Investor Profile: Pelion Venture Partners — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

Pelion Venture Partners is one of America's longest-running early-stage venture funds for technology founders seeking startup funding. Founded in 1986 as Utah Ventures and headquartered in the Salt Lake City area, the firm has raised over $2 billion across its family of funds and built a national track record of backing early-stage technology companies long before their markets noticed.

Investment thesis & focus

Pelion invests nationwide into early-stage technology companies applying sophisticated software to enterprise needs. Its stated hunting grounds are B2B SaaS, fintech, marketplaces, cloud computing, and security. The firm is an operator-led shop — its investment team came out of companies like Novell, AT&T, WordPerfect, Sun and IBM — and it commits to taking lead or co-lead roles in the rounds it joins. Recent portfolio activity skews toward enterprise software and health tech, including the $55 million Series C in threat-intelligence company Strider that Pelion led in 2026.

Fund size & cheque sizes

The firm closed its seventh flagship fund, Pelion Ventures VII, in October 2021 at $365 million — oversubscribed against a $250 million target. Its fifth fund closed at $194 million in 2013. Specific cheque sizes are not publicly disclosed; the firm describes itself as an early-stage lead investor, which typically means meaningful seed and Series A positions.

Notable portfolio

Pelion's exited winners include Cloudflare, Divvy, Weave, Integral Ad Science and Owlet. Active portfolio companies include Strider, MX Technologies, Firefly, BigPanda, Neighbor, SteadyMD, Deserve and Domo, while Fund VII additions include Coco, Overtime, Nursa, Aumni, Macrometa and Cacheflow.

Team & leads

The firm is led by Blake Modersitzki, Managing Partner, an operator turned investor who previously ran Novell Ventures. Partners include Jeff Kearl and Carine Clark. The team's deep operating background in software is the firm's stated differentiator for technical founders.

Programmes, credits & perks

Pelion does not run a formal accelerator or startup credits programme. Its value-add is hands-on operational support — engineering team building, go-to-market strategy and sales-channel development — delivered by partners who have run significant technology businesses themselves.

How to apply for funding from Pelion Venture Partners

Pelion does not publish a public application form. The verified route is a warm introduction through a portfolio founder, co-investor or someone in the firm's Utah network, with your pitch sent to the team at pelionvp.com. Cold outreach to their published contact email has been reported to reach the team, but given the firm's emphasis on founder references, a warm path is the honest playbook. Come with demonstrated customer traction — Utah investors are known to diligence customers directly before term sheets.