About Canaan
Canaan is a venture capital firm founded in 1987. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Sep 2026, Canaan is an active investor, having invested in 493 companies, with 11 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Life Sciences and High Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of pMotion Overall, Canaan portfolio has seen 13 unicorns, 28 IPOs and 191 acquisitions including key companies like Instacart, Kabam and Turo. A lot of funds co-invest with Canaan, with names like New Enterprise Associates sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Canaan has team of 33 people including 26 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Series B & 8 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Deals in last 12 months
Canaan's List of Top Investments
Canaan has a portfolio of 493 companies, including 13 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Safire Technology Group and OncoResponse.Their portfolio spans across United States, India, Israel and 20 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Life Sciences, High Tech and 31 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Series B and 8 more. Here is the list of top investments by Canaan:1. Instacart
Operator of an online marketplace providing grocery and delivery services. The platform connects customers with personal shoppers who fulfill orders from various retailers. Customers can select items, chat with shoppers, and schedule delivery or pickup. The marketplace offers a range of grocery, household, and other retail products. It also provides options for membership and business accounts.
Key facts about Instacart
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $2.93B
- Employee Count: 25,408 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: TrueBridge, equitywestsecurities.com and 86 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series F, Oct 15, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Kabam
Kabam is a video game developer and publisher based in Canada.It specializes in mid-core games and MMOs for mobile and web platforms. It is focused on developing AAA mobile games. It has developed multiple games including "Marvel: Contest of Champions" and "Transformers: Forged to Fight" based on a Freemium model for mobile platforms and web platforms such as Facebook, Yahoo and their website. Has won multiple awards including "Apple Editors Choice 2014" and "Google Play Editors Choice 2014" for its game Marvel Contest of Champions.
Key facts about Kabam
- Founded Year: 2006
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $245M
- Employee Count: 809 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Intel, Founders Circle Capital and 17 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Jul 31, 2014, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
3. Turo
App-based P2P car rental platform. Their platform connects vehicle owners who are willing to rent their cars with other users. Users can host or rent their vehicle on the platform and users in need of vehicles can search and book the vehicles of their preferences. It offers features like insured rides, contactless-delivery options, and more. Their mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices.
Key facts about Turo
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series F
- Total Funding till date: $523M
- Employee Count: 1,799 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: August Capital, Allen & Company and 55 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series F, Apr 03, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. The RealReal
Online consignment-based marketplace for luxury fashion. The product catalog includes apparel for men & women of used products. It also offers jewelry and fashion accessories.
Key facts about The RealReal
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Tiburon (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $500M - $1B as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $288M
- Employee Count: 2,668 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: HTIF, 2020 Ventures and 37 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Mar 04, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
5. Bird
App-based rental platform providing self-drive electric kick-scooters. Users can locate, and reserve electric kick-scooters through the app. They can unlock vehicles by scanning the QR codes, ride the scooters, and park in legal parking spaces at the end of the ride. The kick-scooters include self-reporting damage sensors, self-sealing tires, dual anti-tipping kickstands, and anti-theft encryption. App is available for both Android and iOS devices.
Key facts about Bird
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Miami (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $100M - $500M as on Dec 31, 2022
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $765M
- Employee Count: 953 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Glynn Capital, Fidelity Investments and 61 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Aug 04, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Canaan's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Canaan has invested in 493 companies over the last 29 years, with an average of 17 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 20 investments, while as of Sep 2026, it has made 13 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in pMotion and most recent follow-on round was in HeyMilo.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 10 | 3 | 13 |
2025 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
2024 | 9 | 11 | 20 |
2023 | 11 | 9 | 20 |
2022 | 15 | 12 | 27 |
2021 | 29 | 29 | 58 |
2020 | 20 | 22 | 42 |
2019 | 22 | 18 | 40 |
2018 | 19 | 23 | 42 |
2017 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
Canaan's Investments by Stage
Canaan has made 169 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $20.9M, 95 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $24.6M and 71 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $4.66M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 169 |
Series B | 95 |
Seed | 71 |
Series C | 30 |
Series D | 6 |
Others | 7 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Canaan's Investments by Sector
Canaan has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Life Sciences, Consumer, High Tech and FinTech. Notably, it has invested in 411 Tech companies, 341 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 221 Software companies and at least 136 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 151 |
Life Sciences | 94 |
Consumer | 69 |
High Tech | 50 |
FinTech | 41 |
Others | 331 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Canaan's Investments by Geography
Canaan has made most investments in United States (312), followed by India where it has made 15 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 312 |
India | 15 |
Israel | 14 |
United Kingdom | 11 |
Brazil | 5 |
Others | 21 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Canaan's recent investments
Canaan has made 13 investments in 2026 so far. pMotion and Solstice Oncology are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Canaan:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 25, 2026 | - | Series A | 4169 | [+3] | |
Sep 09, 2026 | - | Series A | 4130 | ||
Aug 03, 2026 | United States | Seed | 1765 | [+2] | |
Jul 28, 2026 | Israel | Series A | 7064 | [+2] | |
Jun 18, 2026 | United States | Series A | 4496 |
Unicorns in Canaan's Portfolio
Canaan has 13 unicorns in its portfolio - Hermeus, Tomorrow.io, FieldAI and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Hermeus. It became a unicorn in 2026, 5 years after Canaan first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Canaan's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
68 | Manufacturer of supersonic aircraft | 2018 | Atlanta | Series C | kaiirzf | ||
77 | AI-powered weather intelligence platform using satellites for real-time forecasting | 2016 | Boston | Series F | jugvxaw | ||
67 | Developer of general-purpose artificial intelligence for robotics and physical automation systems | 2023 | Mission Viejo | Series D | zqotasx | ||
77 | Provider of a platform automating meeting transcription and summarization | 2016 | Pleasanton | Series A | sgn{bur | ||
56 | Online platform for real estate investments | 2015 | Oakland | Series E | pkzyhct |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Canaan's Portfolio
28 of Canaan's portfolio companies have become public. AgomAb Therapeutics got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Feb 2026 at marketcap of $780M and Instacart got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) at marketcap of $8.3B.Here are Canaan's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 06, 2026 | Oct 11, 2023 | Series C | 4900 | |
Sep 19, 2023 | Oct 25, 2012 | Seed | 2244 | |
Nov 05, 2021 | Jun 28, 2018 | Series C | 8339 | |
Sep 15, 2021 | Jan 10, 2020 | Series A | 7825 | |
Aug 20, 2021 | Dec 08, 2009 | Series A | 9653 |
Acquired companies in Canaan's Portfolio
191 companies from Canaan's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was UnitedLex in Sep 2026 by Repario for $*****.Here are Canaan's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 28, 2026 | 2007 | Series A | 1599 | |
Aug 10, 2026 | Sep 12, 2023 | Series A | 8386 | |
Jun 18, 2026 | Oct 12, 2018 | Series B | 3903 | |
May 01, 2026 | Jan 13, 2000 | Series A | 1570 | |
Apr 09, 2026 | Jun 09, 2022 | Series A | 6762 |
Team profile of Canaan
Canaan has a team of 33 members including 26 Partners and 4 Venture Partners located in United States, Singapore and 1 more location. Canaan's team sits on the board of 9 companies.Here is a list of top team members in Canaan:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Sarasota | - | ||
Partner | Greenwich | - | - | |
Partner | San Francisco | - | - | |
Partner | Menlo Park | - | - | |
Partner | Menlo Park | - | - | |
Partner | New York | - | ||
Partner | New York City | - | - | |
Partner | Menlo Park | Turo and World View | - | |
Partner | Menlo Park | CompStak, Cargomatic and 1 more | - | |
Partner | Menlo Park | - | - | |
Partner | Menlo Park | - | - |
Co-investors of Canaan
Over the past 29 years, 2157 investors have co-invested in Canaan's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Canaan: Y Combinator, Techstars and 507 others have invested in rounds before Canaan. There are 6 companies where Y Combinator has invested before Canaan and 6 companies where Techstars has invested before Canaan.
- Top Co-investors of Canaan: 755 investors entered a company along with Canaan. These include investors like New Enterprise Associates (13 companies).
- Invested after Canaan: A total of 893 investors have invested in Canaan's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Tiger Global Management (8 companies), Google Ventures (8 companies) and SVB (8 companies).
Recent News related to Canaan
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Solstice Oncology Raises $225M in Series A FundingFinSMEs•Sep 09, 2026•RA Capital Management, Forbion, Canaan, Solstice Oncology and 1 other
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Canaan Can Use Crypto to Buy Back Shares Amidst Core Business Cash BurnCryptoSlate•Aug 06, 2026•Canaan
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Actualyze AI Secures $7 Million for AI Governance PlatformPYMNTS.com•Aug 04, 2026•Actualyze AI, Storm Ventures, Canaan
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Mate Security Raises $35M Series A to Scale AI-Driven Security Operations PlatformThe SaaS News•Jul 29, 2026•Canaan, Mate Security, Insight Partners, Team8 and 1 other
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Canaan adds 49 BTC to treasury in June mining update; holdings hit highSeeking Alpha•Jul 14, 2026•Canaan
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Maia Secures $1.2 Million in Seed Fundingintelligence360•Jul 10, 2026•Alumni Ventures, Canaan, Maia Care
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HeyMilo AI Raises $6M in Total Funding FinSMEs•Jun 16, 2026•Era VC, HeyMilo, Alumni Ventures, Canaan and 11 others
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Yaqumo Raises Funding in Seed Extension RoundStartup Log•Jun 12, 2026•Yaqumo, Alumni Ventures, HeyMilo, Canaan
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Canaan reports 90 Bitcoin mined in May; crypto treasury hits all-time highSeeking Alpha•Jun 11, 2026•Canaan
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