Battery Ventures — Investment Thesis & Preferences

Battery Ventures Research Document

Investment Thesis

Battery Ventures is a global, stage-agnostic venture capital and private equity firm founded in 1983 that operates under a single, unified brand rather than splitting into separate venture and buyout divisions. The firm believes that the best technology investments span all growth stages—from early-stage seed companies to mature businesses acquiring other tech companies or going public. This thesis is reflected in their practice of making early, growth, and buyout investments within the same technology sectors, allowing them to support founders across their entire journey.

The firm maintains a deep conviction that technology innovation drives transformational business outcomes. They deliberately practice a collaborative, research-focused style of investing and employ a portfolio services platform that functions as an internal consulting group covering talent, go-to-market, marketing, finance, and analytics—distinguishing them from transactional VCs.

Sector and Stage Focus

Battery invests across four core focus areas:

Primary Sectors

Application Software - Enterprise and consumer applications, vertical SaaS, workflow automation, security and compliance tools
Infrastructure Software - DevOps, CI/CD, observability, monitoring, database infrastructure, API platforms, cloud infrastructure
Consumer - Consumer applications, social platforms, digital commerce experiences
Industrial Tech + Life Science Tools - Manufacturing technology, industrial automation, life science tools and research software

The firm has particularly emphasized expansion in Industrial Tech & Life Science Tools as a growing practice area.

Stage Flexibility

Battery is explicitly stage-agnostic, investing from seed all the way through buyouts. The firm operates Battery Ventures XIV and Select Fund II, together capitalized at $3.8 billion, and is actively raising Battery Ventures XV (seeking $3.2B as of January 2026).

Check Size & Investment Ranges

Based on portfolio analysis, Battery invests across a wide range of check sizes:

Seed Round: $1M-$5M
Series A: $5M-$15M+
Series B/C+: $10M-$100M+
Buyout/Private Equity: $50M-$500M+

Lead vs Follow Tendency

Lead Tendency: Both

Battery operates as both a lead investor and strong follow investor, depending on the stage and round. In early-stage rounds (Seed/Series A), they frequently lead or co-lead. In later stages, they participate with strong conviction but may follow other lead investors. Their global presence (6 offices) and sector expertise enables them to lead in international markets.

Recent Activity & Fund Status

2025-2026 Activity

2025: Added 25 new companies to portfolio
2025: 15 M&A events (exits via acquisition)
2025: 1 IPO/public listing
January 2026: Actively deploying from XIV and seeking XV
Fund Status: Actively deploying with no signs of slowing down

Portfolio Overview

Battery has invested in 450+ companies over 40 years with a strong concentration in Application Software, Infrastructure Software, Consumer, and Industrial Tech sectors.

Team & Decision-Making

Partnership Structure

Battery operates as a true partnership with sector-focused investment teams. Key General Partners include Chelsea Stoner (Application Software), Dharmesh Thakker (Infrastructure), Jesse Feldman (Industrial Tech), Marcus Ryu (Application Software), Michael Brown (multi-sector), Russell Fleischer (Application/Infrastructure), Neeraj Agrawal (multi-sector), Morad Elhafed (Application/Infrastructure), Roger Lee (Consumer), and Zack Smotherman (Industrial Tech).

Extended Leadership

The firm includes 7 additional Partners, 10+ Investment Principals, and 45+ investment professionals across 6 global offices.

Decision Process

Decisions are made collaboratively by sector-focused teams operating on partnership basis with investment committee structure. Partners maintain deep sector expertise and can move quickly.

Global Footprint

Battery maintains 6 offices globally:

Boston (headquarters, largest team)
San Francisco (major hub for Consumer and Application Software)
Menlo Park (secondary SF Bay presence)
New York City (growing East Coast presence)
Tel Aviv (international expansion hub)
London (European investment focus)

Portfolio Services & Value-Add

Battery differentiates through a formal Portfolio Services platform with dedicated teams:

Go-to-Market + Operator Coaching - Ex-operators advising on GTM, scaling, headcount, IT infrastructure
Talent + Recruiting - In-house practice for building high-performance teams
Business Development - Built into firm DNA, actively connecting portfolio with partners and customers
Marketing + Communications - From product launch positioning to pre-exit rebranding
Finance + Analytics - Building financial capabilities for informed strategy and exit readiness

This portfolio services platform is a significant competitive advantage—not just capital, but embedded operational support.

Geographic Focus

Primary markets include the US (SF Bay Area, Boston, NYC), Europe (London), Israel (Tel Aviv), and selective MENA investments. The firm has historically been selective in Japan and South Korea for specific sectors.

Founder Preferences

Based on portfolio composition and investment philosophy, Battery seeks:

Technical founders with deep domain expertise
Experienced operators from prior startups or scale-ups
Category builders focused on dominant positions
Strong execution teams with proven ability to scale
Founders seeking operational partnership, not just capital

Decision Timeline & Process

Based on firm structure and partnership model:

Decision Timeline: 2-4 weeks
Warm Introductions: Preferred, especially for later-stage
Due Diligence: Comprehensive technical assessment, market research, and team vetting
Follow-on Reserves: Structured to support winners across stages

Competitive Positioning

Key Differentiators:

Stage Agnostic Model - Rare ability to follow winners from seed to exit
Portfolio Services Platform - Embedded operators, not external consultants
Global Network - 40+ year history with founder-friendly reputation
Sector Expertise - Deep technical teams with maximum specialization
Patient Capital - Supports long-term category building
Buyout Capability - Can lead recapitalizations or private takes

Anti-thesis:

No pure biotech investing (focus on tools FOR life sciences)
Limited consumer hardware focus
Geographic limits outside 6 core offices
Requires high founder quality and execution capability

2026 Focus Areas

Summary

Battery Ventures is a mature, globally-distributed stage-agnostic venture capital and private equity firm with a 40-year track record and deep technical expertise. They differentiate through their unified brand approach, embedded portfolio services platform, and partnership-based decision making. With $13B+ raised historically and currently deploying from XIV ($3.8B) while raising XV ($3.2B), they actively invest across all stages. Their ideal founder matches are technical, experienced operators with deep sector expertise seeking capital combined with operational partnership and category-building support.