Asheem Chandna
InvestorPartner at Greylock Partners · Board Member; Partner, Greylock Partners at Tenzai · Board director at 7AI · Board / Investor representative (Greylock Partners) at Dazz
San Francisco Bay Area
Writes $500K – $200M checks · typically $25M
Midas 2026 · #73Midas 2020 · #98Midas 2019 · #88Midas 2018 · #92Midas 2017 · #28Midas 2016 · #57Midas 2015 · #36Midas 2014 · #55Midas 2013 · #20Midas 2012 · #73
About
Asheem Chandna is a partner at Greylock, which he joined in 2003, investing in enterprise, cybersecurity, and infrastructure software companies at the earliest stages. He began his career as an electrical and computer engineer, working in product architecture at Bell Labs before moving into product management roles at SynOptics and Check Point Software. He backs founders at the concept stage and has taken multiple companies from zero to IPO or major acquisition, including Palo Alto Networks, AppDynamics, and Sumo Logic. His current portfolio spans AI-native cybersecurity, data security, and infrastructure companies such as Anthropic, Abnormal, and 7AI.
Contact· published on Asheem's own website
Likely emails· guessed from name + firm domain, not firm-published
- a•••@greylock.comreveal100% confident
- a•••@greylock.comreveal75% confident
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningConsumerCybersecurityFintechSaaS
Beyond investing
- Education
- Studied electrical engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Earned a master's degree in computer engineering at Case Western Reserve University.
From Asheem's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Board Member; Partner, Greylock Partners at Tenzai
Intro paths
In turn, Asheem can intro founders to Tenzai's investors below.
Tenzai's investors · 6
Co-founders at Tenzai
Board director at 7AI
Intro paths
In turn, Asheem can intro founders to 7AI's investors below.
7AI's investors · 5
Co-founders at 7AI
Board / Investor representative (Greylock Partners) at Dazz
Intro paths
In turn, Asheem can intro founders to Dazz's investors below.
Dazz's investors · 4
Co-founders at Dazz
Experience
- CylakeFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2025 — presentSunnyvale, California, United States
- TenzaiFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2025 — presentTel Aviv District, Israel
- IQT (In-Q-Tel)Board of Trusteescurrent2025 — presentUnited States
- AsporaInvestorcurrent2024 — presentLondon Area, United Kingdom
- NeticFounding Investorcurrent2024 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- Seven AIFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2023 — presentBoston, Massachusetts, United States
- Bedrock DataFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2021 — presentMenlo Park, California, United States
- AxiamaticFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2021 — presentMenlo Park, California, United States
- KodemFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2021 — presentTel Aviv District, Israel
- Abnormal SecurityFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2018 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Obsidian SecurityFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2017 — presentNewport Beach CA
- Rubrik, Inc.Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2015 — presentPalo Alto, California, United States
- Arista Networks, Inc.Investorcurrent2012 — presentSanta Clara, CA
- StartX.Mentorcurrent2011 — presentPalo Alto CA
- Instart LogicFounding Investorcurrent2010 — presentMountain View, CA
- Sumo LogicFounding Investorcurrent2010 — presentMountain View, CA
- AquantiaFounding Investor and Board of Directorscurrent2010 — presentMilpitas, CA
- Greylock PartnersPartnercurrent2003 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- DazzFounding Investor and Board of Directors2020 — 2024Tel Aviv District, Israel
- DelphixFounding Investor and Board of Directors2009 — 2024Menlo Park, CA
- NeevaFounding Investor and Board of Directors2019 — 2023Mountain View, California, United States
- Palo Alto NetworksFounding Investor and Board of Directors2005 — 2022Santa Clara, CA
- Innovium Inc.Investor and Board of Directors2015 — 2021Santa Clara CA
- Awake SecurityFounding Investor and Board of Directors2014 — 2020Santa Clara, California, United States
- Avi Networks IncFounding Investor and Board of Directors2012 — 2019Sunnyvale, CA
- Skyhigh NetworksFounding Investor and Board of Directors2012 — 2018Cupertino, CA
- AppDynamicsFounding Investor and Board of Directors2008 — 2017San Francisco, CA
- TechProcess Solutions LtdInvestor and Board Observer2007 — 2017Mumbai Metropolitan Region
- ImpervaInvestor and Board of Directors2003 — 2013Redwood Shores, CA
- ZenpriseInvestor and Board of Directors2011 — 2013Redwood City, CA
- Xsigo SystemsFounding Investor and Board of Directors2004 — 2012San Jose, CA
- SourcefireInvestor and Board of Directors2003 — 2009Columbia, Maryland
- Aruba NetworksInvestor2008 — 2009Sunnyvale CA
- SecurentInvestor and Board of Directors2006 — 2007Mountain View, CA
- PortAuthority TechnologiesInvestor and Board of Directors2005 — 2007Palo Alto, CA
- CipherTrustInvestor and Board of Directors2004 — 2006Atlanta Metropolitan Area
- Check Point Software TechnologiesVP, Business Development and Product Management1996 — 2002Redwood Shores, CA
- NetBoostBoard of Directors1997 — 1999Mountain View, CA
- CompuwareProduct Management1995 — 1996Los Gatos, CA
- CoroNet SystemsVP, Marketing1994 — 1995Mountain View, CA
Skills & more
+12 more
Start-upsProduct ManagementGo-to-market StrategyNetwork SecurityVenture CapitalEntrepreneurshipStrategyEarly-stage StartupsLeadershipBusiness DevelopmentMergers & AcquisitionsStrategic PartnershipsFrom Asheem's professional profile.
Deals · 6
7AIBoard seat
via Greylock Partners · filed Dec 2025 · $130.6M raise
NeevaBoard seat
via Greylock Partners · filed May 2021 · $40.2M raise
Abnormal SecurityBoard seat
via Greylock Partners · filed Dec 2019 · $24M raise
AppDynamicsBoard seat
via Greylock Partners · filed Oct 2015 · $150M raise
DelphixBoard seat
via Greylock Partners · filed Jul 2015 · $75M raise
AquantiaBoard seat
via Greylock Partners · filed Apr 2015 · $35M raise
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Other disclosed investments
Investor
AbnormalAnthropicArista NetworksAruba NetworksAvi NetworksAwake SecurityCensysCipherTrustDazzImpervaInnoviumNetboostPalo Alto NetworksPortAuthority TechnologiesRubrikSecurentSkyhigh NetworksSourcefireSumo LogicTechProcessTenzaiXsigo SystemsZenprise
Sources: curated public sources · SEC Form D filings · the investor's own website.
Public positions
He looks for the moment an architecture stops fitting the threat — and backs the person who has already seen it, usually from inside the incumbent. It is the same move he watched from the other side at Check Point, and it explains why he wants the conversation before there is a product to evaluate.
2020 · How he works with founders
He describes himself as part of the founding team rather than an evaluator of it — a thought partner applying a structured process so the founders reach an original insight themselves.
The clearest statement of what a founder is actually buying by taking his cheque.
2020 · Where he wants to meet founders
He wants to be a beacon for talented founders at the earliest stage of company building, before the value proposition has fully emerged.
Sets the stage expectation explicitly, which most partner pages do not.
2012 · Category creation in security
The durable security companies define a new control point rather than improving an existing product category.
The thesis behind the Palo Alto Networks bet and everything after it.
Prediction record
The next-generation firewall call held completely and produced the defining company of his record. The bet that email and identity would displace the network perimeter as the primary attack surface largely held, in Abnormal Security. Whether security operations get run by agents rather than analysts — 7AI and Tenzai — is open.
The stateful firewall would be displaced by an application-aware next-generation firewall
Correct2005 · Years
Palo Alto Networks went public in 2012 and became one of the largest security companies in the world; the next-generation firewall became the category standard.
He had run product and business development at Check Point, the incumbent being displaced — this was an insider's call, not a leap.
Email and identity would become the primary enterprise attack surface, displacing the network perimeter
Correct2018 · Years
Abnormal Security grew into one of the fastest-scaling security companies of the period on exactly that thesis.
The perimeter did not disappear so much as stop being the only thing that mattered.
Security operations would be run by AI agents rather than analysts
Open2024 · Years
7AI and Tenzai are the current expressions of the bet; too early to judge.
The category is crowded and the buyer is conservative.
Founder fit — who Asheem backs
A technical founder in enterprise, security or infrastructure software who has identified a specific problem, has thought about it harder than anyone else, and can state it in a page. Concept stage is welcome — Greylock's own description is that he prefers engaging before the value proposition fully emerges.
Consumer companies, and growth-stage rounds in categories that already exist. Twenty-three years of the record is enterprise infrastructure entered early.
How to pitch
Reach out earlier than feels reasonable. Send a short, precise memo rather than a long deck — the compression is being read as evidence of how well you have thought it through. Name the control point you intend to own and explain why the incumbent architecturally cannot follow you there; he ran product at Check Point and will know. Bring the question you cannot resolve, not the answer you want validated.
As of August 2026 he is an active partner at Greylock with roughly sixteen live positions, weighted to AI-native security — 7AI and Tenzai on autonomous security operations, Abnormal on email and identity — alongside Rubrik and Delphix. He ranked No. 73 on the 2026 Midas List, his tenth appearance.
Editorial inference from Asheem's portfolio, writing and public record — not a published mandate.
Investment themes
5 documented themes from Asheem's essays, talks and portfolio, grouped by what they say about founders.
▶More themes5
Meet founders before the value proposition exists2003
His stated preference is engaging at the concept stage — before a company has a product, sometimes before it has a name — and working through the problem with the founder rather than evaluating a finished pitch. In his words: 'I want to be a beacon for talented founders at the earliest stage of their company building journey.'
For founders: You do not need a deck or a demo to have the first conversation. You need a problem you have thought about harder than anyone else.
The investor is part of the team, not the examiner2020
'I see myself as part of their team, dedicated to their success. I serve as a thought partner, approaching problems with a structured process so the founders can uncover an original insight.' The emphasis is on structured problem-solving rather than pattern-matched judgement.
For founders: Come with the question you cannot resolve, not the answer you want validated.
Security categories are created, not entered2005
Palo Alto Networks, Imperva, Abnormal Security and Rubrik each defined a category rather than competing inside an existing one — the pattern across two decades is backing a new control point rather than a better version of an existing product.
For founders: Be able to name the control point you own and why the incumbent architecturally cannot take it.
Precision of thought shows up in writing2020
He screens for founders who can compress a complex technical idea into something short and exact, on the view that the ability to write a precise document is the closest observable proxy for the ability to think precisely.
For founders: Send the one-page memo. It is being read as evidence, not as admin.
Enterprise infrastructure outlasts the cycle2003
Twenty-three years at one firm in one sector, through the security build-out, the cloud transition and now the AI one. The bet is that infrastructure and security demand is structural rather than cyclical, and that the winners take a decade.
For founders: He is comfortable with long build times, which is rarer than it sounds.
Colleagues at Greylock Partners
Network12
Investors connected to Asheem in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Asheem Chandna?
- Asheem Chandna is a partner at Greylock, which he joined in 2003, investing in enterprise, cybersecurity, and infrastructure software companies at the earliest stages. He began his career as an electrical and computer engineer, working in product architecture at Bell Labs before moving into product management roles at SynOptics and Check Point Software. He backs founders at the concept stage and has taken multiple companies from zero to IPO or major acquisition, including Palo Alto Networks, AppDynamics, and Sumo Logic. His current portfolio spans AI-native cybersecurity, data security, and infrastructure companies such as Anthropic, Abnormal, and 7AI.
- Where does Asheem Chandna work?
- Asheem Chandna is Partner at Greylock Partners and Board Member; Partner, Greylock Partners at Tenzai and Board director at 7AI and Board / Investor representative (Greylock Partners) at Dazz.
- What does Asheem Chandna invest in?
- Asheem Chandna invests in AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Cybersecurity, Fintech, SaaS.
- What check size does Asheem Chandna write?
- Asheem Chandna typically writes checks of $500K – $200M.
- What boards does Asheem Chandna sit on?
- Asheem Chandna holds tracked board seats at 7AI, Abnormal Security, AppDynamics, Aquantia, Delphix, Neeva.
- What companies has Asheem Chandna invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Abnormal Security, AppDynamics, Palo Alto Networks, Rubrik, 7AI, Abnormal, Abnormal Security, Anthropic, AppDynamics, Aquantia, Arista Networks, Aruba Networks, and 21 more.
- Where did Asheem Chandna go to school?
- Asheem Chandna studied at Case Western Reserve University (M.S., Computer Engineering); Case Western Reserve University (B.S., Electrical Engineering); Cathedral & John Connon High School (High School).
- Does Asheem Chandna lead rounds?
- Yes — Asheem Chandna has led 4 tracked investments.
Same school
Also attended Case Western Reserve University54
+ 48 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Tenzai8
+ 2 more
Also worked at Seven AI5
Also worked at Obsidian Security10
+ 4 more
Also worked at Sumo Logic17
+ 11 more