me even more confident in our future,” said Kyle Hanslovan, CEO at Huntress.
  • "We have been using Huntress EDR for several years and have significantly expanded our use of the product in 2023.
  • Huntress is a key partner in protecting our customers from emerging cybersecurity threats,” said Elliot Hyman, CEO, Lyra Technology Group.
  • Unstoppable in 2023, Huntress shattered glass ceilings and is excited to continue empowering the 99% and the service providers that secure them in 2024.

KeyBanc Capital Markets and Sapphire Ventures Private SaaS Company Survey Reveals Pivot to Efficient Growth and Profitability

Retrieved on: 
Monday, December 18, 2023
Marketing, Private, Partnership, Fintech, Sapphire Ventures, KeyBank, Software, Acquisition, Software as a service, GTM, KBCM, SAN, NTM, CAC, Artificial intelligence, Optimism, Growth, Rule, Food delivery

SAN FRANCISCO and MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyBanc Capital Markets (KBCM), the corporate and investment banking unit of KeyCorp in partnership with Sapphire Ventures, a global software venture capital firm backing companies of consequence, released results from KBCM's Technology Group's 14th annual Private SaaS Company Survey, the benchmarking report by which the SaaS industry measures financial and operating performance.

Key Points: 
  • This year's survey revealed trends of decelerated growth and a transition towards profitability in 2023, a resounding theme throughout the report's findings.
  • "Sapphire Ventures is pleased to partner with KeyBanc Capital Markets on this invaluable report and reference point for the start-up SaaS industry.
  • The KBCM and Sapphire Ventures Private SaaS Company Survey provides credible operational and financial benchmarking data for executives and investors in SaaS companies of all sizes.
  • To view the full survey results, methodology and to see a deeper analysis of the findings, visit us at http://www.key.com/saassurvey .

YugabyteDB Managed Introduces Product Labs Experience for Immersive Distributed SQL Learning

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Software, Networks, Professional Services, Fintech, Data Management, IOT (Internet of Things), Electronic Commerce, Apps, Applications, Technology, Security, Health Technology, Health, Cloud, Sapphire Ventures, Internet of things, Organization, Entrepreneurship, Lightspeed Venture Partners, PostgreSQL, SQL, CockroachDB, ACID, Learning, Database, Documentation, ScyllaDB, Azure, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft, Restaurant, MongoDB, Video game, Online shopping, Computer data storage, Renewable energy, YugabyteDB, Oracle

Yugabyte, the modern transactional database company, today announced the release of YugabyteDB Managed Product Labs, a new quick-start, in-product learning experience to shorten time to productivity with the database.

Key Points: 
  • Yugabyte, the modern transactional database company, today announced the release of YugabyteDB Managed Product Labs, a new quick-start, in-product learning experience to shorten time to productivity with the database.
  • With the new YugabyteDB Managed Product Labs, developers can quickly familiarize themselves with the rich capabilities of the database by exploring key features of YugabyteDB through real-world applications running on live YugabyteDB clusters.
  • Product Labs continues Yugabyte’s ongoing investment in learning and enablement of distributed transactional databases.
  • The first YugabyteDB Managed Product Labs experience focuses on helping users minimize application latency for global applications.

BioCatch Surpasses $100m USD ARR

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 20, 2023
Fraud, Behavior, EBITDA, Sapphire Ventures, Telecommunications, Crime, ARR, Partnership, Growth, Centaur, TEL, Cryptocurrency

TEL AVIV, Israel and NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioCatch, the global leader in digital fraud and money laundering detection and response powered by behavioral biometric intelligence, today announced that it has reached Centaur status, surpassing $100m in annual recurring revenue.

Key Points: 
  • The milestone achievement is fueled by the rapid adoption of BioCatch Connect™, the Company's flagship product portfolio.
  • Overall, BioCatch grew ARR 51% as of September 30, 2023 compared to September 30, 2022.
  • In 2023, BioCatch has achieved additional significant operational milestones including:
    Achieving year-to-date cash flow and EBITDA profitability while projecting profitability across both these metrics for fiscal 2024.
  • A significant reason for BioCatch's ARR growth and market expansion is the value and return on investment the BioCatch ConnectÔ portfolio of products delivers to its customers.

BioCatch Surpasses $100m USD ARR

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 20, 2023
Fraud, Behavior, EBITDA, Sapphire Ventures, Telecommunications, Crime, ARR, Partnership, Growth, Centaur, TEL, Cryptocurrency

TEL AVIV, Israel and NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioCatch, the global leader in digital fraud and money laundering detection and response powered by behavioral biometric intelligence, today announced that it has reached Centaur status, surpassing $100m in annual recurring revenue.

Key Points: 
  • The milestone achievement is fueled by the rapid adoption of BioCatch Connect™, the Company's flagship product portfolio.
  • Overall, BioCatch grew ARR 51% as of September 30, 2023 compared to September 30, 2022.
  • In 2023, BioCatch has achieved additional significant operational milestones including:
    Achieving year-to-date cash flow and EBITDA profitability while projecting profitability across both these metrics for fiscal 2024.
  • A significant reason for BioCatch's ARR growth and market expansion is the value and return on investment the BioCatch ConnectÔ portfolio of products delivers to its customers.

Cervin Ventures Raises $162 Million to Invest in Early-Stage Startups, Launches Portfolio Services Team

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 14, 2023
DevOps, Sapphire Ventures, Marketing, Bolster, PALO, Research, Silicon, Investment, Growth, AI, Cryptocurrency, Cervin

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Cervin Ventures, a leading early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to building enduring businesses, announced the close of $162 million in new capital. The firm will use the capital to invest in Seed and Series A startups specializing in enterprise software, data and AI, cybersecurity, DevOps, cloud, and networking.

Key Points: 
  • "We've meticulously nurtured Cervin's growth and the value we provide entrepreneurs based on our own entrepreneurial backgrounds," said Preetish Nijhawan , Cervin co-founder and partner.
  • To accelerate growth among portfolio companies, Cervin is introducing a portfolio services team led by Silicon Valley veteran Scott Brown , who most recently led marketing at Hum Capital and Sapphire Ventures.
  • This team will provide Cervin's portfolio companies with post-investment services, such as business development, research, go-to-market consulting, and marketing & communications support.
  • With the new capital and expanded team, Cervin is well-positioned to support the next generation of early-stage founders and product visionaries."

Laura Padilla Joins Sapphire as Portfolio Growth’s Newest Partner and Head of Business Development

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Professional Services, Other Professional Services, Technology, Software, Asset Management, Networks, Consulting, Sapphire Ventures, Business development, Software as a service, Marketing, Global Partners, Head, Airtable, Business, Channel, CXO, Silicon, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, ARR, Engineering, Zoom Video Communications, Zoom, Growth, CIO, Micro ISV, BD, Bank, Sapphire

Sapphire (Sapphire Ventures, LLC), a global software venture capital firm backing companies of consequence, today announced that Laura Padilla has joined Sapphire as Portfolio Growth’s newest partner and Head of Business Development.

Key Points: 
  • Sapphire (Sapphire Ventures, LLC), a global software venture capital firm backing companies of consequence, today announced that Laura Padilla has joined Sapphire as Portfolio Growth’s newest partner and Head of Business Development.
  • In her new role, Laura will provide strategic counsel to Sapphire’s portfolio companies across their business development needs.
  • Previously a Sapphire Growth Advisor , Laura helped advise Sapphire’s portfolio companies on a range of BD and partner strategies and frameworks, Laura now joins Sapphire to help bolster Portfolio Growth’s impact.
  • “I have seen first-hand the power of Sapphire’s Portfolio Growth platform and the various ways it helps accelerate growth for portfolio companies,” said Laura Padilla, Partner and Head of Business Development, Portfolio Growth at Sapphire.

Weights & Biases Raises $50 Million Round Led by Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, Announces W&B Prompts

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Sapphire Ventures, LLM, MLOps, Software as a service, Mattia Felici, Partnership, Meta, Woven Planet Holdings, Sapphire, GCP, ML, Microsoft, Research, OpenAI, Nat, Volkswagen, NVIDIA, Cohere, Machine learning, SAN, Snowflake, BOND, Hugging Face, Weight, Entrepreneurship, Lambda, AWS, Insight Partners, Video game, Square, Graphcore

"Weights & Biases found their footing by helping developers supervise model training, where they are the popular choice for practically everyone we know -- from Meta to OpenAI to Microsoft," said Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman. "Now that the industry is maturing, they're expanding from training to prompting – helping enterprises around the world use LLM platforms in a safe & reliable way. It is rare to find a team and company so well positioned to capture share of the ever-growing AI market – all while maintaining terrific SaaS margins."

Key Points: 
  • The round was led by Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman, with additional participation from Sapphire Ventures.
  • The team will use this new influx of capital to continue to build out these tools, including the launch of Weights & Biases Prompts.
  • "Weights & Biases found their footing by helping developers supervise model training, where they are the popular choice for practically everyone we know -- from Meta to OpenAI to Microsoft," said Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman.
  • Sapphire couldn't be more excited to partner with Co-Founder and CEO Lukas Biewald, and the entire Weights & Biases team."