Sapphire Ventures Launches Online Community to Connect Enterprise Executives with Emerging Technology Companies

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sapphire Ventures, the Silicon Valley based venture capital firm that invests in early- and growth-stage technology startups and in early-stage venture funds, today launched SV Explorer, an online community that enables IT executives from global 2000 companies to easily identify and engage with emerging solutions across the technology ecosystem.

This web-based platform enables technology executives to access information about venture-backed companies based on a range of search criteria, including technology type, market focus, funding amount, and technology theme so they can make more informed decisions about emerging technologies they should explore. The goal of SV Explorer is to facilitate greater visibility, discovery, and engagement between corporate decision makers and the emerging technologies available that could help solve both current and future business problems.

"Sapphire Ventures has more than two decades of experience investing in the next-generation of enterprise and consumer technologies," said Rico Mallozzi, director of business development at Sapphire Ventures. "Our goal with SV Explorer is to share that experience and connect CIOs with what we believe are some of the most innovative emerging technology companies. We're excited about SV Explorer's ability to extend our in-person business development efforts, making it even easier for IT leaders and start-ups to find each other."

SV Explorer was built to address the knowledge gap that exists between today's enterprise leaders and the emerging-technology providers to spark partnership, innovation and provide new solutions to business problems today. Despite the recent proliferation of vendors, IT executives still typically identify new solutions through traditional channels such as peer-to-peer networking, conferences, ISVs, and dialogue with VCs. The nature of these channels don't often scale to provide IT executives with the continuous, frictionless view of the innovation landscape they need to continue growing and remain successful.

"Corporate technology executives face the tough task of running their day-to-day operations, while at the same time, need to identify innovations that can change the game for their company," said Dirk Ramhost, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Wacker Chemie. "Working with Sapphire and utilizing SV Explorer makes it easier for our company to be aware of emerging technology vendors that can help drive our innovation goals and agenda."

Start-ups on SV Explorer are drawn from Sapphire's portfolio, as well as the investments from the dozens of venture firms that Sapphire works with and invests in, enabling corporate IT teams to tap into the collective wisdom of the global venture capital community.

"Corporate technology executives are bombarded by noise within the emerging technology vendor landscape. On the flipside, innovative companies with compelling products or services have a hard time breaking through that noise," said Matt Ocko, Founder and Managing Partner at DCVC. "SV Explorer addresses these challenges by enabling startups and corporate executives to connect seamlessly and engage with one another on opportunities for collaboration."

SV Explorer is free to both corporate executives and the emerging technology companies who publish content on the platform. SV Explorer is an extension of the business development work conducted by Sapphire's Portfolio Growth team, which focuses on connecting global CIOs with emerging technology companies.

SV Explorer is available now and can be accessed online at https://svexplorer.com/.  

About Sapphire Ventures
Sapphire Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on helping innovative technology companies grow into companies of consequence. Leveraging nearly two decades of experience and an extensive global CxO network, Sapphire Ventures invests capital, resources and expertise empowering entrepreneurs to rapidly scale their businesses. Whether through direct investments, or its investments in early-stage venture funds, Sapphire Ventures offers a powerful business development and growth platform to its portfolio. With over $2.5 billion in assets under management, Sapphire Ventures focuses on elevating companies to the global stage.

Disclaimer:  

Nothing presented within this article is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures. Readers should not treat any opinion expressed on this blog as a recommendations to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of an opinion. Information provided reflects Sapphire Ventures' views as of a particular time. Such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire Ventures shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. No guarantee of investment performance is being provided and no inference to the contrary should be made. Content within this article may include views or recommendations by third parties, which do not necessarily reflect the views of Sapphire Ventures LLC, or indicate its commitment to any particular product or service presented. While Sapphire Ventures has used reasonable efforts to obtain information from reliable sources, we make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of third-party information presented herein. The products and services presented on this article are not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of results. Nor is any level of satisfaction with any products or services featured within this article is assured. The criteria used to select products and services presented are not financially related and nothing presented herein is intended to constitute official recommendations by Sapphire Ventures, LLC. Under no circumstances will Sapphire Ventures or any of its representatives be held liable for any special or consequential damages that result from the use of, the improper use of, or the inability to use the information or strategies communicated to you through the content. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

CONTACT: Maggie Shepherd, [email protected]

SOURCE Sapphire Ventures