Altos Ventures
Altos Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1996 that invests on behalf of institutional limited partners into consumer and enterprise technology companies, with a contrarian geographic emphasis on South Korea and notable exits including Roblox, Coupang, Krafton, Woowa Brothers, and Quizlet.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersBurlingame, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Altos Ventures does
Altos Ventures is a privately held, early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1996 and headquartered in Burlingame, California. The firm invests on behalf of institutional limited partners — most of which the firm states have charitable, educational, or non-profit missions — into consumer and enterprise technology companies, with a distinctive emphasis on fundamentals, contrarian sourcing, and founder-friendly governance. Its articulated principles (Purpose Driven, Founder Oriented, Fundamentals Focused, Uncommonly Patient, Contrarian by Nature) and an average CEO tenure of more than 13 years across its five largest portfolio companies underscore a multi-decade capital approach that selectively commits follow-on capital at 5–10x (and occasionally 100x+) the initial investment in compounding-machine companies.
The firm's portfolio spans more than 100 companies across seed, Series A, and Series B stages, with marquee exits including Roblox, Coupang, Krafton, Woowa Brothers, and Quizlet. Geographically, Altos deploys capital globally with a deliberate emphasis on South Korea (Toss, Toss Bank, Dunamu, Danggeun Market, KREAM, Memebox, Krafton, Coupang, Viva Republica, Yanolja, MyRealTrip, Zigbang, JobPlanet, Krafton, UNASTELLA, Innoxus, Mimibox, MINEIS, Bplant) and selective bets in the UAE (Ziina), Mexico (Nexu), Indonesia (Populix), and the United States. Recent lead investments in AI infrastructure (AfterQuery, General Analysis, AiderX, Donut Labs) signal an active vertical expansion into AI-native companies.
The firm operates a fund-management business with no disclosed software products or APIs; revenue mechanics are standard VC economics — recurring management fees on committed capital plus episodic carried interest on exits. The firm co-invests via syndicates with major venture partners including Accel, Y Combinator, Menlo Ventures, The Raine Group, BoxGroup, 645 Ventures, Smilegate Investment, KDB Industrial Bank, North Island Ventures, BITKRAFT, and Goodwater Capital. Marketing is conducted primarily through a content-rich thought leadership blog (Foxes and Hedgehogs, The Series B Trap, Cargo Cult Capital, How Do You Know?, etc.), an annual teaching engagement at Stanford GSB's Jack McDonald investment class, and earned media coverage.
Altos Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Altos Ventures
- Legal name
- Altos Ventures Management, Inc.
- Website
- http://www.altos.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Altos Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1996 that invests on behalf of institutional limited partners into consumer and enterprise technology companies, with a contrarian geographic emphasis on South Korea and notable exits including Roblox, Coupang, Krafton, Woowa Brothers, and Quizlet.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Altos Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- 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
Where Altos Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Burlingame
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Altos Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Investment in portfolio companies: Altos Ventures makes equity investments in early-stage consumer and enterprise companies. The firm invests initial capital and reserves additional follow-on capital — typically one dollar for every dollar invested in the initial round (per Altos' How Do You Know? blog). Across 100+ companies over 20+ years, follow-on investments average 0.6x initial investment, but in select compounding-machine companies, Altos commits 5–10x or more than 100x the initial investment across funds and SPVs.
- Fund management and carried interest: Standard venture capital fund economics implied across the source material: investment on behalf of institutional investors (limited partners) most with charitable, educational, or non-profit missions, generating returns through capital gains and exits (DPI) including high-profile exits such as Roblox, Coupang, Krafton, Woowa Brothers, Quizlet.
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Altos Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Altos Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that makes equity investments in technology-driven consumer and enterprise companies. The firm invests on behalf of institutional limited partners, most with charitable, educational, or non-profit missions, while reserving follow-on capital to deepen positions in high-performing companies over multi-year horizons. The firm emphasizes fundamentals, founder-friendly governance, and contrarian sourcing across global markets including South Korea and the United States.
Product overview
Altos Ventures is a venture capital investment firm, not a software product company. It makes early-stage investments in consumer and enterprise companies with a focus on fundamentals, founder orientation, contrarian theses, and uncommonly patient capital. Its core offering is investment partnership (fund management) rather than a unified software product or platform-plus-modules architecture. The firm publishes a blog of thought leadership on venture capital philosophy and maintains a public-facing portfolio of current and exited portfolio companies, but it does not market named software products, modules, sub-brands, or APIs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Early-stage venture capital investments Initial equity investments in early-stage consumer and enterprise companies built on strong operating fundamentals and attractive unit economics. Targeted at founders and management teams with ownership mentality and a long-term vision.
- Follow-on capital commitments Selective, deal-by-deal follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies, typically reserving one dollar for every dollar invested in the initial round and scaling to 5-10x or 100x+ the initial investment in high-conviction compounding companies.
- Portfolio board representation and governance Board-level governance and operational guidance provided by Altos partners and executives to portfolio companies, including legal/compliance oversight and strategic counsel. Example: Rick Arnold, General Counsel and CCO at Altos Ventures, was appointed to the board of directors of Bitcentral.
- Fund management for institutional limited partners Advisory and management of venture capital funds on behalf of institutional investors (LPs), most with charitable, educational, or non-profit missions, generating returns through capital gains, exits, and carried interest.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100+ portfolio companies invested over 20+ years; major exits include Roblox, Coupang, Krafton, Woowa Brothers, and Quizlet
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Altos Ventures
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Altos Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Altos Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- New Zealand Government (Christopher Luxon administration)minorRepresentatives from Altos Ventures joined Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Bridgewest, and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in meetings with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in San Francisco to discuss using New Zealand as a 'sandbox' for AI and genetic engineering. The coalition Government responded by reforming the offshore fund tax regime, passing the Gene Technology Act, and overhauling the 'golden visa' scheme.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Altos Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Altos Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceAltos Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Altos Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Altos Ventures subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Altos Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Altos Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments433 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Altos Ventures
What does Altos Ventures do?
Altos Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that makes equity investments in technology-driven consumer and enterprise companies. The firm invests on behalf of institutional limited partners, most with charitable, educational, or non-profit missions, while reserving follow-on capital to deepen positions in high-performing companies over multi-year horizons. The firm emphasizes fundamentals, founder-friendly governance, and contrarian sourcing across global markets including South Korea and the United States.
Is Altos Ventures a public or private company?
Altos Ventures is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Altos Ventures founded?
Altos Ventures was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Altos Ventures based?
Altos Ventures is headquartered in Burlingame, United States, in the North America region.
How does Altos Ventures make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Investment in portfolio companies are the primary driver. The others are fund management and carried interest.
Does Altos Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Altos Ventures.
What industry is Altos Ventures in?
Altos Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists), with a secondary code of FSANAAAI, Micro-VC & Angel Funds. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.