Mike Volpi Biography and Investment Strategies

Mike Volpi is a seasoned investor with a strong background in venture capital. He co-founded Index Ventures, a prominent venture capital firm, in 1996.

Volpi's experience in venture capital spans over two decades, with a focus on investing in early-stage companies in the technology sector. He has a keen eye for identifying innovative startups with high growth potential.

As a seasoned investor, Volpi has invested in numerous successful companies, including Dropbox and SoundCloud. His investment strategies are centered around identifying and supporting talented entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas.

Mike Volpi's early career is marked by his entrepreneurial spirit. After leaving Cisco in 2007, he became entrepreneur in residence (EIR) at Sequoia Capital.

He soon took on a new challenge as the CEO of Joost, an Internet startup focused on online TV founded by Skype's founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis.

In a notable turn of events, a lawsuit was filed against Volpi in September 2009 by Skype's founders, but it was dropped in November 2009.

Index Ventures and Joost are closely tied, with Volpi serving as the CEO of Joost. Volpi invests in early-stage companies at Index Ventures, focusing on autonomous driving, enterprise, and open source.

Index Ventures has a significant presence in San Francisco, with an office that matches its presence on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Volpi has been instrumental in growing the firm's US presence.

As a result of Volpi's efforts, Index Ventures had six initial public offerings in the US between 2012 and 2018. These successful IPOs include Dropbox, Etsy, Sonos, and Zuora.

Index Ventures has also invested in early rounds of companies like Aurora, Bird, and Robinhood, which are all self-driving car startups.

After Cisco in 2007, he became entrepreneur in residence (EIR) at Sequoia Capital.

He took on this role at Sequoia Capital, which is a prestigious venture capital firm.

A few months later, he was appointed CEO of Joost, an Internet startup focused on online TV which was founded by Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis.

Joost aimed to revolutionize the way people consumed online TV content.

In September 2009, a lawsuit was filed against Volpi by Skype’s founders in conjunction with the proposed divestiture of Skype from eBay.

The lawsuit was eventually dropped in November 2009, bringing an end to the controversy.

Volpi joined Cisco Systems in 1994, starting in the nascent business development group. He was promoted to leading acquisitions at Cisco in April 1996. Their acquisition strategy at Cisco is used as a model for technology mergers and acquisitions.

He was promoted to chief strategy officer, leading corporate strategy, business development, and strategic alliances. Some press speculated he was heir apparent to CEO John Chambers. He worked for Chambers until 2000.

Volpi moved into an operational role as a senior vice president and general manager, leading the routing and switching teams. He co-led the routing and service provider group with Prem Jain until 2007.

Mike Volpi is a board member of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Exor, an independent investment firm. He's also served on the boards of several tech companies, including Opsware, TIBCO Software, Skype, StorSimple, Cloud.com, and Clearwire.

Volpi has also been involved with educational institutions, serving on the board of Castilleja School, an independent school for girls in Palo Alto, California. He's also a Global Advisory Board Member at Knight-Hennessy Scholars, an international graduate-level scholarship program for study at Stanford University.

As a member of the advisory council for the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Volpi has likely been exposed to innovative ideas and business strategies.

Mike Volpi joined Index Ventures in 2009 as a Partner in the London office, focusing on investments in the Internet telecom, networking, and media sectors.

He also contributes to the firm’s later stage growth fund and sits on the boards of several companies, including Cloud.com, GroupSpaces, Sonos, and Storsimple.

Mike began his career at Hewlett Packard's optoelectronics division, then moved to Cisco Systems where he held various leadership positions.

He was Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Routing and Service Provider Technology Group, leading Cisco's business for the Service Provider market, which was an $11 billion business for Cisco in 2007.

Mike also served as Cisco's Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for corporate strategy, business development, strategic alliances, advanced Internet projects, legal services, and government affairs.

During his tenure at Cisco, Mike was instrumental in creating the company's acquisition and investment strategies, as Cisco acquired more than 70 companies.

Mike has a strong educational background, with a master's and bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Mike Volpi has had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the industry. He has collaborated with industry leaders like Aurora, ClickHouse, and Cohere.

Aurora, for example, is an AI/ML company that has made significant contributions to the field. Mike's work with Aurora is a testament to his expertise and innovative approach.

One of the notable collaborations Mike has been a part of is with Scale, another AI/ML company. Scale's cutting-edge technology has enabled Mike to explore new possibilities in the field.

Here are some of the notable companies Mike has collaborated with:

These collaborations demonstrate Mike's ability to work with top talent and push the boundaries of what is possible in the industry.