Sorenson Ventures Raises $150 Million Second Fund
Early-stage Venture Capital Firm Invests in Enterprise Software and Security Startups Solving the Complex Challenges Faced by Today’s Businesses
Sorenson Ventures announced that it has raised $150 million for its second fund, Sorenson Ventures II. The fundraise was oversubscribed and limited partners include foundations, endowments, fund of funds, a reinsurance company, a pension fund, and corporate, family office, and experienced individual technology investors.
Founded in 2017 by longtime venture capitalists Ken Elefant and Rob Rueckert, Sorenson Ventures has invested in over 30 early-stage companies including Socure, an identity verification platform; CyCognito, a cyber security startup; Oyster, a remote hiring platform company; Vendia, a real-time secure data sharing platform; MX, a data-driven finance solution; Qualio, a quality management system; and Via, a mobile commerce platform. The firm has already had several exits from its first fund, Sorenson Ventures I, including Bridgecrew (acquired by Palo Alto Networks), CloudKnox (acquired by Microsoft), and Openpath (acquired by Motorola).
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“We are product-first investors who partner with entrepreneurs using their engineering vision to change markets,” said Rob Rueckert, Founding Partner. “We believe we bring something different to the table, and as such, we’ve been fortunate to syndicate with firms such as Lightspeed, Battery Ventures, Emergence, Accel, and General Catalyst, among many other high-quality firms. We’re going to continue to invest in founders who are building innovative products that have impressive intellectual property and who have the vision to execute.”
With decades of operational and investing experience in enterprise software and security startups, the Sorenson Ventures team focuses on investing in early-stage companies in sectors that include developer tools, machine learning applications, data infrastructure, management platforms, and security companies protecting new attack vectors. The fund typically invests in companies at the Seed or Series A stages.
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Sorenson Ventures is a partner firm of Sorenson Capital, a growth equity firm focused on enterprise software and security investments. Sorenson Capital was founded in 2002 and has more than $1.5 billion in assets under management (as of December 31, 2021). While each firm raises its own funds and invests independently, the teams collaborate on investment theses, go-to-market analysis, and building extensive customer, partner, and expert networks that they can leverage for their portfolio companies.
“What sets Sorenson apart is our manageable fund size and focused investment thesis,” said Elefant, Founding Partner. “We’ve intentionally structured our firm to allow us to engage deeply as we collaborate with founders and support our portfolio companies. We roll up our sleeves to help portfolio companies identify and validate product-market fit and optimize go-to-market strategies. We don’t just provide investment capital. We seek to become a true partner to the companies in which we invest.”
In addition to Founding Partners Ken Elefant and Rob Rueckert, the Sorenson Ventures team includes Vidya Raman, Eric Hilton, Michelle Moon, Bert Roberts, and Tony Spinelli. Collectively the team brings unique value to early-stage entrepreneurs, especially those who are looking for proven go-to-market support and corporate partnerships.
