Charles River Ventures

Charles River Ventures (CRV) is a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology. The firm was founded in 1970 to commercialize research that came out of MIT. Its name comes from the Charles River.

Since 1970, the firm has invested in more than 500 startups at their most crucial stages, including Airtable, DoorDash and Vercel. Founders need more than capital to build a great company. It takes a partner who understands the entrepreneurial journey and knows what it takes to win. From founding to IPO and beyond, CRV is there every step of the way. Founders rely on CRV to be trusted, long-term, committed partners, which has helped make CRV into one of the longest-running venture capital firms in the world.

Charles River Ventures (CRV) is a venture capital firm that was founded in 1970. It is one of the oldest and most successful venture capital firms in the United States, having invested in numerous successful companies over the years.

CRV was founded by a group of entrepreneurs, including Ray Stata, who was the founder and CEO of Analog Devices, and Dick Burnes, who was the founder of Teradyne. The firm was originally based in Boston, Massachusetts, and focused on investing in early-stage technology companies.

In the early years, CRV made a number of successful investments in companies such as Apple, which went public in 1980, and Parametric Technology, which went public in 1991. These investments helped establish CRV as a leading venture capital firm.

In the 1990s, CRV expanded its focus beyond technology and began investing in a wider range of industries, including healthcare and consumer products. The firm also opened additional offices in California and Israel to better serve the growing technology industries in those regions.

The firm has raised over $4.3 billion since its inception across 18 funds. Upon closing of the 16th fund, the firm rebranded to CRV.  Prior to that, CRV's 15th fund closed in February 2012 with $375 million of investor commitments. CRV's 14th fund raised $320 million of commitments.

In 2013, it purchased a large portion of Pebble Technology for 15 million dollars and is credited as the primary reason why Pebble was sold to Fitbit in December 2016. This netted CRV nearly 40 million dollars.

Over the years, CRV has continued to make successful investments in companies such as Twitter, Yammer, and Zendesk. The firm has also been involved in several high-profile mergers and acquisitions, including the acquisition of Groupon by Google.

Today, CRV is still active and continues to invest in early-stage technology companies. The firm has a particular focus on industries such as healthcare, SaaS, and consumer products. With a long history of successful investments and a reputation for working closely with founders to help build successful companies, CRV is likely to continue to be a major player in the venture capital industry for years to come.

Charles River Ventures (CRV) has a long history of investing in early-stage technology companies. Over the years, CRV has developed a set of investment criteria that it uses to evaluate potential investments.

• Market opportunity: CRV looks for companies that are targeting large and growing markets. The firm wants to see a clear need for the product or service the company is offering and a significant potential for growth.
• Strong team: CRV believes that the success of a company is largely dependent on the quality of its team. The firm looks for founders who have a strong track record of success and a deep understanding of the industry they are operating in.
• Disruptive technology: CRV is interested in companies that are leveraging new technologies to disrupt existing markets. The firm looks for companies that have a clear technological advantage over their competitors and that are developing products or services that have the potential to transform industries.
• Path to profitability: While CRV is willing to invest in early-stage companies that may not be profitable yet, the firm wants to see a clear path to profitability. The company should have a plan for generating revenue and a timeline for achieving profitability.
• Cultural fit: CRV believes that a strong cultural fit between the firm and the company is important for long-term success. The firm looks for companies that share its values, including a focus on innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship.

CRV is looking for companies that have the potential to disrupt industries, generate significant returns for investors, and make a positive impact on the world. By focusing on these criteria, CRV has been able to identify and invest in some of the most successful companies in the technology industry.

According to CRV's website, the values that they implement are:

• You're the Boss- The only one who should tell you what to do is your customer.
• We Move Fast- Because each partner can speak for the firm (there’s no investment committee here), we can get to a “yes” in 24 hours.
• Lead, Don't Follow No project is too early or too ambitious. We aim to be your first term sheet. We lead rounds; we don’t wait for others to show social proof.
• Conviction is Key- Once we get there, we stay there — in good times and bad.
• A Steady Hand- We’ve been helping founders work through it since 1970.
• Integrity Matters- Our back-channel references are even cleaner than our term sheets.
• The American Dream is for Everyone- We believe entrepreneurship will be the great equaliser.
• Listen More, Talk Less- When we speak up, it will be for a good reason.

Charles River Ventures (CRV) is a venture capital firm that has been in operation for over 50 years. The firm's mission statement is to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs to build companies that have a meaningful impact on the world.

CRV believes that entrepreneurship is the key to unlocking innovation and driving progress in society. The firm is dedicated to identifying and supporting visionary founders who are working on groundbreaking technologies and disruptive business models.

The firm's focus is on investing in early-stage companies that are leveraging emerging technologies to create new products and services, transform industries, and solve some of the world's most pressing problems.

CRV's mission is reflected in its investment philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The firm works closely with its portfolio companies to provide strategic guidance, access to networks, and support throughout the growth process.

Charles River Ventures (CRV) has a long and impressive portfolio of successful investments in early-stage technology companies. CRV has invested in companies across a range of industries, including healthcare, SaaS, consumer products, and more. Some of the notable companies in CRV's portfolio include:

• Airtable - a cloud-based collaboration platform that allows teams to organize and manage their work.
• Bird - is a transportation company that provides electric scooters and bikes for short-term rentals.
• DoorDash - a food delivery platform that connects consumers with local restaurants.
• Flexport - a digital freight forwarding company that uses technology to simplify the shipping process.
• Niantic - the company behind the popular augmented reality game, Pokemon Go.
• PillPack - an online pharmacy that delivers medication directly to customers' homes.
• Ring - a home security company that provides smart doorbells, cameras, and other products.
• Twitter - a social media platform that allows users to share short messages and connect with others around the world.
• Zendesk - a customer service software company that provides a range of tools for businesses to manage customer interactions.

These companies, and many others in CRV's portfolio, have gone on to achieve significant success and become leaders in their respective industries. CRV's track record of identifying and investing in innovative early-stage companies has helped the firm establish itself as one of the most respected venture capital firms in the industry.

Amongst others; Amgen, Aveksa, Blippy, Cascade Communications, ChipCom, Ciena Corporation, ClassPass, Continental Cablevision, Crushpath, Drift, Earbits, Fiksu, iBasis, mabl, Netezza, OneLogin, Parametric Technology Corporation, Ring, SimpliVity, Sonus Networks, SpeechWorks, Stella,  Stratus Technologies, Sybase, Udacity, Vignette Corporation and Yammer.