Investor
Sam Borja
AIInfrastructureSaaS
As an investor at Menlo Ventures, Sam focuses on SaaS, AI/ML, and cloud infrastructure opportunities. She is passionate about supporting strong founders with a vision to transform an industry.
Sam joined Menlo from the Boston Consulting Group, where she was a core member of the firm’s Principal Investors and Private Equity practice, with a primary focus on tech capital. She ran due diligence for 25+ deals, spanning procurement tech for government agencies to B2C e-learning apps, and has experience with portfolio strategy, portfolio optimization, expansion plans, and post-merger integrations.
Sam grew up in the Philippines and graduated from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, business, and human-centered design innovation. During her free time, Sam enjoys trying new workout classes, running fun runs, taking studio art classes, and traveling.
Supported by: Karen Avila, [email protected]
Investment Portfolio
Abnormal AI is an integrated email security solution for the cloud office, detecting the whole spectrum of email attacks, from vendor compromise and spear-phishing to unwanted spam and graymail.
Milestones
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2018 - Founded
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2020 - Partnered, Series B
Leadership
Evan Reiser
Co-Founder & CEO
Sanjay Jeyakumar
Co-Founder & CTO
Partners
Kinetic is ushering in the next generation of mobility (EVs, AVs) with a network of highly automated service centers.
Milestones
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2022 - Founded
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2024 - Partnered, Series B
Leadership
Nikhil Naikal
Co-Founder & CEO
Sander Marques
Co-Founder & CTO
Chris Weber
Co-Founder & COO
Partners
Mimic is the first enterprise defense system specifically designed to combat ransomware and cyber extortion.
Milestones
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2023 - Founded
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222024 - Partnered, Seed
Leadership
Derek Smith
Co-Founder & CEO
Bob Blakley
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Partners
Numeric is an AI accounting automation platform, built to take manual work off accountants’ plates so they can focus on what's impactful.
Milestones
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2020 - Founded
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2024 - Partnered, Seed
Leadership
Parker Gilbert
Co-Founder & CEO
Anthony Alvernaz
Co-Founder & CPO
Andrew Bihl
Co-Founder & CTO
Partners
Abnormal AI
Abnormal AI is an integrated email security solution for the cloud office, detecting the whole spectrum of email attacks, from vendor compromise and spear-phishing to unwanted spam and graymail.
Astrix
Astrix is the leader in non-human identity (NHI) security.
ConverzAI
ConverzAI is the leading innovator in AI-driven recruitment solutions. Having pioneered Voice AI for the staffing sector, ConverzAI is now accelerating industry transformation with its AI-powered virtual recruiters.
Kinetic
Kinetic is ushering in the next generation of mobility (EVs, AVs) with a network of highly automated service centers.
Mimic
Mimic is the first enterprise defense system specifically designed to combat ransomware and cyber extortion.
Numeric
Numeric is an AI accounting automation platform, built to take manual work off accountants’ plates so they can focus on what's impactful.
Solace
Solace connects Medicare patients with certified healthcare advocates who help patients navigate their complex care journeys.
q&a
Investment Approach
All eyes are on your data. A lot of enterprises are thinking about where their data sits, how their data’s moving internally and externally, and the quality of their data. It’s the precursor to many aspects of AI adoption. This can mean a lot of exciting new jump ball opportunities for companies building in data monitoring, security, governance, and quality.
Talk to the inside. Oftentimes, we are outsiders looking in. It’s helpful to talk to builders and buyers in a space to try and understand their pain points, the status quo, and what their ideal alternative looks like.
Do your homework. First meetings are usually 30 minutes long, and the best way to be effective is to do as much research as you can upfront (and save the founder some time!).
“Strong opinions, loosely held.” It’s great to have conviction based on the facts you’ve gathered, but oftentimes, there are still so many unknowns (and it’s hard to know what you don’t know!). Know what you believe, seek the truth, and reflect on what you got right and wrong. Then learn from it.
Meeting cool people. Every founder’s taken a leap of faith thinking, “I’m just going to build it myself,” and it always takes a sense of confidence, bravery, and insight that I envy!
