Sapphire Ventures, LLC is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital company that invests in growth-stage technology companies, early-stage venture funds globally.
Company
Originally started in 1996 as the venture capital arm of SAP SE, it was known as SAP Ventures. It split from its parent in 2011 and was rebranded to Sapphire Ventures in 2014. SAP SE is now a limited partner in the company, and their ties are used in investing in companies working in the EnterpriseSoftware ecosystem. As of December 2019, the company manages approximately US$4 billion assets, and is active in the United States, Europe, Israel and India. In March 2019, the company announced SV Explorer, a free online platform to connect corporate IT executives with emerging technology vendors in the startup ecosystem. On January 28, 2019, the company announced the launch of Sapphire Sport, a $115 million investment vehicle focused on early-stage technology companies at the intersection of sport, media and entertainment. Investors in Sapphire Sport include: City Football Group, AEG, Adidas AG, Major League Baseball, the San Jose Sharks, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., and others. On March 24, 2015, the company, along with technology companies Cisco Systems, Inc. and Siemens, co-hosted the first industry summit on the Internet of Things, named "IoT: Empowering The Enterprise" in San Jose, California. The event was advertised as "connecting investors, startups, technologists and Fortune 1000 executives to explore IoT in the enterprise."
Investments
Since 1996, Sapphire Ventures has invested in more than 130 companies across 10 countries. By September 2018, the company participated in a $45 million venture capital investment in supply chaintechnology company project44.
Recognition
In an independent study released on July 29, 2015, CB Insights, recognized Sapphire Ventures as Top 5 VC based on participation in major tech exits. Specifically, the CB Insights Report compiled a list of VCs with at least five of the top 100 exits in the period beginning Q1 2013 and ending Q2 2015, and ranked each VC according to how many of these exits they were involved in. Sapphire Ventures made the list at #4, with 10 such exits to its credit, behind Accel Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Sequoia Capital.
