Who founded Lightspeed Venture Partners and when was it created?
Four Stanford alumni founded Lightspeed Venture Partners in 2000. They had previously worked together at Weiss, Peck & Greer before launching their own firm.
Questions about Lightspeed Venture Partners
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did Lightspeed Venture Partners open its first international office?
Lightspeed Venture Partners opened its first international office in Tel Aviv on the 1st of January 2006 after Yoni Cheifetz joined the team. The firm later expanded further by opening an office in Singapore in 2022 to become a global network with eleven offices worldwide.
What major enterprise software companies did Lightspeed Venture Partners fund during its early years?
The firm led Series A funding for Riverbed Technology in 2002 which became one of the largest enterprise IPOs in 2006. Mulesoft received Series B backing in 2007 before Salesforce acquired it for $6.5 billion less than a year after going public in 2017. Appdynamics was funded through Series A in 2008 and sold to Cisco for $3.7 billion on the eve of its expected IPO in 2017.
How did Lightspeed Venture Partners expand into consumer platforms and healthcare innovation?
Lightspeed Venture Partners invested in Guardant Health through Series C funding in 2014 before the company went public in 2018. The firm also backed Nest through Series B in 2011 which Google acquired for $3.2 billion in an all cash transaction in 2014. Forty Seven received seed funding from Lightspeed in 2015 and was later bought by Gilead for $4.9 billion in 2020.
What capital amounts did Lightspeed Venture Partners raise between 2012 and 2022?
By 2012 the firm had accumulated $3 billion in committed capital across its early funds. In 2022 Lightspeed raised $7.1 billion across four flagship funds including Fund XIV, Select Fund V, and Opportunity Fund II. April 2020 saw the raising of $4.2 billion split between early-stage venture funds, growth funds, and opportunity funds.