Scale Venture Partners
UnclaimedAt a Glance
- Check Size
- $10M – $100M
- Stage
- Series A, Series B+
- AUM
- $3B
- Sectors
- Enterprise, SaaS, AI
- Founded
- 2000
- HQ
- Foster City, CA
About Scale Venture Partners
Scale Venture Partners was founded in 2000 and has established itself as a leading growth-stage venture capital firm focused exclusively on enterprise software investments. Based in Foster City, California, the firm takes a highly analytical, data-driven approach to identifying and supporting high-potential B2B software companies that have achieved product-market fit and are ready to scale. The firm is particularly known for its expertise in go-to-market strategy, sales operations, and customer success, providing portfolio companies with both capital and operational guidance to accelerate growth. Scale's investment philosophy centers on partnering with companies at inflection points, typically leading Series A and B rounds with investments ranging from $10-50 million. The firm has built an impressive track record with notable exits including DocuSign's IPO, Looker's acquisition by Google, and MuleSoft's $6.5 billion acquisition by Salesforce. Led by Managing Partners Rory O'Driscoll and Andy Vitus, Scale Venture Partners manages over $2 billion in assets and has invested in more than 100 companies. What distinguishes Scale is their deep operational expertise and commitment to supporting portfolio companies through the critical scaling phase, making them a preferred partner for enterprise software entrepreneurs.
Investment Thesis
“Leads most of its early-stage rounds in AI and B2B software, writing lead checks at Series A and B out of its $900M eighth fund.”
Leadership Team
Rory O'Driscoll is the through-line, named on every Scale fund filing from 2008 to the current vehicle and still a partner. Stacey Bishop has been an executive officer since Fund IV in 2013, Alexander Niehenke since Fund VI and Ariel Tseitlin since Fund V. Kate Mitchell, a co-founder of the firm's modern era, appears on Funds III through VI. Andy Vitus is a partner and was named on Fund V.
The current investing bench adds partners Javier Redondo, Jeremy Kaufmann, Max Abram and Siddharth Ramakrishnan, with principals Jonas Ciplickas and Sabina Smith. What differentiates Scale is that roughly half the firm is not investing staff: Craig Rosenberg is chief platform officer, Dale Chang operating partner, Becca Chambers chief marketing officer, Will McGinnis chief data scientist, and the firm keeps executives-in-residence including former Gartner sales research VP Kristina McMillan. Mary Denten is chief financial officer and Stephan Eberle general counsel and head of LP relations.
Sector Focus
Investment Stage
Notable Portfolio Companies
Fund History
Scale's fund ladder is documented back to Fund III and shows steady, disciplined escalation from a single Foster City office. Scale Venture Partners III, L.P. raised $250 million with first sales in June 2008. Fund IV filed a $300 million offering in May 2013, Fund V a $335 million offering in November 2015. Fund VI closed $400 million with first sales in July 2018, Fund VII closed $600 million in November 2020, and Fund VIII closed $900 million with first sales in September 2022. Every vehicle filed from Foster City, California.
The named executive officers track the partnership's generational handover. Fund III lists Rory O'Driscoll, Louis Bock, Kate Mitchell, Sharon Weinbar, Mark Brooks, Jim Jones and Robert Theis. By Fund VIII the officers are O'Driscoll, Stacey Bishop, Alexander Niehenke, Ariel Tseitlin, Mary Denten and Stephan Eberle. Scale states it is now investing out of Fund VIII, with roughly 80 percent of its investments made as lead checks at Series A and B, and describes itself as an early-stage firm focused on AI and B2B software.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What stage does Scale Venture Partners invest at?
Scale Venture Partners primarily invests at the Series A, Series B+ stages. This means they focus on companies that are scaling their go-to-market after proving product-market fit.
Where is Scale Venture Partners located?
Scale Venture Partners is headquartered in Foster City, CA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
What sectors does Scale Venture Partners focus on?
Scale Venture Partners focuses on investments in Enterprise, SaaS, AI. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
What is Scale Venture Partners's typical check size?
Scale Venture Partners's typical investment check size ranges from $10M to $100M. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
How much does Scale Venture Partners have under management?
Scale Venture Partners manages approximately $3B in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
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