Palo Alto has long been a magnet for founders with big ideas, and for good reason. The city is home to some of the most established and active venture capital firms in the world.
You'll find storied investors like Venrock, an early backer of both Apple and Intel, alongside prolific firms like Accel, which has made over 2,200 investments. These firms have helped build foundational companies and continue to fund the next generation of startups.
Below is our list of the best 81 VC firms in Palo Alto.
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Buy It For $97 $297 →As an early and growth-stage venture capital firm, Accel partners with entrepreneurs from the earliest days through every phase of a company's development. Their track record for identifying future industry leaders includes backing iconic companies like Facebook, Spotify, Slack, and Dropbox.
| Year Founded | 1983 |
| Founders | Arthur Patterson, Jim Swartz |
| Total Funding | $18.3B |
| Average Check Size | $500M |
| Industries | Cloud, Cybersecurity, Consumer, Media, Fintech |
| Investment Stage | Convertible Note, Early Stage, Late Stage, Private Equity, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 2269 (938 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 411 (72 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Discord, Hootsuite, 1Password |
| Contact | 650-614-4800 |
With a portfolio that includes names like Uber, Spotify, and LendingClub, Norwest operates as a multi-stage investment firm providing both venture capital and growth equity. They partner with founders across the consumer, enterprise, and healthcare industries, offering a deep network and operational experience to help scale their businesses.
| Year Founded | 1961 |
| Founders | Irem Rami, Jeff Crowe, Jon Kossow, Promod Haque, Sohil Chand |
| Total Funding | $12.6B |
| Average Check Size | $25M |
| Industries | Consumer, Enterprise, Healthcare, AI & ML, Biotech, DTC, E-Commerce, Education, Fintech, Food & Beverage, Marketplace, Media, SaaS, Proptech & Real Estate, Infrastructure |
| Investment Stage | Convertible Note, Debt, Early Stage, Late Stage, Private Equity, Secondary Market, Growth |
| Nº of Investments | 1000 (391 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 225 (42 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Grove Collaborative, Sundaysky, Vertex Pharmaceuticals |
| Contact | businessplan@nvp.com / +1 650-321-8000 |
Focusing on craftsmanship over volume, Wing Venture Capital partners with early-stage tech founders to build enduring businesses. This hands-on approach has helped produce 21 billion-dollar companies, with a portfolio that includes standouts like Snowflake, Gong, and Cohesity.
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Gaurav Garg, Peter Wagner |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Initial Coin Offering, Late Stage, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 211 (57 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 33 (5 IPO'd) |
| Contact | info@wing.vc / +1 (650) 316-8300 |
With an eye for businesses built on data moats and network effects, Amino Capital funds startups from seed to growth. Their portfolio speaks for itself, featuring breakout companies like Chime, Webflow, and Rippling.
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | David Wei, Huican Zhu, Jun Wu, Larry Li, Sue Xu |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 172 (31 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 25 (3 IPO'd) |
| Contact | hello@aminocapital.com / 6502720526 |
Comprised of former operators, Eclipse Ventures partners with founders at the seed stage to transform foundational physical industries like manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare. They provide deep engagement and operational guidance to help build companies that define and propel economies.
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Lior Susan |
| Industries | Proptech & Real Estate, Consumer, Healthcare, Industrial, Supply Chain & Logistics, Transportation, Aerospace & Space, Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Energy |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Post-Ipo, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 193 (108 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 19 (3 IPO'd) |
| Contact | admin@eclipse.vc / 650-720-4667 |
Fusion Fund supports early-stage entrepreneurs building globally disruptive companies with foundational technology. Drawing on its team's technical and entrepreneurial backgrounds, the firm helps founders create businesses that have strong technical advantages and drive systemic change.
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Lu Zhang |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 127 (26 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 15 |
| Contact | info@fusionfund.com / (650) 868-5906 |
Playground Global provides early-stage capital to technical founders building deep tech companies in automation, energy transition, and engineered biology. As an early and often first investor, they have backed pioneering companies including PsiQuantum, Relativity Space, and MosaicML.
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Bruce Leak, Matt Hershenson, Peter Barrett, Peter Barrett |
| Industries | AI & ML, Deep Tech & Hard Science, Life Sciences, Biotech, Healthcare, Automation, Robotics, Aerospace & Space |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Seed, Series A, Series B |
| Nº of Investments | 128 (59 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 16 (1 IPO'd) |
| Contact | info@playground.global / 650-427-0000 |
Ribbit Capital exclusively invests in fintech startups aiming to rebuild the infrastructure of financial services. They partner with founders from the earliest stages of development, helping to build category-defining companies like Coinbase and Robinhood.
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Meyer Malka |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Post-Ipo, Private Equity, Secondary Market, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 286 (106 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 33 (11 IPO'd) |
| Contact | +1 650-352-2208 |
Venrock carries on a legacy of partnering with entrepreneurs to build enduring companies, with a primary focus on the technology and healthcare sectors. They have backed some of the most influential companies in modern history, including early investments in both Apple and Intel.
| Year Founded | 1969 |
| Founders | Laurance Rockefeller |
| Total Funding | $4.1B |
| Industries | Consumer, Fintech, Healthcare, AI & ML, Robotics, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Biotech |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Post-Ipo, Private Equity, Seed, Series A |
| Nº of Investments | 835 (242 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 280 (106 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Intel, Apple, Bristol Myers Squibb |
| Contact | publicrelations@venrock.com / +1 650 561 9580 |
As one of the oldest early-stage venture firms, CRV invests in technology companies focused on enterprise, consumer, and bioengineering. Their portfolio includes foundational companies like Twitter, Zendesk, and Hubspot, and half of the startups they've backed have gone on to an IPO or acquisition.
| Year Founded | 1970 |
| Founders | Dave Salvant, Rick Burnes, Songe LaRon |
| Total Funding | $2.6B |
| Average Check Size | $20M |
| Industries | Biotech, Consumer, Enterprise, Creator Economy, SaaS |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Series A, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 736 (219 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 181 (20 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Zendesk, Twitter, Ring |
| Contact | press@crv.com / 650 687 5600 |
71 Additional Palo Alto VC Firms Worth Pitching
Our favorite firms are just a small slice of the local funding scene. Combined, the VCs below have backed nearly 9,000 startups and seen almost 2,000 of them through to an exit.
This deep bench of investors shows the breadth of opportunity for founders in the area. Here’s a look at the other venture capital firms funding what's next in Palo Alto.
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