Doug Carlisle
Partner EmeritusDoug has been at Menlo since 1982 and focuses on investments in the information technology sector. His current board seats and investments include nLight Photonics (LASR), Synthego, and Scality.
Doug’s prior investments include Aeroscout, acquired by Stanley Healthcare Solutions, a division of Stanley Black and Decker (SWK); Ansible, acquired by Red Hat (RHT); Carrier Access Corporation (CACS); Cellfire, acquired by Catalina Marketing; Check, acquired by Intuit (INTU); Cyras Systems, acquired by CIENA Corp. (CIEN); Efficient Networks, acquired by Siemens (SI); HNC Software, merged into Fair Isaacs (FICO); Hotmail, sold to Microsoft (MSFT); IronPort Systems, acquired by Cisco (CSCO); Kalpana, acquired by Cisco; Lytx, acquired by GTCR; Octel Communications (OTL); Open Solutions (OSI); Pyxis, acquired by Cardinal Health (CAH); RF Surgical, acquired by Medtronic (MDT); and Stratacom, acquired by Cisco.
Doug received his bachelor of science degrees in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley and holds a JD/MBA joint degree from Stanford University. He and his wife, Lauri Sanders, live in Portola Valley where they raised their six children, including a set of triplets. Doug enjoys flying and is an instrument-rated private pilot with approximately 2,000 hours in his Pilatus PC-12.
Doug has been at Menlo since 1982 and focuses on investments in the information technology sector. His current board seats and investments include nLight Photonics (LASR), Synthego, and Scality.
Doug’s prior investments include Aeroscout, acquired by Stanley Healthcare Solutions, a division of Stanley Black and Decker (SWK); Ansible, acquired by Red Hat (RHT); Carrier Access Corporation (CACS); Cellfire, acquired by Catalina Marketing; Check, acquired by Intuit (INTU); Cyras Systems, acquired by CIENA Corp. (CIEN); Efficient Networks, acquired by Siemens (SI); HNC Software, merged into Fair Isaacs (FICO); Hotmail, sold to Microsoft (MSFT); IronPort Systems, acquired by Cisco (CSCO); Kalpana, acquired by Cisco; Lytx, acquired by GTCR; Octel Communications (OTL); Open Solutions (OSI); Pyxis, acquired by Cardinal Health (CAH); RF Surgical, acquired by Medtronic (MDT); and Stratacom, acquired by Cisco.
Doug received his bachelor of science degrees in electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley and holds a JD/MBA joint degree from Stanford University. He and his wife, Lauri Sanders, live in Portola Valley where they raised their six children, including a set of triplets. Doug enjoys flying and is an instrument-rated private pilot with approximately 2,000 hours in his Pilatus PC-12.
Investments
Our Portfolio
Acquired by Microsoft Hotmail was one of the first web-based email services in the world.
Milestones
- 1996 → Founded
- 1996 → Partnered
- 1997 → Acquired by Microsoft
Partner
Acquired by Cisco IronPort developed email and web security tools to protect organizations from spam, viruses, malware, and other internet threats.
Milestones
- 2000 → Founded
- 2002 → Partnered, Series B
- 2007 → Acquired by Cisco
Partner
NASDAQ: LASR nLight manufactures high-performance semiconductor lasers.
Milestones
- 2000 → Founded
- 2001 → Partnered, Series B
- 2018 → IPO; NASDAQ: LASR
Partner
Synthego is a genome engineering company enabling the acceleration of life science research and development in the pursuit of improved human health.
Milestones
- 2012 → Founded
- 2013 → Partnered, Series A
Partner
AeroScout provides WiFi-based RFID tags, exciters, and location receivers that helps networks track and manage the location, condition, and status of mobile assets and people.
Milestones
- 1999 → Founded
- 2007 → Partnered, Series C
- 2012 → Acquired by Stanley Healthcare
Partner
Ansible is an open-source suite of software tools that enables infrastructure as code, including software provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment functionality.
Milestones
- 2012 → Founded
- 2013 → Partnered, Series A
- 2015 → Acquired by Red Hat
Partner
Carrier Access Corporation was an equipment manufacturer that helped telecommunications companies enhance service revenue, lower operating costs, and extend capital budgets by providing high-performance access and new service technologies.
Milestones
- 1997 → Founded
- 1998 → IPO; NASDAQ: CACS
Partner
Cellfire offers valuable savings on groceries, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.
Milestones
- 2005 → Founded
- 2006 → Partnered, Series A
- 2014 → Acquired by Catalina Marketing
Partner
Check was a mobile payments and personal finance company. Its free, top-rated mobile app was used by 10 million customers to pay bills.
Milestones
- 2007 → Founded
- 2013 → Partnered
- 2014 → Acquired
Partner
Cyras Systems developed high-speed, multi-service switching platforms for optical metropolitan area networks.
Milestones
- 1998 → Founded
- 1998 → Partnered
- 2001 → Acquired
Partner
Efficient Networks supplied high-speed digital subscriber line equipment.
Milestones
- 1993 → Founded
- 2001 → Acquired
- 2019 → Partnered
Partner
HNC Software provided analytics and decision management software and tools that the facilitated management of customer interactions by converting data and business experiences into recommendations.
Milestones
- 1986 → Founded
- 2002 → Merged with Fair, Isaac and Company
Partner
Hotmail was one of the first web-based email services in the world.
Milestones
- 1996 → Founded
- 1996 → Partnered
- 1997 → Acquired by Microsoft
Partner
IronPort developed email and web security tools to protect organizations from spam, viruses, malware, and other internet threats.
Milestones
- 2000 → Founded
- 2002 → Partnered, Series B
- 2007 → Acquired by Cisco
Partner
Kalpana transformed the Ethernet switching industry with its innovative technologies that increased the throughput of Ethernet networks.
Milestones
- 1989 → Founded
- 1994 → Acquired
- 2019 → Partnered
Partner
nLight manufactures high-performance semiconductor lasers.
Milestones
- 2000 → Founded
- 2001 → Partnered, Series B
- 2018 → IPO; NASDAQ: LASR
Partner
RF Surgical developed products such as surgical sponges, gauze, and towels that emitted low-frequency radio signals to track them if left inside the human body.
Milestones
- 2004 → Founded
- 2008 → Partnered, Series A
- 2015 → Acquired by Medtronic
Partner
Scality is an industry leader in petabyte-scale storage.
Milestones
- 2009 → Founded
- 2013 → Partnered, Series B
Partner
Synthego is a genome engineering company enabling the acceleration of life science research and development in the pursuit of improved human health.
Milestones
- 2012 → Founded
- 2013 → Partnered, Series A
Partner