The 30 SaaS Investors Writing Checks In 2023
My list of venture capitalists and other SaaS investors currently writing checks to entrepreneurs, startups, and growing SaaS companies is updated regularly and contains a wide range of options. Whether you’re looking for pre-seed or early-stage investors, or in search of financial support as you scale up, you can find investors on this list that may be a good match.
Browse the list of 30 venture capital firms and other investors that partner with SaaS businesses below. You’ll find details including some information about the firm and what types of investments they tend to make.
The Current State of SaaS
It’s important to comprehensively understand the landscape of the SaaS industry and its subsequent funding before diving into the list in your search for potential partnerships. Here are some of the most prominent trends.
Continual Growth
The SaaS market grew from $31.4 billion to $197.29 billion from 2015 to 2023, and it’s expected to eclipse $232 billion by the end of 2024. While some investment platforms reported a lag in SaaS investments in 2022 compared to previous years, interest in the sector is still strong. According to Dealroom, 45% of venture capital investments in startups in 2022 went to SaaS firms.
Investors Focus on B2B SaaS Business Models
Dealroom also notes that 90% of SaaS investments go to SaaS startups and software companies targeting B2B markets. That being said, SaaS businesses can be difficult to categorize and many straddle the line between B2C and B2B. Slack, for example, is both a B2B and B2C solution, and DocuSign is a B2B service that provides numerous benefits for its consumer end users, so it lives in a sort of gray area.
Lower Multiples
SaaS company valuation multiples have trended down over the last couple of years, especially in comparison to valuations from 2015 to 2020. In 2022, Bessemer reported that SaaS multiples had dropped by 75% year-over-year.
These lower valuations have decreased investor optimism in many areas of the market. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find an investor, but you may need to do a bit more research and legwork. Investors may also be more willing to jump on critical SaaS trends such as automation, e-commerce, cybersecurity, and healthcare technology, whereas it may be difficult to find funding for peer-to-peer businesses such as exciting social media ventures.
Clear Plans & Experience Win
Considering how much money flowed into the secondary investment market in the last few years, it’s unsurprising that a sector-wide pullback happened. With this in mind, you can still find growth capital from the right people - you just need to show them why you’re the right pick.
SaaS businesses and startups with experienced operators at the helm and/or a clear, compelling plan for execution are more likely to connect with investors willing to cut checks.
Clear plans don’t simply mean knowing your market; they mean having operational plans and budgets that have withstood pressure tests, as well as some proven execution behind you.
AI Concentration
One sector where tech companies are succeeding in finding investors is artificial intelligence. AI is constantly in the news and on the minds of business owners and consumers today, and investors are not immune to this.
Watch out though - unless you’re truly building a long-term AI business (and have some proof prior to the trend blowing up), following this lead will cause you to put a lot of effort into checks that will never come.
I used to work in venture capital; trust me, the trend chasers never make it out in the end.
2023's most prominent saaS investors
Obviously, you should always conduct your own in-depth research before approaching any SaaS venture capital opportunities. I’ve done the initial research for you to find 30 venture capital firms that may be interested in investments and partnerships with SaaS businesses in 2023 and beyond; however, making the introduction is up to you!
1. Accel Partners
With offices located in San Francisco and Palo Alto, Accel is a well-known VC funding firm with an interest in the SaaS and technical markets. It was founded in 1983 and has been instrumental in Silicon Valley and beyond, funding rounds for notables such as Facebook, Slack, and Spotify. Accel offers partnership opportunities on many different levels, including seed-round funding, and has invested more than $19 billion across over 500 different companies.
2. Tiny Capital
A Canadian venture capital firm based out of Victoria, Tiny Capital is primarily engaged in seed-stage funding in amounts ranging from $100,000 to $50 million. While this VC firm does sometimes support growing businesses with larger investments, expect most opportunities to fall on the lower side of that range. Tiny Capital trends toward internet-based businesses in the startup or growth stages.
3. Costanoa Ventures
Costanoa Ventures, founded in 2012 and located in San Francisco, primarily invests in early-stage development for market disrupters, with a specialization in enterprise and fintech services. This firm’s strategy targets seed and Series A rounds, and prides itself on making a limited number of investments a year to best serve its business partners.
4. Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer is an established name in venture capital, founded by Henry Phillips in 1911. A recognized expert in the niche, Bessemer invests at all stages, including pre-seed, seed, Series A, Series B, and growth phases. The business also has more than 100 successful IPOs in its history and was an early investor in numerous significant market players, like Pinterest and Canva.
5. PreSeed Ventures
Preseed Ventures is interested in early-stage—pre-seed and seed—investment opportunities; total investments exceed $450 million, including almost $200 million in Trust Pilot in 2019. This Danish firm has a heart for startups that go beyond metrics, though obviously potential profitability and other accounting figures do matter. Location counts, too; most investments are limited to Denmark and Southern Sweden.
6. Point Nine Capital
Point Nine Capital is based in Berlin but invests in SaaS businesses across the globe. The firm is most interested in early-stage opportunities with B2B businesses. Firms that specialize in SaaS solutions, as well as crypto-adjacent technology, may have the best chance with this VC firm. Point Nine partners with entrepreneurs that demonstrate passion and capability within their niche, and has been known to cut checks ranging from $500,000 to $5 million.
7. Emergence Capital
Emergence Capital was started in 2003 by co-founders Brian Jacobs, Gordon Ritter, and Jacob Green. The firm mostly funds enterprise SaaS companies in early and growth stages and has previously supported prominent brands like Salesforce and Zoom.
8. Precursor Ventures
Another firm based out of San Francisco, Precursor Ventures focuses on seed-stage investing in the $100,000 to $300,000 range. In 2023, however, the firm made investments of up to $10 million in various early-stage technical projects. It specializes in market sectors like AI, e-commerce, marketplaces, and fintech.
9. Andreesen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz is an esteemed name in venture capital; since the firm’s launch in 2009, it has become well known for its foothold in investments in the technology sector. Andreessen Horowitz has billions of dollars for funding and tends to follow—or perhaps create—trends in the market. In 2023, the firm seems most interested in capitalizing on opportunities related to machine learning and AI, as well as data science.
10. SaaStr Fund
SaaStr started out as a community of entrepreneurs in the SaaS space in 2012 with nothing more than a WordPress blog sharing stories of Jason Lemkin’s success at EchoSign. Accordingly, its development efforts are concentrated on helping SaaS businesses grow and succeed, with an affiliated $90 million venture fund that targets seed-stage investors.
11. NXTP Ventures
Located in Buenos Aires, NXTP Ventures concentrates on pre-seed, seed, and Series A stage venture funding for businesses throughout Latin America. The firm offers funding ranging from $500,000 to $2 million and has a wide market focus that includes AI, automation, blockchain, crypto, e-commerce, healthcare, logistics, and cybersecurity.
12. Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is a global venture capital firm out of Menlo Park, California. It focuses primarily on early-stage funding and provides investment capital for seed, Series A, Series B, and growth stages. Sequoia has made a number of major tech investments in 2023 and is focused on opportunities in sectors like healthcare, energy, financial, and mobile startups. In 2003, LinkedIn secured Series A financing backed by a $4.7 million investment by Sequoia Capital.
13. DN Capital
DN Capital is also located in Menlo Park. It makes investments in North America and Europe with concentrations in technology-related sectors, including within the SaaS space. An early-stage investor, this firm is more likely to be interested in pre-seed, seed, Series A, and Series B opportunities.
14. Matrix Partners
Like many other venture capital firms interested in tech, Matrix Partners is based out of San Francisco. It funds projects and businesses in the United States, India, and China, and has been known to make investments ranging from around $5 million to $20 million. This firm is interested in funding SaaS solutions across industries, including fintech, consumer and B2B services, security, and enterprise tools.
15. Boldstart Ventures
With a home office located in New York City, Boldstart Ventures is positioned as a first-check investor. Boldstart’s model seeks entrepreneurs and fledgling startups with promising concepts and disruptive ideas, making pre-seed and seed investments ranging from $250,000 to $2.5 million on average.
16. New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates is located in Menlo Park, California, and boasts a large team of partners, including Aaron Jacobson, Blake Wu, Andrew Schoen, and Melissa Taunton. This firm is involved in investment rounds ranging from pre-seed to Series C and growth stages, with a focus on data and AI as growth tools.
17. Notion Capital
Notion Capital was founded in 2009 with the purpose of providing support services to entrepreneurs in technical sectors. In addition to offering networking opportunities, the firm funds endeavors in fintech, cloud computing, and enterprise services. Notion Capital is based in London and primarily partners with businesses in Europe.
18. Kickstart Fund
Kickstart Fund invests in tech firms with a concentration on funding startups in the pre-seed and seed stages with occasional Series A opportunities. Investments range from $200,000 to $2 million on average, with a focus on businesses in the American West, including Utah, California, and Colorado.
19. Northzone
Northzone's previous investments include household names such as Spotify. The firm was founded in 1996 and has worked long-term with more than 100 partners in addition to offering early-stage funding for startups. In 2023, Northzone’s focus appears to be shifting to disruptive solutions in the e-commerce, mobile, and software markets, funding startups in North America and Europe.
20. Scale Venture Partners
Scale Venture Partners seems to have a tighter investment focus than many others on this list, concentrating on enterprise and digital health solutions. In 2020, Scale led a $40M Series B round for Papaya Global, a cloud-based platform for payroll management. Since 2022, it has invested heavily in tech such as robotics and AI.
21. 2048 Ventures
Located in New York City, 2048 Ventures is a VC firm that works primarily with businesses in the pre-seed stage. This firm seeks out entrepreneurs that are championing disruptive start-up concepts backed by technology and data. Some areas 2048 Ventures is likely to invest in include API and data platforms, marketplaces, networks, B2B, and consumer subscription platforms—especially those related to science and tech.
22. 500 Startups
These SaaS investors go global, investing in technologies and other solutions related to education, financial services, and entertainment, including investments in underrepresented areas. 500 Startups funds in the seed and Series A rounds, with average investments ranging from $250,000 to $3 million.
23. AngelPad
AngelPad looks for a product-market fit, so to win with this VC firm, you need a strong understanding of target market and the unique impact of the business solutions offered. This firm invests globally as an angel investor in seed stages. Its investments in 2020 through 2022 have included amounts as high as $40 million.
24. 1517 Fund
Based out of San Francisco, 1517 Fund works primarily with U.S.-based startups in technology sectors, including in the mobile app, healthcare, enterprise, and IT spaces. Recent investments from this firm range from $1.5 million to $40 million.
25. Battery Ventures
Battery Ventures is a large firm with 30 experienced VCs and a history of success with investments in 160 tech startups and growth companies. It works with businesses across the globe, and recent investments include Seek AI and InfluxData. Battery Ventures has funded ventures of $75 million or more, though its sweet spot is lower.
26. Atlanta Ventures
Based out of Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta Ventures concentrates on supporting internet startups. It funds in pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, with funding ranging from $250,000 to $1 million on average. To successfully approach this company, firms must meet traction metrics thresholds of <$1 million ARR, among other necessities.
27. Frontline Ventures
Frontline Ventures funds businesses in the United States and Europe and works specifically with B2B SaaS companies with international ambition. It funds at all stages, from pre-seed to growth, with a wide range of investment strategies depending on unique needs. Recent investments by Frontline Ventures include Unleash, Yonder, and Nolea Health.
28. Ventech Capital
Ventech Capital has offices around the world, including in France, Germany, Hong Kong, and the United States. It funds globally with recent concentrations in Europe and China and has made more than 200 investments since it was founded in 1998. Ventech Capital's current focus is wide-ranging and includes digital media, marketplaces, entertainment, B2B, and hardware. Funding is focused on, but not limited to, seed and Series A rounds.
29. Prime Ventures
Prime Ventures is a firm in the Netherlands on the lookout for upcoming global leaders in software services, including security, deep tech, infrastructure, digital health, and enterprise software niches. The company primarily invests in Series A, Series B, and Series C stages, and looks for partners that are already generating revenue and posting strong KPI metrics. Recent investments from this firm have included TerraPay, Blueground, and Zuper.
30. Eight Roads
Located in London, Eight Roads has provided VC funding to startups and growing businesses for more than five decades. This firm looks for companies that are in Series A or Series B rounds with a product fit to market and a need to scale. Eight Roads invests in businesses across the globe in a wide range of B2B and B2C tech sectors, including digital health, cybersecurity, and insurance. Eight Roads was one of Chinese e-comm giant Alibaba's first investors in 1999.
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