Founded in 2000, Azure is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $750 million under management.
We invest in early stage technology companies that are at the forefront of a transformative opportunity for growth. We have served as trusted advisors to some of the most successful and important technology companies created in the last decade, including VMware (NYSE: VMW), Bill Me Later (acquired by eBay), Calix (NYSE: CALX), Cyan (NYSE: CYNI), Top Tier (acquired by SAP), TripIt (acquired by Concur) and World Wide Packets (acquired by Ciena), and have helped to generate billions of dollars of value in these companies for our entrepreneurs and investors. The Azure team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships, and a unique professional investment approach to venture investing. We passionately support our companies with active guidance in all key aspects of team building, strategy, operations and governance.
WHY CHOOSE AZURE?
VISION
We look for emerging companies with entrepreneurs that have the vision, passion and discipline to transform an industry.
RESEARCH
Independent of due diligence on any particular company, the Azure team conducts on-going primary research projects into important technology industry sub-sectors. These research projects help us create and update our investment roadmap, target specific new investment opportunities, and increase our domain knowledge, and it helps our portfolio companies identify the most promising market opportunities worth pursuing.
INVESTMENTS
We invest in emerging companies as well as venture spinouts and restructuring that are at an inflection point of a market opportunity. Our geographic focus is companies whose headquarters are in North America, with approximately 50% of our investments outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Our investment pace is highly selective, averaging 4 to 6 new investments per year.
REALIZATION
With category defining outcomes five times in the last decade, Azure has realized successes through our strategy of investment selection and active guidance to help our portfolio management teams build large and sustainable businesses. As venture investors we recognize that over 80% of our successful investments are likely to be acquired by strategic partners, and therefore believe it is critical to start planting the seeds for an eventual outcome early on in the company’s lifecycle.
RELATIONSHIPS
As key advisors and investors to many of the most successful technology companies of the last 20 years, Azure partners have built the Azure Network, which includes enduring relationships with hundreds of important technology industry executives and entrepreneurs. We work actively with members of this broad Azure network to provide key value-add to our portfolio companies such as customer introductions, team and board recruitment/enhancement, technology, business development, sales and marketing partnerships, investment and acquisition.