Siemens next47

Lakshmikanth Ananth, known as Lak Ananth, was appointed to head next47 effective November 15, 2016, weeks after the unit formally launched, and serves as chief executive and global managing partner. He came from Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, the venture capital program at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and has since written on anticipating failure as a discipline for technology operators. The firm employs roughly 62 people across three continents, working from Palo Alto and offices in the United States, Europe and Israel, and has begun using the shortened N47 brand alongside the original name. Because next47 draws on an evergreen commitment from Siemens rather than limited partner funds, its partners carry no fundraising cycle and hold decision rights independent of the Siemens operating businesses, which is the structural feature the firm leads with when competing against conventional venture funds for enterprise deals.

Siemens established next47 as a separate unit effective October 1, 2016, consolidating venture programs the parent had run for decades into one independent firm and committing EUR 1 billion, roughly $1.1 billion, over the first five years. The name is a reference to 1847, the year Siemens was founded. The vehicle is evergreen rather than a series of numbered vintages, and the firm now describes itself as a $1.2 billion independent global venture firm backed by Siemens AG. The independence is structural, not cosmetic: investment decisions sit with next47's own partners, and portfolio companies carry no obligation to prioritize Siemens as a commercial partner, a separation maintained since the 2016 restructuring. Cumulative activity runs to roughly 248 companies, 16 of which have reached unicorn valuations, with 12 public exits. The firm concentrates on enterprise businesses, most often at Series B, with the largest share of capital going to United States companies.