Craft Ventures

What Craft Ventures does

Craft Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 by David Sacks, the former COO of PayPal and founder of Yammer (acquired by Microsoft for $1.2 billion). The firm invests across stages — from seed and Series A through dedicated growth-stage vehicles — in B2B software, SaaS, marketplaces, cybersecurity, AI infrastructure and applications, fintech, and frontier technology companies. Its core offerings are organized around two teams: an Investment Team comprising partners and principals who deploy capital from a series of funds (Craft II closed at $500M in 2020; Craft III at $612M and Growth I at $510M closed together in 2022 for combined $1.12B in committed capital), and a Platform Team that wraps operational support around portfolio companies across Talent, PR & Communications, Executive Network, GTM, Legal Affairs, and Information Security — supplemented by a CISO Advisory Council and CxO Advisory Council of enterprise decision makers who provide product feedback and GTM introductions.

The firm's investment approach is differentiated by an operator-led model: partners and operating partners are former founders and senior executives who have personally built and scaled companies (e.g., Kyle Parrish built Figma's sales org from $2M to $1B+ ARR; Michael Robinson was CFO of ClickUp; Mike Marg led GTM at Dropbox and Slack; Hillary Smith was General Counsel at Square; Aaron Cort was first Head of Marketing at ClickUp; Cassie Chao built recruiting at Palantir and Uber). Craft earns revenue through standard venture capital economics — management fees of approximately 2% annually on committed/invested capital across its fund vintages, plus carried interest of approximately 20% on fund profits above preferred return hurdles — and invests alongside co-investors such as Sequoia, Bessemer, NEA, Insight, Georgian, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, and Meritech. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in New York and Austin, Texas (opened December 31, 2025).

Name

Craft Ventures

Legal name

Craft Ventures

Website

https://craftventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Craft Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 by David Sacks that invests across stages in B2B SaaS, AI, cybersecurity, and marketplace companies, deploying capital from multiple funds (totaling $1.12B+ in recent vintages) and providing operator-led portfolio support through a dedicated platform team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (525990), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital firm
• Early-stage investing
• Growth equity funding
• Startup capital
• Technology investments

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund management fees and carried interest: Standard venture capital economics: Craft Ventures earns management fees (typically ~2% of committed capital annually) on its venture and growth funds, plus carried interest (typically ~20%) on fund profits above preferred return hurdles. The firm has raised multiple fund vintages including Craft II ($500M), Craft III ($612M), and Growth I ($510M), totaling $1.12B in those vehicles alone.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Craft Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early and growth-stage technology companies through multiple fund vehicles (Craft II at $500M, Craft III at $612M, and Growth I at $510M). The firm deploys capital across SaaS, marketplaces, cybersecurity, infrastructure, AI applications, fintech, and frontier technology, while offering portfolio companies hands-on operational support through an in-house Platform Team covering Talent, PR and Communications, GTM, Legal Affairs, Information Security, and CISO/CxO Advisory Councils.

Product overview

Craft Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm — not a unified software product but a coordinated offering composed of (1) an Investment Team that deploys multiple funds (Craft II, Craft III, and Growth I) into early and growth-stage technology companies, and (2) a Platform Team that wraps operational support around portfolio companies through dedicated Talent, PR and Communications, Executive Network, GTM, Legal Affairs, and Information Security functions, plus the CISO Advisory Council and CxO Advisory Council. Surrounding these core offerings are content publications (Craft Insights, Why We Invested, Founder Stories) that articulate investment theses and operating playbooks for the firm's portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Craft Ventures Funds (Craft II, Craft III, Growth I) Venture and growth investment funds backing early and growth-stage technology companies. Craft II closed at $500M, and Craft III ($612M) plus Growth I ($510M) closed together at $1.12B. Funds invest across SaaS, marketplaces, cybersecurity, infrastructure, AI, fintech, and frontier tech.
• Platform Team Services In-house platform offering to portfolio companies spanning six functions: Talent (executive hiring and recruiting strategy), PR and Communications (earned media and narrative), Executive Network (CxO connections), GTM (content, SEO, paid growth, lifecycle), Legal Affairs (corporate, regulatory, compliance), and Information Security (product security reviews and audits). Led by Partner Jessica Hoffman with operating partners Sarah Blanchard, Caroline Brayson, Aaron Cort, Hillary Smith, and advisor Bil Harmer.
• CISO Advisory Council Council of influential security decision makers and early adopters who advise the Craft portfolio, providing expert perspective on the industry landscape, market positioning, and product roadmaps.
• CxO Advisory Council Council of technology leaders spanning CIOs, Data & Engineering, Innovation, and Partnerships that helps Craft portfolio companies on product strategy and go-to-market motions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Replit grew from $2.8M to $150M ARR in under a year
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers26 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Founders Fund: San Francisco-based venture firm founded by Peter Thiel with a similar operator-led, thesis-driven approach to early-stage technology investing. Both firms share PayPal Mafia lineage (David Sacks at PayPal; Thiel co-founded PayPal), emphasize deep founder relationships, and invest across defense, aerospace, fintech, and frontier technology. Comparable AUM and stage focus, often co-investing.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Multi-stage venture firm with deep SaaS, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure focus. Bessemer led Upwind's $250M Series B alongside Craft, co-invested in Unframe's $50M seed, and shares Craft's emphasis on repeat investing in category-leading companies. Operates a similar Atlas and BVP platform support model.
• Accel: Long-standing US venture firm focused on early and growth-stage technology companies, with a strong cybersecurity and enterprise software franchise. Accel co-invested in Oasis Security's $120M Series B alongside Craft, and Kindle Van Linge (Principal at Craft) was previously an investor at Accel, indicating deep relationship overlap. Comparable stage focus and category coverage.
• Greylock Partners: Silicon Valley-based early and growth-stage venture firm with a heavy enterprise software and cybersecurity focus. Greylock has co-invested with Craft in multiple Upwind rounds and shares the operator-advisor approach. Comparable fund size, stage focus, and category coverage.
• Index Ventures: US/Europe-based multi-stage venture firm with deep enterprise software, fintech, and consumer internet focus. Index led Vooma's seed round before Craft led the Series A, and shares the operator-supported, conviction-driven approach to early-stage investing. Comparable AUM and stage focus.
• Benchmark:

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): The largest US venture firm by AUM, operating a multi-stage platform spanning crypto, bio, infra, AI, and consumer. a16z has built out an extensive platform team (talent, go-to-market, marketing, security, regulatory) that directly competes with Craft's Platform Team, and the firm invests in many of the same categories (cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, developer tools) as Craft. The principal scaled incumbent that Craft's operator-platform model is benchmarked against.
• Sequoia Capital: The most established tier-1 US venture firm, with multiple co-investments with Craft documented across the portfolio (Ent, Oasis, Replit). Sequoia operates a similar seed-to-growth model and shares the brand-led, founder-selects-investor dynamic that defines Craft's positioning. Comparable category coverage in SaaS, AI, and infrastructure.
• NEA (New Enterprise Associates): One of the largest US venture firms with multi-stage coverage from seed to growth across enterprise, consumer, healthcare, and frontier tech. NEA led Horizon3.ai's $100M Series D alongside Craft and co-invested in Firestorm with Craft. Comparable AUM and stage focus, with greater sector breadth.
• Insight Partners: Large-scale US venture and growth firm focused on software, cybersecurity, and internet companies. Insight led GreenLite's $49.5M Series B alongside Craft, and shares the same cybersecurity and vertical SaaS focus. Comparable in stage breadth (seed through growth) and enterprise buyer relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/craft_ventures
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@craft_ventures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/craft-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments458 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Craft Ventures