David Silverman
Partner
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- Full Name
- David Silverman
- Title
- Partner / Co-Managing General Partner
- Firm
- Crosslink Capital
- Firm Type
- Venture Capital (early-stage / seed to Series A) — note: not a solo angel; the stub's "Angel Investors" label is inaccurate
- Investment Stage
- Seed to Series A
- Check Size
- ~$1M–$8M initial checks; sweet spot around $4.5M (Series A checks reported up to ~$9–10M)
- Target Company Profile
- Early-stage technology startups, often founder-led companies building platforms in financial services, insurance, and data/marketing infrastructure
- Sector Focus
- Fintech, insurtech, enterprise/SaaS, digital media & advertising, marketplaces, analytics
- Geographic Focus
- U.S., concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Location
- Menlo Park, California
Background
David Silverman is a Partner (reported elsewhere as Co-Managing General Partner) at Crosslink Capital, an early-stage venture firm based in Menlo Park, California. He joined Crosslink in 2011 and focuses on venture investments in software, financial technology, and digital media. He brings more than 20 years of experience across both venture capital and technology investment banking.
Before Crosslink, Silverman was a partner at 3i Ventures, the venture arm of the global private equity and venture capital firm 3i. Earlier in his career he served as a senior officer in the technology practices at two prominent tech-focused investment banks, Robertson Stephens and Piper Jaffray, giving him deep capital-markets, IPO, and M&A expertise that carries into his work with portfolio companies.
He earned a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from Stanford University (Stanford Law School).
Over his career he has been associated with a series of companies that reached major strategic exits, both before and during his time at Crosslink — including BlueLithium (acquired by Yahoo!), Omniture (acquired by Adobe), Bizo (LinkedIn), BuildingConnected (Autodesk), ServiceMax (GE), and Vungle (Blackstone), alongside IPOs such as Weave, Casper, and Vonage.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests at seed through Series A, writing initial checks roughly in the $1M–$8M range with a ~$4.5M sweet spot; Crosslink currently operates a fund of roughly $350M.
- Core sectors: financial technology and insurtech, enterprise/SaaS, and digital media, advertising, and analytics — reflecting his stated focus on "software, financial technology and digital media."
- Strong preference for platform and infrastructure businesses in financial services and transportation (e.g., embedded finance, insurance, logistics/mobility data).
- Draws on an investment-banking and M&A background (Robertson Stephens, Piper Jaffray) to help companies with financing strategy, later rounds, and eventual exits — a pattern visible in his long list of strategic-acquisition outcomes.
- Known for a hands-on, company-building partnership style, typically taking an active role with founders after investing.
Notable Investments
- Chime — consumer fintech / neobank; a flagship Crosslink-era investment.
- Weave (NYSE: WEAV) — SMB customer-communication software; reached IPO.
- Casper (CSPR) — direct-to-consumer mattress and sleep brand; IPO.
- ServiceMax — field-service management software; acquired by GE.
- BuildingConnected — preconstruction/bid-management platform; acquired by Autodesk.
- Bizo — B2B marketing/audience platform; acquired by LinkedIn.
- Vungle — mobile in-app video advertising; acquired by Blackstone.
- Amplify Life Insurance — insurtech; Series A ($10M, 2022).
- Denim (formerly Axle Payments) — freight/logistics fintech; Series B ($26M, 2022).
- Gridwise — gig-driver mobility analytics; Series A ($13M, 2022).
- JustiFi — embedded fintech infrastructure; Seed ($4M, 2022).
- AutoFi — automotive commerce/financing platform (current portfolio).
- RealBlocks — alternative-investment infrastructure; Series A ($10M, 2023).
- arqu — Series A ($10M, 2024).
- QuadSci — Series A ($8M, reported Feb 2026).
- Pre-Crosslink exits: BlueLithium (→ Yahoo!), Omniture (→ Adobe), Demand Media, Fotolog (→ Hi-Media), Speakeasy (→ Best Buy), Vonage (IPO).
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