SaaS investors
SaaS investors back software companies that sell subscriptions to businesses. It is the sector with the most established playbook in venture, which means the metrics are standardised and the comparison set is large. A founder raising here is judged against thousands of companies that came before.
The firms on this list name enterprise software as a focus on their own website. Each cites its own site as the source for what is written here.
Midlothian Angel Network is a financial services organization based in Texas that operates an angel investment network. It connects investors with early-stage companies, focusing on…
Founded in 2022 by Timur Daudpota and Sun Choi, 2080 Ventures operates as a hybrid venture accelerator and early-stage VC firm. The firm focuses on bridging emerging markets (Asia…
6 Degrees Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in startups from Seed to Series B stages across fintech, enterprise software, and artificial intelligence. The firm is…
Founded in 2015 by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and his partners, 8VC emerged from the ashes of Formation 8 to become one of the most prominent contrarian venture capital firms in…
Blackbird Ventures incubates, and invests in, early-stage technology companies, providing operational support along the entire startup trajectory to develop market-transforming…
Cosmic Cat Group is a specialized "strategy boutique" and venture builder founded by Thomas Daiber, the former CEO of Hubject. The firm operates at the intersection of mobility…
Franklin Resources is a global investment management organization known as Franklin Templeton Investments. They have an extensive global presence, including offices in 35 countries…
MundiLab is an innovation and acceleration hub focused on insurtech solutions for the insurance industry. It runs an acceleration program designed to help startups leverage new…
NTT Docomo Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of the NTT Group, established in 2008. It functions as the groups central point of contact for the global startup and venture…
Created in 2020 by the global transport infrastructure operator Globalvia, Openvia serves as its dedicated innovation and technology platform. The firm operates as a Corporate Venture…
Founded in 1985, Sorrento Ventures is a San Diego-based venture capital firm committed to providing strategic capital and vision to promising emerging growth companies based in…
AECID is a public law entity attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain, serving as the cornerstone of the Spanish Cooperation system.…
Founded in 1939, Stena AB is a global conglomerate with deep roots in shipping, ferry lines, offshore drilling, and real estate. It is part of the "Stena Sphere," wholly owned by the…
Established in 1944, the University of Oklahoma Foundation acts as the principal organization through which charitable gifts are made and administered for the benefit of the…
Upfront Ventures is proud to be an early investor and long-term partner to the most exciting founders and startups. Founded in 1996 in Los Angeles with investing professionals based…
WTW is a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company. Its dedicated Investments business operates as an Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) and asset manager…
Founded in 2020 by former Rocket Internet executives Alexander Kudlich and Ludwig Ensthaler, alongside Mesosphere founder Florian Leibert, 468 Capital bridges the European and US tech…
Founded in 2021, 4SV focuses on identifying and supporting innovative blockchain projects poised to make significant impacts across various industries. The firm leverages its…
Founded by the highly influential, pseudonymous NFT thought leader "Punk6529", 6529 Capital was established to help traditional and institutional investors access the digital asset…
Adevinta Ventures was established as the strategic investment arm of Adevinta, a global online classifieds specialist managing household brands like Leboncoin (France), Mobile.de…
Launched in July 2022 by A&G, a leading independent financial services group in Spain, the A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund (A&G ETTF) is a specialized venture capital vehicle.…
Agoranov is a public Science & Tech incubator that provides mentorship, office space, funding, and consultancy services to startups. The company is based in Paris. Agoranov has…
Founded in 1936, Agrimatco has grown into a formidable international agricultural distributor operating in 50 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Headquartered…
Alpha Protocol Ventures (APV) is a venture capital firm and incubator founded in 2023 and based in Athens, Greece. The firm launched with a $20 million fund to target the Web3…
What SaaS investors look for
Recurring revenue that grows.
Annual or monthly recurring revenue, its growth rate, and the months behind it. Investors compare the trajectory to benchmarks for the stage and expect to see the numbers monthly.
Retention, gross and net.
Whether customers stay, and whether they spend more over time. Net revenue retention above one hundred percent means the existing base grows on its own, and it is the metric investors trust most.
Efficient acquisition.
The cost of winning a customer against what that customer is worth, and how long it takes to pay back. A short payback period means the company can grow without raising again soon.
A wedge and an expansion path.
One problem the product solves well enough to be bought, and a credible route to solving more for the same customer.
Sales that the founders understand.
Whether the product is bought through self-serve, an inside sales team or enterprise sales, the founders should know the motion, its cost and where it breaks.
Raising in SaaS
Because the metrics are standard, the process is efficient. An investor will ask for the same set of numbers from every company and will benchmark them the same way. A founder who arrives with those numbers ready and understood removes most of the friction.
Have ready: a monthly recurring revenue history, cohort retention, acquisition cost and payback by channel, a pipeline with stages, and gross margin. A model that projects from these numbers rather than from assumptions is what investors expect.
The competition question is sharper here than in most sectors. Investors will know the incumbents and the other startups in the category, and the pitch needs a specific answer for why customers choose this product.
Questions
What metrics do SaaS investors care about most?
Recurring revenue growth, net revenue retention, gross margin, customer acquisition cost and payback. The relative weight shifts by stage, with retention mattering more as the company grows.
What is net revenue retention?
Revenue from a set of existing customers a year later, including expansion and net of churn, divided by the revenue they produced at the start. Above one hundred percent means the base grows without new sales.
Do investors fund SaaS companies before revenue?
At pre-seed and sometimes seed, yes. From seed onward most SaaS investors expect paying customers, because the product is comparatively quick to build and the market is used to paying.
Is vertical SaaS still fundable?
Yes. Software built for one industry is a large part of the sector. Investors look at the size of the industry, how much of its spend the product can capture, and whether the company can expand into adjacent products for the same customers.
How do investors think about AI in SaaS?
As a feature set every incumbent will add, and as a threat where a general AI tool can replace the product. Founders should show what the product does that a model alone cannot.
SaaS investors by city
SaaS investors by stage