Costanoa Ventures is a boutique early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012 and based in Palo Alto. Its pitch is deliberate concentration: it backs "a select few who aim to solve big, hard problems", partnering with builders as early as company formation — seed and Series A — and taking the long view on the partnership.
The sector focus is apps and infrastructure across data, developer tools, security and fintech. In recent years the firm has doubled down on AI-enabled SaaS, AI and data infrastructure, cybersecurity, national security and defence tech — sectors it sees as the foundation for scaling AI's use in business.
The numbers are public and current. In September 2024 the firm announced the close of two funds: Costanoa Fund V, a $275 million early-stage fund, and Opportunity Fund III, a $119 million fund for investing in later rounds of its early-stage winners. With those additions, total assets under management exceed $2 billion.
The firm is led by founder and managing partner Greg Sands. In 2024 John Cowgill was promoted to general partner after building Costanoa's cybersecurity and space practices and leading investments in category standouts AppOmni, Cyberhaven, Muon Space and Kepler Communications.
Portfolio standouts include Vannevar Labs — the defence-tech company founded by two Stanford GSB students and incubated in Costanoa's Palo Alto office in 2019, now a leader in technology for the defence industry, led by co-founder and president Nini Hamrick — alongside Alation, PayNearMe, Noyo, Lively (a modern health-savings-account platform), Cape and Auterion.
The firm's own site lets founders speak for the model. Nini Hamrick, CEO and co-founder of Vannevar Labs, describes the Costanoa team as an extension of her own through every phase of company building. Alation CEO and co-founder Satyen Sangani says he thinks of Greg Sands as a co-founder — his first call whenever he needs input, the biggest compliment an investor can get. Danny Shader contrasts the experience with the industry norm, saying Costanoa has been even better and more helpful in the years since the first investment, while Shannon Goggin credits the team with pragmatic help on the most complicated business challenges.
The firm runs no public accelerator; its founder programme is the BuilderOps team, which provides hands-on support in go-to-market strategy, company building and talent recruitment — a high-touch, boutique model founders repeatedly describe as feeling like an extension of their own team.
Why it matters for founders
Costanoa is built for technical founders at seed or Series A in AI infrastructure, cyber, fintech or defence tech who want a concentrated, operator-led partner rather than a logo on the cap table. If you are forming a company in those sectors and want help with go-to-market and hiring from day one, the BuilderOps model is exactly the pitch — but expect selectivity: the firm deliberately backs few companies per year.