California is known for its exceptional startup scene and funding activities through many VC firms, startup accelerators, incubators, and angel investors. 

In 2023, the state hosted around 30,000 startup events, with hundreds of investors funding startups and boosting the growth of the state. From the mystique of Silicon Valley to the wonders of San Francisco, there are thousands of angel investors in California who can provide you with the required funding and accelerate your startup growth. 

So, let’s wait no longer and jump onto the list of the top 6 angel investors in California.

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Top 6 Angel Investors in California

Generally, there are many investors in California, mainly across Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento, and Oakland.

However, to name some specific firms and people, I have prepared a list of the following individual investors and VC firms according to their ranking.

Fabrice Grinda

LinkedIn: Fabrice Grinda 

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: API Enterprise, Food and Beverage, Future of Work, Health and Wellness, Internet and Mobile, Proptech/Real Estate, SaaS, Social, Supply Chain/Logistics

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Fabrice Grinda is one of the most renowned individual investors in California and an experienced entrepreneur. After funding around 450 startups, Grinda is dedicated to the startup system and invests in startups that are bound to generate high profits.

His team searches and evaluates startups every week and funds at least two startups in 15 days. With a prime interest in early and seed-staged startups, Fabrice Grinda invests in almost 25 sectors, with most of his investments being in the consumer retail sector.

The investment range of Fabrice Grinda ranges from $200,000 to $1M. Some of his recent investments include.

Alibaba Group: A multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet, and technology.

FanDuel: A web-based fantasy sports game with traditional season-long fantasy sports leagues compressed into daily and weekly games.

Booking.com: An online travel agency for lodging reservations and a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.

Sequoia Capital

Website: Home | Sequoia Capital

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Energy, Finance, Enterprise, Healthcare, Internet and Mobile

Investment Stage: Early, Seed and Late

Sequoia Capital is also known to be one of the biggest and most active VC firms in California. The network was founded in 1972 by Don Valentine and has funded a total of 1,500 companies globally. 

During the investment, Sequoia Capital prioritizes the growth and stability of a startup, with most of its investments being at the seed stage. The network also conducts many mentorship and networking events throughout the year. Its famous "Ascent" program has helped a lot of women secure investments and provided them with the needed guidance at different stages of a startup. 

The investment range of Sequoia Capital ranges from $100,000 to $100M. Notable investments are:

247.ai: It is a customer service software and services company that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide targeted customer service. The total venture funding for 247.ai was estimated at $22 million.

23andMe: It is a leading personal genetics information company that provides insights about health, ancestry, traits, and more based on DNA analysis91011. 23andMe has raised a total funding of over $850 million.

Acelerate: It is a software company that helps restaurants make the most out of their infrastructure. Acelerate has raised a total of $14.44 million in funding.

Altos Ventures

Website: Altos Ventures

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Software and Mobile

Investment Stage: Seed

Founded in 1966 by Han Kim and Ho Nam, Altos Ventures is an active seed-stage VC firm in California. The network has funded around 200 companies since its inception and continues to grow its portfolio.

Consisting of around ten investors, Altos Ventures focuses on startups that are presenting top-notch ideas with a little competition or so. Once the entrepreneur has presented the pitch deck, Altos Ventures usually owns a minority stake of over %20.

Altos Ventures also conducts many startup events, including mentorship programs and startup accelerators. With headquarters in Menlo Park, they are actively arranging mentorship programs and pitching competitions, allowing more startups to secure funding.

The investment range of Altos Ventures ranges from $500,000 to $5M. Some of their recent investments include:

Accurate Group: It is a leading provider of appraisal, closing, and title services for mortgage lenders, credit unions, and risk managers. They have raised a total of $65M in funding.

Bench: Bench is an online bookkeeping service for small businesses. It has raised a total of $115M in funding.

BrightEdge: BrightEdge is an enterprise SEO marketing company that transforms online content into tangible business results, like traffic, engagement, and revenue.

Cindy Padnos

LinkedIn: Cindy Padnos - Illuminate Ventures | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Enterprise Cloud and Mobile Software

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Cindy Padnos is an individual angel investor who takes an interest in funding startups at the early and seed stages. As the CEO of Illuminate Ventures and Director of Outlook Ventures, Cindy Padnos has diverse experience in the startup industry and knows which startups to fund.

Aside from her VC investments, she has made 30 individual investments and still funds startups that show profitability. During the screening tests, she often prioritizes mobile computing sectors and SaaS applications. 

Once invested, Cindy Padnos also provides mentorship to her portfolio companies, thanks to her 20 years of experience. The investment range of Cindy Padnos ranges from $250,000 to $1.5M. Some of her recent investments include:

BrightEdge: BrightEdge is an AI-powered enterprise SEO platform that transforms online content into business results like traffic, engagement, and revenue. Its SEO platform is powered by a sophisticated AI and machine learning engine.

CafeX: CafeX makes it easier for companies to enhance live engagement within web and mobile applications. With CafeX, businesses can schedule and start personalized, live interactions with customers directly from their websites or mobile apps.

ChannelEyes: ChannelEyes is a cloud-based channel enablement platform that helps companies drive more business through their indirect sales channels.

ABS Capital Partners

Website: ABS Capital

Investor Type: Private Equity 

Investment Interests: B2B Tech Business

Investment Stage: Early and Late

ABS Capital Partners is one of the most active private equity firms in California. It was founded in 1990 by Donald Hebb and is headquartered in Baltimore. With several branches across the state, the firm has funded 130 companies through eight funds. 

During the investment, ABS Capital Partners funds startups at the early and late-stage startups. The investors usually focus on growth equity capital and target B2B software and tech-enabled businesses looking to speed up their growth.

The investment range of ABS Capital Partners ranges from $10M to $25M, depending on the stage and expected growth of the startup. Notable investments are:

Accurate Group: Accurate Group is a leading provider of appraisal management and compliance services for real estate finance providers and mortgage lending and loan servicing clients. Accurate Group has raised a total of $65M in funding.

Alula: Alula is an ancient Arabic oasis city located in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Alula has raised a total of $2.2M in funding.

Exos: Exos is a financial services platform for B2B institutional finance. They offer online education courses for fitness, performance, and sports medicine. Exos has raised a total of $3M in funding.

Aydin Senkut

LinkedIn: Aydin Senkut - Felicis | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Seed

Often known as the Founder and Managing Partner at Felicis Ventures, Aydin Senkut also invests in California-based startups. Previously, Senkut has been named on the Forbes Midas List for the past ten years (2014-2023) as well as the New York Times Top 20 Venture Capitalists list for four consecutive years (2016-2019).

When funding startups, Aydin Senkut takes a careful approach and only funds ventures that can drive growth. Usually, he has a criterion of funding startups that can generate revenue of around 3-4x ROI within 12 months of investment.

The investment range of Aydin Sekut ranges from $500,000 to $2M. If needed, Aydin Senkut is also known for doing fundraisers and collecting required investments for startups, thanks to his networks. Some of his previous investments are:

Yotascale: Yotascale is a company that specializes in cloud cost management and optimization. It provides a platform that offers insights and recommendations to help businesses manage and reduce their cloud costs.

Notion: Notion is a company that provides a platform for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases. The platform is customizable and can be tailored to suit the needs of individual teams.

Gamalon: Gamalon is a company that develops a machine learning platform. The platform is designed to help businesses understand and act on their customer data.

Wrap Up

Even with this list coming to an end, there are many other angel investors and firms in California who can help you secure funding. Remember that if you don’t have an exceptional startup idea and want low funding, it is always a better idea to search for angel investors in specific cities and pitch to them.

This is because investors who fund globally often ignore startups that don’t have massive growth potential or are looking for little investment. 

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