Fundraising Fox

Sozo Ventures

Venture capitalActively deploying

Redwood City · Seed–Late Stage · 27 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Sozo Ventures specializes in backing technology-enabled companies seeking global expansion and market entry. The firm leverages its network of advanced customers and distributors to provide strategic guidance and market access before expansion strategies are finalized. By operating across all financing stages and maintaining deep connections in key international markets, Sozo delivers hands-on support tailored to the unique challenges of global business expansion and localization.

Source: firm website, verified Jul 21, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Late Stage
HQ
Redwood City, US
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2012
Tracked investments
124

Team · 27 people

from the firm's website
Phil Wickham· Executive Managing Director
Koichiro Nakamura· Senior Managing Director
Rob Freelen· Managing Director
Spencer Foust· Managing Director
Lauren MacDonald· Principal
Tetsu Nomura· Principal
Yoshihiro Kohara· Principal
Yoshitaka Kadoya· Principal
Clay Gary· Venture Partner
Kaori Onguchi· Venture Partner
Mitch Underseth· Venture Partner
Paul T. Masuda· Venture Partner
Ray Hatoyama· Venture Partner
Samira Daswani· Venture Partner
Aantorik Ganguly· Associate
Alaina N. Watts· Assistant Controller
Bob Roe· VP, Narrative Development
Edwin Ong· Chief of Staff
Janhavi Sawant· Accountant
Jessica Eschen· Administrative Assistant
Kazuhiro Kobayashi· Head of Japan
Monica Hauer· Controller
Neha Atreya· Controller
Nettie Reyes· VP of Operations
Noah Jones· Operations Manager
Yuki Kanematsu· Operations Manager

What they invest in

from 36 of 124 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×22Enterprise Software ×16SaaS ×10Cloud Computing ×7Cybersecurity ×7Data & Infrastructure ×6Fintech ×5Deep Tech ×4

HQs:United States×14

Investments · showing 60 of 124

founders shown can be your intro path
AI-powered digital risk protectiondoppel.com✓ verified

Doppel is an AI-native platform that protects organizations from social engineering attacks, AI-powered impersonation, phishing, and fraud through threat detection, infrastructure disruption, and employee security awareness training. The platform combines digital risk protection with human risk management capabilities including phishing simulation and security training.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Bobby Ford(Chief Security Officer)

AD Technology
AI Agent
Anchorservicemax.com
Andurilanduril.com
Anomalianomali.comin𝕏

Anomali is a cybersecurity platform that combines a unified security data lake, threat intelligence, and agentic AI to help security teams detect, investigate, and respond to cyber threats. It serves enterprises, government agencies, and security teams across finance, manufacturing, transportation, and technology industries.

AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Applied Intuitionappliedintuition.comin𝕏

Applied Intuition develops physical AI software for autonomous and intelligent machines, including vehicles, robots, ships, and satellites across industries like automotive, defense, logistics, and manufacturing.

AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareRoboticsSunnyvale, US

Qasar Younis(Co-founder and CEO)Peter Ludwig(Co-founder and CTO)

Aromyxaromyx.com

Aromyx develops biosensor technology that replicates human olfactory receptors to measure and quantify odors and flavors for product development, quality control, and consumer targeting across food, beverage, sustainability, and health industries.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep Tech

Artificial Intelligence Platforms for Disasters

AI platform for disaster response

Attentivemobileattentivemobile.comin𝕏

Attentive provides a mobile-first customer engagement platform that enables brands to orchestrate email, SMS, RCS, push, and AI-powered campaigns. The platform serves direct-to-consumer and ecommerce businesses seeking to drive customer engagement and revenue through unified messaging and identity resolution.

AI & Machine LearningDirect to ConsumerMarketing Tech

Amit Jhawar(Chief Executive Officer)

Autonomous Driving Simulation Software

Autonomous vehicle simulation platform

Autonomous Surface Vessels
Blockchain Analysis

Cryptocurrency and blockchain analytics

Building material delivery
Callbackcallback.is
Cancer protection systems

Cancer screening and detection technology

Carbon Roboticscarbonrobotics.comin𝕏
Care coordination Services
Chainalysischainalysis.comin𝕏

Chainalysis provides investigative services and training programs for cryptocurrency compliance and risk mitigation. The company serves organizations managing crypto assets through expert support, training certifications, and intelligence capabilities.

AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3CybersecurityData & InfrastructureFintechNew York City, US

Jonathan(Co-founder)

Choruschorus.ai
CircleUpcircleup.com
Clean Hydrogen & Graphite
Clearbancclearbanc.comin𝕏
Cloud Data Warehouse
Cloud GPU Provider

GPU infrastructure for cloud computing

Cloudpassage (Acquired: Fidelis Security 2021)cloudpassage.com

Fidelis provides an extended detection and response (XDR) platform that combines endpoint security, network detection and response (NDR), endpoint detection and response (EDR), deception technology, and cloud-native application protection for enterprise threat detection and response.

Cloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise Software

Cohesitycohesity.comin𝕏

Cohesity provides cyber resilience software that helps organizations identify and protect the minimal critical datasets and systems needed to restart operations after ransomware attacks or disasters. The platform enables rapid recovery planning and business continuity for enterprises across industries.

Cloud ComputingCybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise Software

Sanjay Poonen(CEO & President)

Coinbase
Customer Relationship Management
Cybersecurity Company
Data discovery platform

Data management and discovery software

Deelletsdeel.com
Defense Technology
Digital writing assistant
Dispatching Technology

Dispatch and logistics software

Diversified Financial Services
Early detection of cancer
Earncoinbase.comin𝕏

Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that offers trading, custody, and financial services for cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives, and prediction markets to consumers, institutions, and developers. The company operates a full-stack infrastructure including secure custody, liquidity services, stablecoin infrastructure, and global settlement rails.

Crypto & Web3FintechLos Angeles, US

Brian Armstrong(Founder/CEO)in

Eclipse Foodseclipsefoods.comin𝕏

Eclipse Foods makes plant-based ice cream designed to replicate the taste and texture of dairy ice cream using plant-derived ingredients. The company targets consumers seeking sustainable, healthy alternatives that reduce environmental impact.

Climate TechConsumerFoodTechSan Francisco, US

Aylon Steinhart(Founder)inThomas Elliott Bowman(Founder)inChef co-founder (name not stated)Aylon(Co-founder)

Emaema.ai

EMA is an enterprise platform for building and scaling AI-powered workflows that automatically selects the best combination of models for each task to optimize accuracy, cost, and latency. The platform serves enterprise customers needing to deploy multiple AI workflows across their organization.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Fastly

Cloud content delivery platform

Fastly IPOfastly.comin𝕏

Fastly provides an edge cloud network that enables developers to run, secure, and deliver websites and applications with lower latency by processing content closer to end users. The platform serves businesses across industries looking to improve performance and security at global scale.

Cloud ComputingCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software

Financial Services
Financial Services Company
Flexportflexport.comin𝕏

Flexport provides an AI-driven platform for global supply chain management, offering logistics visibility, customs brokerage, and freight optimization for companies shipping goods internationally. The platform integrates machine learning and autonomous decision-making to reduce freight costs and improve on-time performance across ocean, air, truck, and rail shipments.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSSan Francisco, US

Ryan Petersen(Founder/CEO)in

Freight Forwarder

Logistics and freight services

Genome editing systems

Biotechnology and genetic engineering

Getneedgetneed.com
Grammarly Series Dgrammarly.comin𝕏

Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps users write with clarity and confidence across over 1 million apps and websites. The platform serves professionals, students, and teams through free and premium versions, and uses natural language processing to refine tone, suggest rewrites, and improve communication effectiveness.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaS

Max LytvynAlex ShevchenkoDmytro Lider

Handshakehandshake.comin𝕏
Harmonicharmonic.ai

Harmonic operates a database and software platform for venture capital firms to source early-stage startups in real-time, offering company data, team information, and investor network integration tools. The platform serves venture teams seeking to discover and fund startups more efficiently.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSNew York, US

MaxAustin

Healthcare Technology
Hotel Operations, Marketing & Revenue Software
HR & Workforce Management
Hydrolixhydrolix.ioin

Hydrolix is a real-time data analytics platform that enables sub-second analytics at global scale for petabyte-scale log data, reducing infrastructure costs while providing instant insights from both real-time and historical data across distributed environments.

Cloud ComputingData & InfrastructureEnterprise Software

Insightlyinsightly.com
Kargomykargo.comin
Lambdalambdalabs.comin𝕏

Board seats · per SEC filings · 2

what is this? ⓘ
Kargo Technologies Corp.SEC filing

$28.1M raise · filed Mar 2022 · via Spencer Foust

SPARROW LENDING PBCSEC filing

$5.8M raise · filed Jan 2022 · via Spencer Foust

Inferred from directors named on each company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Sozo Ventures invest at?
Sozo Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
What sectors does Sozo Ventures focus on?
Sozo Ventures focuses on AdTech, AI & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Data & Infrastructure, E-commerce, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Healthtech, IoT, Sector Agnostic.
Where is Sozo Ventures located?
Sozo Ventures is headquartered in Redwood City, US.

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