Consumer

Portfolio spotlight

Our Consumer Portfolio
homelight
homelight

HomeLight is a marketplace for connecting home sellers with the best real estate agents.

Milestones
  • 2012 Founded
  • 2017 Partnered, Series B
homelight_graphic
chime_logo
chime_logo

Chime helps members avoid bank fees, save money automatically, and lead healthier financial lives.

Milestones
  • 2012 Founded
  • 2018 Partnered, Series C
poshmarkNASDAQ: POSH; later acquired by Naver
poshmark

Poshmark is a social commerce marketplace where people can buy and sell new or used clothing, shoes, accessories, and home goods.

Milestones
  • 2011 Founded
  • 2012 Partnered, Series B
  • 2021 IPO; NASDAQ: POSH
  • 2022 Acquired by Naver
poshmark_graphic
roku-logo NASDAQ: ROKU
roku-logo

Roku pioneered streaming TV, connecting users to content they love, enabling content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and providing advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers.

Milestones
  • 2002 Founded
  • 2008 Partnered, Series C
  • 2017 IPO; NASDAQ: ROKU
roku_graphic
rover NASDAQ: ROVR
rover

Rover connects dog and cat parents with loving pet sitters and dog walkers in neighborhoods across the US, Canada, UK, and Europe.

Milestones
  • 2011 Founded
  • 2014 Partnered, Series C
  • 2021 SPAC; NASDAQ: ROVR
rover_graphic
siriAcquired by Apple
siri

Siri was a voice recognition company spun out of the non-profit institute SRI International. It launched its Siri virtual personal assistant app in February 2010, two months before it was acquired by Apple.

Milestones
  • 2007 Founded
  • 2008 Partnered
  • 2010 Acquired
siri_graphic
uberNYSE: UBER
uber

Uber innovates at the intersection of mobile technology, transportation, and logistics. Uber provides mobility-as-a-service with ride-sharing, food and package delivery, couriers, and freight transportation.

Milestones
  • 2009 Founded
  • 2011 Partnered, Series B
  • 2019 IPO; NYSE: UBER
uber_graphic
warby_parkerNYSE: WRBY
warby_parker

Warby Parker is an online retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, conceived as an alternative to the overpriced and bland eyewear available today.

Milestones
  • 2010 Founded
  • 2011 Partnered, Series B
  • 2021 Direct Listing; NYSE: WRBY
warby_parker_graphic

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Reimagining Smart Car Repair: Our Investment in Kinetic

We are delighted to announce that Menlo Ventures is leading Kinetic’s $21 million Series B to support them on their journey to rethink smart car maintenance and repair.

Welcoming Our Newest Consumer Investor, C.C. Gong
Menlo’s Investment in Higgsfield: Building World Models With Video
Our Investment in Barnyard Games: Pioneering Social Games for the Unreal Engine for Fortnite Ecosystem
Arc electric boat dashboard
Riding the EV Wave: Our Investment in Arc
Cartwheel Care graphic
Our Investment in Cartwheel: Improving Youth Mental Health
Amy Wu headshot square
Menlo Ventures Doubles Down on Consumer Investing With New Partner Amy Wu
Riva founders Dag Kittlaus and Tuhin Sinha with Riva logo

Video: Building Riva With Menlo Labs

Riva Health founders Tuhin Sinha and Dag Kittlaus discuss their critical mission to revolutionize cardiovascular healthcare; their long histories with Menlo partners Greg Yap and Shawn Carolan; how they were introduced to each other; and the whirlwind journey to FDA approval.

AI construction site graphic

The Seven Generative AI Building Blocks for the Next Generation of Consumer Technology Companies

OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users just two months after launch, setting the new standard for the fastest-growing consumer application in history. The landmark achievement underscored the strength of generative AI’s pull in consumer markets—surpassing even the breakthroughs of the internet and smartphones.

Back to Basics: Fundamentals for Building Breakout Consumer Companies
recession
How Key Sectors Might Fare During a Post-COVID Recession
Lightning in a bottle
Catching Lightning in a Bottle
A Disruptive Vision Achieved: Celebrating Warby Parker’s Direct Listing
Rover IPO

Celebrating Rover: Best in Show With Nasdaq Debut

Today we congratulate CEO Aaron Easterly and the entire Rover team on becoming a publicly-traded company (NASDAQ: ROVR).

MVP tree
The Secret to Cracking the Minimum Viable Product
Our Investment in Riva Health: Building the Future of Cardiovascular Healthcare
Reimagining Smart Car Repair: Our Investment in Kinetic

We are delighted to announce that Menlo Ventures is leading Kinetic’s $21 million Series B to support them on their journey to rethink smart car maintenance and repair.

June 20, 2024Shawn Carolan, Sam Borja and Andreas Vandris
Welcoming Our Newest Consumer Investor, C.C. Gong

C.C. joins us as a principal, focused on AI applications for consumer and enterprise and broader consumer tech.

June 6, 2024Shawn Carolan and Amy Wu
Menlo’s Investment in Higgsfield: Building World Models With Video

AI-generated video is on the verge of its ChatGPT moment.

April 3, 2024Amy Wu and Derek Xiao
Our Investment in Barnyard Games: Pioneering Social Games for the Unreal Engine for Fortnite Ecosystem

Gaming is in a golden age. Over the last decade, gaming has seen the rise of iconic studios whose titles have reshaped how consumers socialize and play today.

December 14, 2023Amy Wu and Derek Xiao
Riding the EV Wave: Our Investment in Arc

Led by a team of former rocket engineers and marine enthusiasts, Arc blends modern aerospace design and manufacturing techniques with traditional marine craftsmanship.

September 27, 2023Shawn Carolan
Our Investment in Cartwheel: Improving Youth Mental Health

The single greatest health concern facing American kids and teens today is a crisis in mental health.

September 26, 2023Greg Yap and Derek Xiao
Menlo Ventures Doubles Down on Consumer Investing With New Partner Amy Wu

Amy joins us to expand Menlo’s long-standing consumer practice and lead us into new categories, drawing on her strong gaming expertise and fearless exploration of new consumer experiences.

June 15, 2023Shawn Carolan
Video: Building Riva With Menlo Labs

Riva Health founders Tuhin Sinha and Dag Kittlaus discuss their critical mission to revolutionize cardiovascular healthcare; their long histories with Menlo partners Greg Yap and Shawn Carolan; how they were introduced to each other; and the whirlwind journey to FDA approval.

May 12, 2023
The Seven Generative AI Building Blocks for the Next Generation of Consumer Technology Companies

OpenAI’s ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users just two months after launch, setting the new standard for the fastest-growing consumer application in history. The landmark achievement underscored the strength of generative AI’s pull in consumer markets—surpassing even the breakthroughs of the internet and smartphones.

April 27, 2023Shawn Carolan and Derek Xiao
Back to Basics: Fundamentals for Building Breakout Consumer Companies

Economic downturns force us to get back to basics: The cost of new capital and low valuation multiples—even for top-performing public companies—force startups to make substantial progress per dollar to get a term sheet, much less an up round.

January 18, 2023Shawn Carolan
How Key Sectors Might Fare During a Post-COVID Recession

As we consider the post-COVID economy, we reflect on previous recessions to inform our predictions about how various asset classes and business models might perform.

June 1, 2022Steve Sloane
Catching Lightning in a Bottle

How to align product with what customers want, differentiate from competitors, and win your market

October 13, 2021Shawn Carolan
A Disruptive Vision Achieved: Celebrating Warby Parker’s Direct Listing

Today we congratulate Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt, Jeff Raider, and the entire Warby Parker team on becoming a publicly-traded company.

September 29, 2021Mark Siegel
Celebrating Rover: Best in Show With Nasdaq Debut

Today we congratulate CEO Aaron Easterly and the entire Rover team on becoming a publicly-traded company (NASDAQ: ROVR).

August 2, 2021Venky Ganesan
The Secret to Cracking the Minimum Viable Product

Startups fail when they don’t build a simple solution to a problem many people have. Many startups fall into the trap of building toward a “mission” rather than a minimum viable product (MVP).

March 25, 2021Shawn Carolan
Our Investment in Riva Health: Building the Future of Cardiovascular Healthcare

Nearly half of U.S. adults—108 million people—have high blood pressure, which is the #1 controllable risk for both heart disease and stroke, the two leading worldwide causes of death.

March 17, 2021Greg Yap
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