About Sound Ventures
Sound Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2004. It is primarily based out of United States. As of Sep 2026, Sound Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 144 companies, with 5 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 High Tech and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series D round of Factory Overall, Sound Ventures portfolio has seen 21 unicorns, 15 IPOs and 26 acquisitions including key companies like Uber, Robinhood and Airbnb. A lot of funds co-invest with Sound Ventures, with names like Ashton Kutcher sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Sound Ventures has team of 6 people including 3 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Seed & 7 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Sound Ventures' List of Top Investments
Sound Ventures has a portfolio of 144 companies, including 21 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Landbase and Medinas.Their portfolio spans across United States, Israel, United Kingdom and 10 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer and 31 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 7 more. Here is the list of top investments by Sound Ventures:
1. Uber
Network providing on-demand transportation, delivery, and business management solutions. It facilitates ride requests and connects individuals with transportation providers. Additionally, it offers delivery services for food and other goods. The network extends to business solutions, providing tools for managing rides, meals, and local deliveries for organizations.
Key facts about Uber
- Founded Year: 2009
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $13.2B
- Employee Count: 167,166 as on Aug 31, 2026
- Investors: TrueBridge, InvestX and 192 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Dec 19, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Robinhood
Broker-based online trading and investment platform. It offers tools for building investment strategies and tracking market trends. It facilitates trading in stocks, funds, options, and crypto assets. Expert-managed portfolios are available, providing market insights and investment adjustments. The company also provides educational resources to improve investor knowledge.
Key facts about Robinhood
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Menlo Park (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $5.73B
- Employee Count: 4,964 as on Aug 31, 2026
- Investors: HTIF, ADS Ventures and 154 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, May 13, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Public
3. OpenAI
Artificial intelligence research and development platform offering advanced language models. It enables businesses and individuals to build and integrate AI capabilities into their applications and services. It is a technology company specializing in the development of artificial intelligence models, including the popular ChatGPT, which enables users to interact with AI-powered conversational interfaces. The company's research focuses on achieving artificial general intelligence, a system that can solve complex human-level problems, while prioritizing safety and benefits. It provides its AI models through an API platform, enabling developers to integrate AI capabilities into their applications.
Key facts about OpenAI
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series F
- Total Funding till date: $180B
- Employee Count: 11,056 as on Aug 31, 2026
- Investors: Glynn Capital, K2 Global and 91 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series F, Apr 22, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Airbnb
Provider of accommodations, experiences, and related services through an online platform. The platform facilitates connections between hosts and individuals seeking lodging and activities. It offers a variety of options for stays and curated experiences. The platform also provides resources for individuals interested in becoming hosts.
Key facts about Airbnb
- Founded Year: 2008
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $3.07B
- Employee Count: 72,829 as on Aug 31, 2026
- Investors: Silver Lake, 2020 Ventures and 166 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Apr 06, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
5. Duolingo
Developer of mobile applications for learning various foreign language skills. The platform utilizes interactive exercises and gamified lessons to teach vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Users progress through structured levels while receiving immediate feedback on their performance. The software adapts curriculum content based on individual user progress and accuracy.
Key facts about Duolingo
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Pittsburgh (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $183M
- Employee Count: 900 as on Dec 31, 2025
- Investors: HTIF, ADS Ventures and 19 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series H, Nov 18, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Sound Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Sound Ventures has invested in 144 companies over the last 11 years, with an average of 11 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 10 investments, while as of Sep 2026, it has made 7 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Factory and most recent follow-on round was in Warp.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 5 | 2 | 7 |
2025 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
2024 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2023 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
2022 | 18 | 4 | 22 |
2021 | 41 | 9 | 50 |
2020 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
2019 | 7 | 4 | 11 |
2018 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
2017 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Sound Ventures' Investments by Stage
Sound Ventures has made 38 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $20.5M, 31 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $21.9M and 29 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $44.7M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 38 |
Seed | 31 |
Series B | 29 |
Series C | 14 |
Series D | 3 |
Others | 7 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Sound Ventures' Investments by Sector
Sound Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, FinTech, High Tech, Consumer and Blockchain Technology. Notably, it has invested in 139 Tech companies, 84 Software companies, 83 Enterprise (B2B) companies and at least 76 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 58 |
FinTech | 43 |
High Tech | 41 |
Consumer | 36 |
Blockchain Technology | 23 |
Others | 162 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Sound Ventures' Investments by Geography
Sound Ventures has made most investments in United States (108), followed by Israel where it has made 4 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 108 |
Israel | 4 |
United Kingdom | 3 |
Canada | 2 |
China | 1 |
Others | 6 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Sound Ventures' recent investments
Sound Ventures has made 7 investments in 2026 so far. Factory and Warp are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Sound Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 15, 2026 | United States | Series D | 3739 | [+10] | |
Jun 26, 2026 | United States | Series C | 7948 | [+2] | |
Jun 25, 2026 | United States | Series B | 3223 | [+10] | |
May 25, 2026 | United States | Series B | 6670 | [+5] | |
May 15, 2026 | United States | Series B | 1130 | [+3] |
Unicorns in Sound Ventures' Portfolio
Sound Ventures has 21 unicorns in its portfolio - Factory, You Technologies, Speak and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Factory. It became a unicorn in 2026.Here is a list of unicorns in Sound Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
70 | Developer of artificial intelligence solutions for industrial automation and optimization | 2023 | San Francisco | Series D | xmzpqlf | ||
69 | AI-enabled key-word based private search engine | 2020 | Palo Alto | Series C | itdl{vh | ||
78 | AI-powered language learning platform | 2016 | San Francisco | Series C | yxysprt | ||
72 | Online platform offering a user-generated metaverse with blockchain games for creative and immersive gaming experiences | 2018 | Hong Kong | Series B | uk{ndsx | ||
73 | Developer of generative AI models for image, video, audio, and 3D | 2019 | Los Angeles | Series B | qegmqhn |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Sound Ventures' Portfolio
15 of Sound Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. EquipmentShare got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Jan 2026 at marketcap of $5.24B and Bird got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).Here are Sound Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 23, 2026 | Mar 31, 2023 | Series E | 3240 | |
Nov 05, 2021 | Jun 28, 2018 | Series C | 6662 | |
Oct 14, 2021 | Jul 09, 2015 | Seed | 7596 | |
Sep 29, 2021 | - | - | 4377 | |
Jul 29, 2021 | - | - | 3803 |
Acquired companies in Sound Ventures' Portfolio
26 companies from Sound Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Hugging Face in Sep 2026 by Nvidia for $*****.Here are Sound Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 03, 2026 | Aug 22, 2023 | Series D | 3172 | |
Aug 26, 2026 | May 02, 2024 | Series E | 3006 | |
Jun 01, 2026 | Oct 24, 2019 | Seed | 1649 | |
Mar 11, 2026 | Oct 28, 2020 | Series B | 9490 | |
Jan 29, 2026 | Feb 02, 2021 | Series B | 1640 |
Team profile of Sound Ventures
Sound Ventures has a team of 6 members including 3 Partners and 3 Principals located in United States. Sound Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Sound Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Beverly Hills | - | ||
Partner | Los Angeles | - | ||
Partner | Los Angeles | - | ||
Principal | Dayton | - | - | |
Principal | New York City | - | - | |
Principal | Santa Monica | - | - |
Co-investors of Sound Ventures
Over the past 11 years, 1530 investors have co-invested in Sound Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Sound Ventures: Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital and 515 others have invested in rounds before Sound Ventures. There are 16 companies where Y Combinator has invested before Sound Ventures and 8 companies where Sequoia Capital has invested before Sound Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Sound Ventures: 607 investors entered a company along with Sound Ventures. These include investors like Ashton Kutcher (11 companies).
- Invested after Sound Ventures: A total of 406 investors have invested in Sound Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Tiger Global Management (5 companies), Iconiq Capital (4 companies) and Sequoia Capital (4 companies).
Recent News related to Sound Ventures
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Day AI Secures $20M Series A to Reimagine Enterprise CRM Through Autonomous IntelligenceWebProNews•Feb 02, 2026•Day.ai, Sequoia Capital, Sound Ventures, Conviction and 2 others
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Knit Raises $16.1M in Series A Funding
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IT Service Antimetal Secures $20 Million to Streamline Infrastructure ManagementCIO Influence•Jun 13, 2025•Antimetal, Sound Ventures
