What Cota Capital does

Cota Capital (legal entity: Cota Capital Management, LLC) is a privately-held, SEC-registered venture capital investment adviser founded in 2015 by Bobby Yazdani (with Babak Poushanchi as co-founder and managing partner) and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm invests in early-stage U.S. enterprise technology companies building what it calls "Net New" technologies — solutions that either were never before possible or address problems that did not previously exist. The firm maintains a vertically focused thesis centered on enterprise infrastructure, automation, applied AI, cybersecurity, cloud, and select FinTech and HealthTech adjacencies.

Cota operates a thesis-driven model that pairs financial capital with a suite of operational support services: a proprietary "Strategic Intelligence Engine" for market and competitive analysis, technical architecture and go-to-market workshops, board and team-building support, and network activation for founder introductions to enterprise buyers and operators. The firm sources deals through an inbound brand channel anchored by its annual Cota Connect conference, an extensive Knowledge Base content library, founder video series, LinkedIn presence, and monthly newsletters. Portfolio company outcomes visible on the firm's website include several realized exits (Tubi, Capella Space, OpenGov, NextInput, Greensmith Energy), an IPO (Berkeley Lights), and an ICO (Oasis Labs), alongside active growth-stage names (Farther, Gusto, Cast AI, Addepar, Platform9) and a steady stream of seed-stage AI and enterprise bets. Co-investors include General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Bessemer Venture Partners, CapitalG, General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital, and Village Global.

The firm is structured as an LLC with 11-50 employees, comprising a managing partner (Bobby Yazdani), a partner/COO (Pete Williams), and dedicated C-suite functions including CFO (Vivienne Chua), General Counsel/CCO (Faie Dorin), CMO (Gabi Schindler), plus partners, principals, and investment staff focused on AI infrastructure and emerging tech theses. Revenue is generated through customary VC economics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on successful portfolio exits — across multiple funds investing U.S. domestic capital. An affiliated Cota Impact Fund operates as a Donor Advised Fund with the San Francisco Foundation for social impact initiatives.

Name

Cota Capital

Legal name

Cota Capital Management, LLC

Website

https://cotacapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cota Capital is a U.S. early-stage venture capital firm that backs enterprise technology founders building transformative "Net New" products, pairing financial investment with a proprietary Strategic Intelligence Engine, operational expertise, and an industry network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early-stage enterprise technology
• Founder operational support
• Portfolio company guidance
• Technology growth equity

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: Cota Capital generates returns through equity investments in early-stage enterprise technology companies. As a registered investment adviser, they manage funds that invest in portfolio companies with the goal of achieving returns through exits via IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cota Capital is a venture capital firm that invests early-stage equity capital in U.S.-based enterprise technology companies while pairing that capital with operational expertise, strategic intelligence, go-to-market assistance, technical architecture guidance, and network activation. The firm targets visionary founders building "Net New" technologies in areas such as AI, machine learning, edge computing, robotics, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure. Capital is delivered through multiple registered investment funds backed by limited partners.

Product overview

Cota Capital operates as a venture capital investment firm offering a unified platform of financial investment combined with bespoke operational support. Their core offering encompasses capital deployment, strategic intelligence, go-to-market assistance, technical architecture guidance, and network activation for portfolio companies. The firm focuses exclusively on U.S.-based early-stage enterprise technology companies addressing 'Net New' challenges—visionary ideas that either were never before possible or are solving problems that didn't exist before now. Their investment approach combines financial capital with deep enterprise expertise, custom-built founder support through workshops and strategic guidance, and a vast industry network built on decades of trusted enterprise relationships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cota Capital Investment Services A venture capital offering combining early-stage equity investment with bespoke operational support — strategic intelligence, go-to-market workshops, technical architecture guidance, and network activation — for U.S.-based founders building 'Net New' enterprise technologies in AI, machine learning, edge computing, robotics, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 8VC: 8VC is a direct peer as an early-to-growth stage enterprise-tech and biotech VC. 8VC co-led Esper with Cota and participated in Mimibox alongside Cota, both firms operating in the same founder-network and enterprise SaaS deal ecosystem.
• Goodwater Capital: Goodwater Capital is a direct peer as an early-stage consumer/tech VC. Goodwater led Mimibox's $6.5M round with Cota participating, and both firms back founder-led technology platforms at seed/Series A stages.
• WestWave Capital: WestWave Capital is a direct peer as an early-stage enterprise-tech and cybersecurity-focused VC. WestWave co-led Amplifier Security's $5.6M seed with Cota, showing direct collaboration on early-stage enterprise security deals.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer is a direct peer as a sector-focused, multi-stage enterprise/cloud VC. Bessemer has directly co-invested with Cota on Farther's $150M Series D, and both firms share the enterprise-software investment thesis at early and growth stages.
• Village Global: Village Global is a direct peer as an early-stage enterprise AI-focused VC backed by prominent tech operators. Village Global co-led Across AI's seed with Cota, illustrating overlapping AI/enterprise seed-stage investment focus.
• G2 Venture Partners: G2 Venture Partners is a direct peer as a sustainability-and-enterprise-tech focused early-stage VC. G2 led Cast AI's $108M Series C alongside Cota, demonstrating direct co-investment activity on enterprise cloud-infrastructure deals.

Broad incumbents

• Sequoia Capital: Sequoia is a broad incumbent as the archetypal multi-stage, multi-thematic mega-fund. Sequoia frequently leads the later rounds where Cota participates as a co-investor, making it both a competitor and a key syndicate partner in Cota's deal ecosystem.
• CapitalG (Alphabet): CapitalG is a broad incumbent corporate-backed growth equity fund. CapitalG participated in Farther's $150M Series D alongside Cota, illustrating direct co-investment in growth-stage enterprise deals where CapitalG brings strategic distribution advantages Cota cannot match.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): a16z is a broad incumbent as a mega-fund spanning enterprise, consumer, and crypto. While substantially larger than Cota, a16z competes for the same enterprise-AI founders Cota targets and represents the benchmark institutional alternative for LPs evaluating Cota.
• General Catalyst: General Catalyst is a broad incumbent that participated in Kilo Code's $8M seed alongside Cota. General Catalyst operates a much larger multi-stage fund but shares Cota's enterprise-AI investment themes and serves as both competitor and syndicate partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cotacapital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cota-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments241 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Cota Capital