Crane Venture Partners
Crane Venture Partners is a UK-regulated, London-headquartered early-stage venture capital firm (founded 2015) investing from inception through seed in foundational enterprise and deep tech companies across AI, data infrastructure, security, and health, with global offices in London, Singapore, New York, and India.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Crane Venture Partners does
Crane Venture Partners LLP is a London-headquartered, FCA-regulated (FRN 736261) early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Krishna Visvanathan and Scott Sage. The firm makes high-conviction investments from inception through seed in foundational-technology companies spanning seven thematic categories: AI & Automation, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech & Hard Science, Enterprise Productivity, Financial Systems, Health & Bio, and Security. Crane backs founders globally from offices in London (3rd Floor, 20 Noel Street), Singapore (10 Craig Road, APAC HQ), New York, and India, with a team of approximately 22 members including 5 leaders, 10 investment professionals, and 7 platform/operations staff.
Crane's offering combines a venture capital fund with differentiated portfolio support services. The GTM Excellence Program is delivered by three operating venture partners — Rav Dhaliwal (ex-Slack first UK employee, ex-Zendesk, ex-Yammer), Ben Wright (advised 100+ companies Seed–Series B), and Richard Snee (ex-Pivotal CMO) — to help portfolio founders with positioning, messaging, sales, and customer success. Head of Platform Ayala Ples runs CXO and CISO advisory groups that connect founders to enterprise buyers. The firm also publishes proprietary research including the annual 'Fill in the Blank' Enterprise Technology Survey and books such as 'Value Creation Explained' and 'Founder-Led Sales Explained.'
Crane's revenue model follows standard venture fund economics: recurring management fees on committed capital during the fund's investment period (stepped down during harvest), plus performance-based carried interest on realized exits. Notable realized exits include Tessian (acquired by Proofpoint, 2023), 7bridges (acquired by IFS), Ona/Gitpod (acquired by OpenAI, June 2026), Raito (acquired by Collibra), Accelex (acquired by Carta), and Nuclia (acquired by Progress). The active portfolio of 60+ companies includes H2O.ai, Onfido, Encord, SRE.ai, Bluefish, CoMind, Gable, pyannoteAI, Chiral, Silverflow, Cyberhaven, and others, with disclosed check sizes ranging from $2.15M pre-seed (Ardent) to participation in $220M rounds (OLIX).
Crane Venture Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crane Venture Partners
- Legal name
- Crane Venture Partners LLP
- Website
- https://crane.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Crane Venture Partners is a UK-regulated, London-headquartered early-stage venture capital firm (founded 2015) investing from inception through seed in foundational enterprise and deep tech companies across AI, data infrastructure, security, and health, with global offices in London, Singapore, New York, and India.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crane Venture Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital Services
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Crane Venture Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Crane Venture Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Fund management fees and carried interest: Crane Venture Partners LLP is a UK-based venture capital firm (registered in England and Wales, OC401243) authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 736261). The firm generates revenue through typical VC fund economics: recurring management fees on committed capital during the fund life, plus performance-based carried interest on investment returns from successful exits.
- Investment returns from portfolio exits: Realized returns from successful portfolio company exits, including Tessian (acquired by Proofpoint, 2023), 7bridges (acquired by IFS), Ona/Gitpod (acquired by OpenAI, 2026), Onfido, Raito (acquired by Collibra), Accelex (acquired by Carta), Nuclia (acquired by Progress), Foundries.io, Centrifuge, Shipamax, Re:infer, Forecast. Unrealized value appreciation across active portfolio.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Early-stage venture capital investment (pre-seed through seed), typical VC fund economics |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Crane Venture Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crane Venture Partners is a London-headquartered venture capital firm that makes high-conviction early-stage (pre-seed through seed) investments in intelligent enterprise and deep technology companies across Europe, Israel, and India. Beyond capital, the firm offers portfolio companies go-to-market (GTM) support through a venture partner network, an internal platform team, and proprietary founder-education resources covering sales and value creation.
Product overview
Crane Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm (not a technology product company) that makes high-conviction investments at the inception-through-seed stages in foundational-technology companies. Founded in 2015 by Krishna Visvanathan and Scott Sage and operating from London and Singapore, the firm's offering combines a core venture capital fund with differentiated portfolio support services — the GTM Excellence Program (delivered by venture partners Rav Dhaliwal, Ben Wright, and Richard Snee) and the Platform & Advisory Network led by Head of Platform Ayala Ples — alongside proprietary research publications such as the annual Fill in the Blank Enterprise Technology Survey and books including Value Creation Explained and Founder-Led Sales Explained. The Crane Herd investment portfolio spans AI & Automation, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech & Hard Science, Enterprise Productivity, Financial Systems, Health & Bio, and Security categories, with notable investments including Encord, Gigs, Cyberhaven, Silverflow, H2O.ai, SRE.ai, Bluefish AI, CoMind, Axiom, Gable, pyannoteAI, ConfigHub, Quaisr, and Qure.ai, alongside exited positions in Onfido, Raito (to Collibra), 7bridges (to IFS), Ona/Gitpod (to OpenAI), Accelex (to Carta), Nuclia (to Progress), Tessian (to Proofpoint), Foundries.io, Centrifuge, Re:infer, Shipamax, and Forecast.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Backed Ona (formerly Gitpod) since 2020; led to acquisition by OpenAI in June 2026
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Crane Venture Partners
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Crane Venture Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Crane Venture Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Y CombinatorcoreY Combinator is a frequent co-investor with Crane, having participated in SRE.ai's seed round and Encord's Series C. SRE.ai was part of Y Combinator's Fall 2024 batch, and Crane's blog features SRE.ai's launch extensively.
- OpenAIflagshipOpenAI acquired Crane's portfolio company Ona (formerly Gitpod) in June 2026, joining Ona into Codex to help organizations deploy agents with confidence. The acquisition is a major exit event for Crane and signals deep alignment with OpenAI's vision for AI-augmented software development.
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)flagshipCrane Venture Partners LLP is authorized and regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority with Firm Reference Number FRN736261. The firm retains records per FCA mandate (5-7 years), maintains GDPR-compliant data handling with Standard Contractual Clauses for non-UK/EEA data transfers, and uses Affinity CRM, Quickbooks, Slack, Notion, and Mailchimp among others.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Crane Venture Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Notion Capital: London-based VC investing in European enterprise SaaS and B2B software from seed to growth. Strong category overlap with Crane's enterprise and infrastructure portfolio.
- Index Ventures: London-based early- and growth-stage venture firm with deep European enterprise-software franchise. Most direct comparable to Crane on stage (seed to Series B), geography (London HQ, US presence), and category focus (enterprise infrastructure, AI, fintech).
- Balderton Capital: London-based early-stage venture firm focused exclusively on European technology businesses from seed to Series A. Highly comparable stage and geography to Crane with similar portfolio verticals (enterprise software, fintech, deep tech).
- LocalGlobe: London-based seed-stage investor focused on UK and European technology, frequently co-invests with Crane (e.g., OLIX round). Same stage and seed-first philosophy; comparable in fund size and portfolio support model.
- Atomico: London-headquartered venture firm founded by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, investing across European technology from seed to growth. Closely comparable to Crane on London base, European enterprise focus, and operator-led platform offering.
- Speedinvest: Vienna-based early-stage venture firm with sector-focused funds across fintech, deep tech, SaaS, and consumer. Operates at seed and Series A in Europe, directly comparable stage and vertical coverage.
- Hoxton Ventures: London-based early-stage VC backing European technology companies. Comparable in fund size, stage (seed and Series A), and category breadth including enterprise and consumer.
- Earlybird Venture Capital: Berlin-based early-stage VC investing across European technology from seed onward. Comparable to Crane on stage, geography, and category breadth including deep tech and enterprise.
- Octopus Ventures: London-based early-stage venture arm of Octopus Group, investing across UK and European health, fintech, deep tech, and B2B SaaS. Same stage and London-base comparability.
Broad incumbents
- Accel: Global venture firm with London office and long-standing European franchise (Facebook, Slack, Spotify). Operates across early and growth stages and competes with Crane for early-stage European enterprise deals.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Crane Venture Partners social profiles
Digital presenceCrane Venture Partners compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Crane Venture Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crane Venture Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Crane Venture Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crane Venture Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments125 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crane Venture Partners
What does Crane Venture Partners do?
Crane Venture Partners is a London-headquartered venture capital firm that makes high-conviction early-stage (pre-seed through seed) investments in intelligent enterprise and deep technology companies across Europe, Israel, and India. Beyond capital, the firm offers portfolio companies go-to-market (GTM) support through a venture partner network, an internal platform team, and proprietary founder-education resources covering sales and value creation.
Is Crane Venture Partners a public or private company?
Crane Venture Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Crane Venture Partners founded?
Crane Venture Partners was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Crane Venture Partners based?
Crane Venture Partners is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Crane Venture Partners make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Fund management fees and carried interest is the primary driver. The others are investment returns from portfolio exits.
Who are Crane Venture Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Notion Capital, Index Ventures, Balderton Capital, LocalGlobe, Atomico, Speedinvest, Hoxton Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and Octopus Ventures. Accel is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Crane Venture Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Crane Venture Partners.
What industry is Crane Venture Partners in?
Crane Venture Partners's product category is Venture Capital Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.