Cota Capital

Cota Capital Research Overview Cota Capital is a San Francisco-based multi-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Bobby Yazdani. The firm manages approximately $1.07 billion in assets under management across 8 funds and has invested in over 143 technology companies since inception. Cota Capital focuses exclusively on enterprise technology, backing visionary founders building transformative companies at the intersection of AI, cloud, fintech, cybersecurity, and developer infrastructure. Investment Thesis Cota Capital's thesis centers on identifying and investing in "net new" technologies — visionary ideas that either were never before possible or solve problems that didn't exist before. The firm's core philosophy is that "knowledge is the true capital" that empowers founders navigating uncharted market territory. Cota provides founders with more than capital: deep operational expertise, competitive intelligence, and access to an extensive industry network built over Bobby Yazdani's 30+ year career in enterprise technology. The firm seeks to partner with founders building early-stage technology companies addressing structural challenges in the enterprise, particularly in areas where technological shifts are creating new market categories. Cota's enterprise DNA — rooted in Yazdani's founding of Saba Software and decades of work in enterprise software — gives the firm genuine operator credibility that differentiates it from financial-only VCs. The team explicitly targets "net new" categories rather than incremental improvements to existing markets. Stage Focus Cota Capital primarily invests at the Seed and Series A stages, with selective participation at Pre-Seed and Series B: Seed : 21 investments, average round size $11.7M Series A : 31 investments, average round size $15.6M Also participates selectively at Pre-Seed and Series B stages The firm targets meaningful ownership positions and reserves capital for follow-on rounds into top performers. Check Size Typical investment range: $1M–$15M, with $1M–$5M at Seed and $5M–$15M at Series A. Average Seed round size of $11.7M and average Series A round size of $15.6M across historical investments. Lead Tendency Cota Capital both leads rounds and participates as a strategic co-investor. At Seed stage they often lead or co-lead. At growth stages (Series B+) they frequently participate alongside tier-1 leads. The firm selectively leads high-conviction early-stage bets where their enterprise network provides material value. Sector Focus The firm invests across the enterprise technology landscape: Enterprise Software : HR/payroll (Gusto), recurring billing (RecVue), financial planning (Jirav, Addepar), contract management (Concord), legal tech (UpCounsel), field services and operations tooling. Developer Tools & Infrastructure : Cloud cost optimization (Cast AI, CloudNatix), low-code automation (FlowFuse), error monitoring (Rollbar), device management (Esper), AI inference (OpenInfer), Kubernetes and platform engineering (Platform9). Fintech & Payments : Digital banking (Current, MX), wealth management (Addepar, Farther), payments (CitCon, KickPay, Token.io), financial planning (UpTiq), financial operations (InDinero). Cybersecurity : Browser isolation and security (Seraphic), AI-native security operations (Simbian, Amplifier Security). Healthcare Technology : Handheld ultrasound (VAVE), surgical navigation and robotics (Activ Surgical, Proprio), digital pathology (VistaPath), single-cell biology (Mission Bio). AI/ML Applications : Agentic AI coding (Kilo Code), AI data analytics (Savant Labs), supply chain AI (Orchestro.ai), on-device AI inference, industrial automation. Semiconductors & Hardware : 5G beamforming chips (Movandi), edge AI processors (Quadric), advanced manufacturing (Dyndrite). Blockchain & Privacy : Privacy-preserving computing (Oasis Labs, RISC Zero), blockchain payments infrastructure. Recent Activity Cota Capital is actively deploying from Cota Opportunities VI (their 6th and most recent fund). In 2025, the firm made 8 new investments, and continued deploying into 2026: March 2026: Follow-on investment in Esper (device management platform, record growth) December 2025: Kilo Code — $8M for AI-powered agentic engineering tools October 2025: Movandi — $40M for 5G beamforming semiconductor technology August 2025: Tote.ai — $22.6M POS system for fuel and convenience stores January 2025: Savant Labs — $18.5M Series A for AI data analytics platform Portfolio Highlights With 143+ portfolio companies including 5 unicorns and 10 public companies, Cota Capital has an exceptional track record: IPOs: Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) — cloud data platform Uber (NYSE: UBER) — transportation marketplace Square / Block (NYSE: SQ) — payments platform SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) — voice AI Berkeley Lights (NASDAQ: BLI) — biotech platform Guardant Health (NASDAQ: GH) — liquid biopsy diagnostics Notable Acquisitions (29 total): Tenyx — acquired by Salesforce TrueBill — acquired by Rocket Companies Tubi — acquired by Fox Corporation DataFox — acquired by Oracle OpenGov — acquired by Cox Enterprises Capella Space — acquired (space tech) Gate Labs — acquired (smart access) Active Portfolio (select): Grammarly, Automation Anywhere, Forter, Plaid, Segment, Algolia, Harness, DataRobot, Anyscale, BigID, OpenAI, Eight Sleep, Gusto, Current, MX, Addepar, Cast AI, Esper, Seraphic, Simbian, Kilo Code, Savant Labs Team Bobby Yazdani , Founder & Managing Partner: Serial enterprise technology entrepreneur with 30+ years of experience. Previously held R&D roles at Oracle Corporation (1988–1997). Founded Saba Software in 1997 (IPO 2000, 30M+ users across 195 countries, acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand 2020). Founded family office Signatures Capital in 2006. Ranked #1 angel investor out of 2,000 by CB Insights in 2014. Early investor in Google, Dropbox, Salesforce, Uber, and Klout. UC Berkeley B.A. in Applied Mathematics. Murat Kilicoglu , Partner: Investment team member. Adit Singh , Partner: Investment team member. Pete Williams , Partner & COO: Manages firm operations alongside investment activities. Vivienne Chua , CFO: Oversees financial management and reporting. Suresh Batchu , Venture Partner: Advisory and deal sourcing. Kevin Jacques , Venture Partner: Advisory and deal sourcing. Ben Malka , Venture Partner: Advisory and deal sourcing. Val Vaden , Venture Partner: Advisory and deal sourcing. Vikram Venkat , Principal: Investment analysis and portfolio support. The team of 38 total (including 17 partners) also includes a large advisory board with 20+ industry leaders across enterprise technology, biotech, and financial services. Decision Process Cota Capital operates as an investment committee model with a partnership team of 17. Bobby Yazdani leads with strong conviction, drawing on his deep enterprise network for rapid customer validation, reference checks, and domain diligence. The firm prides itself on being highly responsive and founder-friendly. Geographic Focus Primarily US-focused with concentration in SF Bay Area (headquarters), NYC, Austin, Miami, and Washington D.C. metro. The firm makes selective international investments where enterprise technology startups show clear global scalability potential. Founder Preferences Cota Capital seeks technically deep founders with enterprise domain expertise. The firm particularly values founders who have operated at scale (Oracle, Google, Salesforce, AWS alumni networks) or who have direct lived experience with the enterprise pain point they're solving. Bobby Yazdani's background as a serial enterprise founder creates deep empathy and credibility with technical founders building in hard categories.