Lightspeed Venture Partners

Lightspeed Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm that backs startups across enterprise software, consumer technologies, fintech, healthtech, and cleantech from seed through growth stages. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, it maintains offices in Beijing, Shanghai, New Delhi, and Herzliya to engage markets in the United States, Asia, and Israel. The firm focuses on technology-enabled businesses and has supported companies across software, mobile, data, e-commerce, and services, spanning early-stage to expansion rounds. It offers strategic guidance, network access, and capital, and has historically included debt financing as part of its investment approach. With a multi-region footprint and a broad multi-stage mandate, Lightspeed seeks to partner with entrepreneurs to scale innovative companies globally.

Shaurya Aggarwal

Partner

Vaibhav Agrawal

Venture Partner

Moritz Baier-Lentz

Partner

Mercedes Bent

Partner

Luke Beseda

Partner

Akshay Bhushan

Partner

Taggart Bonham

Partner

Ashley Brasier

Partner

Cai Wei

Partner

Guru Chahal

Partner

Yoni Cheifetz

Partner

Yoni Cheifetz

Partner

Amish Desai

Partner

Sebastian Duesterhoeft

Partner

Barry Eggers

Partner

Sam Eisler

Partner

Sam Eisler

Partner

James Ephrati

Partner

Faraz Fatemi

Partner

Jack Fowler

Partner

Aaron Frank

Venture Partner

Adam Goldberg

Venture Partner

Merci Grace

Partner

Globin Guo

Executive Director

Gaurav Gupta

Partner

David Gussarsky

Partner

Herry Han

Co-Founder and Partner

Lisa Han

Partner

Rob Horton JD

COO

Hu Peipei

Investment Manager

Galym Imanbayev MD

Partner

Galym Imanbayev

Partner

Nnamdi Iregbulem

Partner

Arif Janmohamed

Partner

Julie Kainz

Partner

Francis Kao

Partner

Ansaf Kareem

Partner

Alex Kayyal

Partner

Dev Khare

Partner

Issac Kim

Partner

Will Kohler

Partner

Harsha Kumar

Associate Partner

Pachara Lawjindakul

Partner

Pachara Lawjindakul

Partner

Will Leas

Partner

Jeremy Liew

Partner

Connor Love

Partner

John Luongo

Venture Partner

Natalie Luu

Partner

Jonathan MacQuitty

Partner

Naveed Matinfar

Partner

Ravi Mhatre

Managing Director

James Mi

Partner

Hemant Mohapatra

Partner

Andrew Moley

Operating Partner and CFO

Tal Morgenstern

Partner

Antoine Moyroud

Partner

Paul Murphy

Partner

Justin Overdorff

Partner

Zac Pan

Associate Partner

Apoorva Pandhi

Associate

Krish Parikh

Partner of Business Services

Nicole Quinn

General Partner

Adrian Nicholas Radu

Partner

Chris Schaepe

Co-Founder

Alexander Schmitt

Partner

Semil Shah

Venture Partner

Shan Shan

Partner

Justin Shen

Partner

Justin Shen

Partner

Shuvi Shrivastava

Partner

Ishaan Preet Singh

Investor

Bipul Sinha

Venture Partner

Bejul Somaia

Partner

Ajay Sudan

Venture Partner

Sun Daniel

Partner

Sydney Sykes

Partner

Alex Taussig

Partner

John Thompson

Venture Partner

John Thompson

Venture Partner

Anoushka Vaswani

Partner

Jason Wang

Partner

Nathan Wang

Vice President

Nathan Wu

Partner

Mark Xu

Partner

Mark Xu

Partner

Cici Yang

Vice President

Jerry Ye

Partner, Data Platform

Haowei Zhai

Vice President

Ju Zhang

Executive Director

Issac Zhang

Vice President

Gavin Zhu

Partner

Past deals in Messaging

Pocket FM

Series D in 2024
Pocket FM, established in 2018 and based in Bengaluru, India, operates a web-based mobile application offering a vernacular audio sharing platform. It provides users access to a wide range of audio content, including news, finance, stories, and entertainment, in local Indian languages and English. The platform specializes in long-form audio entertainment, with a focus on diverse and engaging content across various genres such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, and thriller. It enables users to share and listen to audios, fostering direct communication with creators worldwide, including podcasts.

Thena

Seed Round in 2023
Thena is a cutting-edge customer support platform designed specifically for B2B teams. It integrates with modern communication channels like Slack, MS Teams, in-app chat, and email to streamline customer interactions. Thena's AI-powered platform serves innovative companies such as Vercel, Amplitude, FOX, Etsy, and LaunchDarkly.

Fizz

Series A in 2022
Fizz is an authorized platform designed to enhance community social structures, particularly within institutions. It develops online social media software that facilitates communication and the sharing of ideas, events, and experiences among users. The platform allows individuals to post secret confessions and ask questions within a closed community, promoting social interaction while maintaining anonymity. By leveraging these features, Fizz aims to foster a more connected and engaged community environment.

Fizz

Seed Round in 2022
Fizz is an authorized platform designed to enhance community social structures, particularly within institutions. It develops online social media software that facilitates communication and the sharing of ideas, events, and experiences among users. The platform allows individuals to post secret confessions and ask questions within a closed community, promoting social interaction while maintaining anonymity. By leveraging these features, Fizz aims to foster a more connected and engaged community environment.

The Nudge

Series A in 2022
Founded in 2017, The Nudge is a San Francisco-based company that operates a mobile application designed to encourage city exploration. It sends subscribers text messages containing personalized activity plans, such as brunch ideas or hike suggestions, fostering real-life experiences and local discovery.

Pocket FM

Series B in 2021
Pocket FM, established in 2018 and based in Bengaluru, India, operates a web-based mobile application offering a vernacular audio sharing platform. It provides users access to a wide range of audio content, including news, finance, stories, and entertainment, in local Indian languages and English. The platform specializes in long-form audio entertainment, with a focus on diverse and engaging content across various genres such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, and thriller. It enables users to share and listen to audios, fostering direct communication with creators worldwide, including podcasts.

Schmooze Dating

Seed Round in 2021
Schmooze Dating is an app that has introduced a new feature called schmooze flirts which selects memes from the app's algorithm that a match is likely to laugh at and encourages users to send the meme to their match in order to start a conversation. The user has 48 hours to message the other person before the chat disappears. The app also includes icebreakers to help to get started before a match is removed.

Schmooze Dating

Pre Seed Round in 2021
Schmooze Dating is an app that has introduced a new feature called schmooze flirts which selects memes from the app's algorithm that a match is likely to laugh at and encourages users to send the meme to their match in order to start a conversation. The user has 48 hours to message the other person before the chat disappears. The app also includes icebreakers to help to get started before a match is removed.

The Nudge

Seed Round in 2021
Founded in 2017, The Nudge is a San Francisco-based company that operates a mobile application designed to encourage city exploration. It sends subscribers text messages containing personalized activity plans, such as brunch ideas or hike suggestions, fostering real-life experiences and local discovery.

Pocket FM

Series A in 2020
Pocket FM, established in 2018 and based in Bengaluru, India, operates a web-based mobile application offering a vernacular audio sharing platform. It provides users access to a wide range of audio content, including news, finance, stories, and entertainment, in local Indian languages and English. The platform specializes in long-form audio entertainment, with a focus on diverse and engaging content across various genres such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, and thriller. It enables users to share and listen to audios, fostering direct communication with creators worldwide, including podcasts.

The Nudge

Seed Round in 2020
Founded in 2017, The Nudge is a San Francisco-based company that operates a mobile application designed to encourage city exploration. It sends subscribers text messages containing personalized activity plans, such as brunch ideas or hike suggestions, fostering real-life experiences and local discovery.

Shortwave

Series A in 2020
Shortwave is developing a business communication platform that makes email collaborative and efficient. It aims to tilt the scales back toward email and federation by offering an inbox that helps users work smarter and faster, with agentic AI, automatic inbox tools, and a notification-controlling system to keep teams organized, productive, and responsive. The platform emphasizes decentralization and security, providing a high-quality alternative to centralized messaging apps. The team has experience building widely used products at Google, including work associated with Firebase.

Pocket FM

Seed Round in 2018
Pocket FM, established in 2018 and based in Bengaluru, India, operates a web-based mobile application offering a vernacular audio sharing platform. It provides users access to a wide range of audio content, including news, finance, stories, and entertainment, in local Indian languages and English. The platform specializes in long-form audio entertainment, with a focus on diverse and engaging content across various genres such as fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, and thriller. It enables users to share and listen to audios, fostering direct communication with creators worldwide, including podcasts.

Court Buddy

Series A in 2018
Court Buddy is an online platform that connects clients with attorneys for various legal services tailored to their specific needs, expertise, and location in the United States. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company offers a marketplace where clients can find vetted solo attorneys for personal and business legal matters, including civil and criminal defense. Court Buddy allows clients to engage attorneys based on their budget, providing a range of a-la-carte legal services at flat rates. The platform features tools such as instant messaging, video chat, and secure payment options through its 'CourtBuddy Chat' app and 'CB Direct Pay' service, enhancing communication and transaction efficiency between clients and attorneys. Recognized for its innovative approach, Court Buddy has received accolades, including the American Bar Association’s Legal Access Award and praise from notable figures in entrepreneurship.

CrowdAmp

Seed Round in 2017
CrowdAmp is a one-to-many messaging platform. We use machine learning to enable scalable communications over text messaging.

Court Buddy

Seed Round in 2017
Court Buddy is an online platform that connects clients with attorneys for various legal services tailored to their specific needs, expertise, and location in the United States. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company offers a marketplace where clients can find vetted solo attorneys for personal and business legal matters, including civil and criminal defense. Court Buddy allows clients to engage attorneys based on their budget, providing a range of a-la-carte legal services at flat rates. The platform features tools such as instant messaging, video chat, and secure payment options through its 'CourtBuddy Chat' app and 'CB Direct Pay' service, enhancing communication and transaction efficiency between clients and attorneys. Recognized for its innovative approach, Court Buddy has received accolades, including the American Bar Association’s Legal Access Award and praise from notable figures in entrepreneurship.

Court Buddy

Convertible Note in 2017
Court Buddy is an online platform that connects clients with attorneys for various legal services tailored to their specific needs, expertise, and location in the United States. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company offers a marketplace where clients can find vetted solo attorneys for personal and business legal matters, including civil and criminal defense. Court Buddy allows clients to engage attorneys based on their budget, providing a range of a-la-carte legal services at flat rates. The platform features tools such as instant messaging, video chat, and secure payment options through its 'CourtBuddy Chat' app and 'CB Direct Pay' service, enhancing communication and transaction efficiency between clients and attorneys. Recognized for its innovative approach, Court Buddy has received accolades, including the American Bar Association’s Legal Access Award and praise from notable figures in entrepreneurship.

Poncho

Seed Round in 2017
Poncho Inc. is a New York-based company that specializes in providing personalized weather forecasts through its application, emails, and text messages across the continental United States. Founded in 2014, Poncho has developed a popular chatbot on Facebook Messenger and ranks among the leading weather apps in the App Store. The company not only delivers weather updates but also offers travel reports, enhancing the user experience with engaging content. As of May 2018, Poncho operates as a subsidiary of Dirty Lemon Beverages, LLC, leveraging advanced bot technologies to reach its audience on various messaging and hardware platforms.

Clark

Seed Round in 2017
Clark, Inc. is a company based in New York, founded in 2016, that operates an online virtual assistant platform designed for independent educators and tutors. The platform, Clark, serves as an operational assistant handling daily activities through SMS, email, and a native app. It facilitates connections between tutors, students, and parents, and provides progress reports accessible at any time. Additionally, the company offers assistance services for scheduling sessions and ensuring timely payments for tutors and other hourly instructors. Clark's mission is to support the growth of small-scale tutoring businesses in the U.S., aiming to increase revenue for educators and educational hours in the market.

Companion

Seed Round in 2017
Companion is an app to stay safe and connected. You can enter a destination, add friends and family to monitor you, request help from those nearby and be able to call 911 with one tap.

Duta

Series A in 2017
Duta is an emerging international media company based in Silicon Valley and Chennai, with additional newsrooms in the USA, India, and Spain. It serves millions of subscribers worldwide by providing breaking news, sports updates, entertainment news, and devotional content through popular mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. Duta has developed a group messenger application that allows users to access information across various fields, enabling them to stay informed effortlessly. Backed by venture capitalists with a history of investing in successful tech companies, Duta boasts a leadership team comprised of experienced entrepreneurs in the technology sector.

Poncho

Seed Round in 2016
Poncho Inc. is a New York-based company that specializes in providing personalized weather forecasts through its application, emails, and text messages across the continental United States. Founded in 2014, Poncho has developed a popular chatbot on Facebook Messenger and ranks among the leading weather apps in the App Store. The company not only delivers weather updates but also offers travel reports, enhancing the user experience with engaging content. As of May 2018, Poncho operates as a subsidiary of Dirty Lemon Beverages, LLC, leveraging advanced bot technologies to reach its audience on various messaging and hardware platforms.

Fireglass

Series A in 2016
Fireglass is a cybersecurity company headquartered in the United States that specializes in providing innovative solutions to eliminate malware and phishing threats from web and email traffic without the need for endpoint agents. By utilizing a true isolation approach, Fireglass ensures that all traffic is executed remotely, thereby preventing any harmful content from reaching corporate networks and enhancing user productivity. The company's offerings encompass endpoint and hybrid cloud security management, information protection, messaging security, and website security, making them applicable across various sectors, including healthcare, government, and education. Founded by experts in network security and military intelligence, Fireglass has established its presence within Fortune 500 companies and is a subsidiary of Symantec Corporation.

Whisper

Series C in 2014
Whisper is a media company that engages over 250 million users monthly through its platform, which features authentic stories, videos, and posts shared by individuals worldwide. The company utilizes its AI storytelling technology, Eliot, to enhance the content experience. Whisper's mobile app serves as the largest platform for individuals to express their genuine thoughts and feelings without revealing their identities. Additionally, Whisper connects anonymous professionals with tailored job opportunities, further expanding its role in the digital landscape. The app is accessible on both iOS and Android devices. Whisper is supported by several prominent venture investors, including Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Whisper

Series B in 2013
Whisper is a media company that engages over 250 million users monthly through its platform, which features authentic stories, videos, and posts shared by individuals worldwide. The company utilizes its AI storytelling technology, Eliot, to enhance the content experience. Whisper's mobile app serves as the largest platform for individuals to express their genuine thoughts and feelings without revealing their identities. Additionally, Whisper connects anonymous professionals with tailored job opportunities, further expanding its role in the digital landscape. The app is accessible on both iOS and Android devices. Whisper is supported by several prominent venture investors, including Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Snap

Series B in 2013
Snap Inc. is a United States technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a multimedia messaging app that enables users to send ephemeral photos and videos, share Stories, and access augmented reality features. The company also offers Camera, Chat, Memories, Discover, and Snap Map to enhance communication and content discovery, and has produced Spectacles, a line of wearable camera hardware. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Snap Inc. was founded in 2010 and focuses on camera-based experiences that blend messaging, AR effects, and interactive media for a global audience.

Whisper

Series A in 2013
Whisper is a media company that engages over 250 million users monthly through its platform, which features authentic stories, videos, and posts shared by individuals worldwide. The company utilizes its AI storytelling technology, Eliot, to enhance the content experience. Whisper's mobile app serves as the largest platform for individuals to express their genuine thoughts and feelings without revealing their identities. Additionally, Whisper connects anonymous professionals with tailored job opportunities, further expanding its role in the digital landscape. The app is accessible on both iOS and Android devices. Whisper is supported by several prominent venture investors, including Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Snap

Series A in 2013
Snap Inc. is a United States technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a multimedia messaging app that enables users to send ephemeral photos and videos, share Stories, and access augmented reality features. The company also offers Camera, Chat, Memories, Discover, and Snap Map to enhance communication and content discovery, and has produced Spectacles, a line of wearable camera hardware. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Snap Inc. was founded in 2010 and focuses on camera-based experiences that blend messaging, AR effects, and interactive media for a global audience.

Snap

Seed Round in 2012
Snap Inc. is a United States technology and social media company best known for Snapchat, a multimedia messaging app that enables users to send ephemeral photos and videos, share Stories, and access augmented reality features. The company also offers Camera, Chat, Memories, Discover, and Snap Map to enhance communication and content discovery, and has produced Spectacles, a line of wearable camera hardware. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Snap Inc. was founded in 2010 and focuses on camera-based experiences that blend messaging, AR effects, and interactive media for a global audience.

LiveProfile

Series A in 2011
LiveProfile operates a cross-platform mobile messaging application that facilitates real-time communication among users. It offers features such as instant messaging, photo and video sharing, status updates, and customizable user profiles. The app provides real-time notifications for message delivery, reading, and typing statuses, enhancing the live conversation experience.

FatLens

Series A in 2005
FatLens is the first e-commerce search engine built with patent-pending technology specifically to enhance your online shopping experience. Innovative FatLens technology instantaneously brings you the web's most comprehensive, relevant and unbiased product search results, and the first-ever integrated search with instant messaging for real-time, collaborative online shopping with your friends and family. FatLens provides you the web's most comprehensive e-commerce search results by indexing relevant data from the most number of e-commerce sites and exhaustively categorizing all of the for-sale items at each crawled site. FatLens brings you the most relevant results to your product search through our patent-pending TRIP™ scoring system that accurately matches the indexed and categorized items for sale to your query. Built-in category intelligence easily handles nicknames, misspellings, synonyms and also "fuzzy" matches for providing the greatest relevancy. FatLens also uniquely enhances your e-commerce experience by integrating search with popular instant messaging products (Yahoo! Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger). FatLens enables you to interact in real-time with your friends and family to quickly complete joint or group buying, get timely expert advice or validation, and of course enjoy sharing the online shopping experience. You can search for products you want to buy, select specific products of interest to you to share with your friends and family. By invoking the IM/Collaboration capability (just click the share using Yahoo! Messenger button or AIM button) you can invite your IM buddies to view, share, and refine your product preferences online while also chatting about your choices. The company was founded by an experienced team of entrepreneurs and technologists who have co-founded and worked at successful Internet and search engine technology companies in Silicon Valley. FatLens started operations in 2003 and received its first venture financing from Redpoint Ventures and Cambrian Ventures.
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