Dell Technologies Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Dell Technologies Capital (DTC) is the venture investment arm of Dell Technologies, operating as a financial returns-driven corporate VC practice since its formation in 2012. Originally launched as EMC Ventures under Scott Darling in Palo Alto, CA, it was renamed Dell Technologies Capital following Dell's acquisition of EMC in 2016. DTC describes its returns performance as "consistently in the 95th percentile" compared to early-stage venture investment firms, a claim backed by 9 portfolio IPOs and 85+ acquisitions since inception.
The firm's thesis centers on backing subject matter experts who demonstrate deep customer empathy and lean into technically challenging enterprise problems. DTC backs founders who introduce industry-leading technologies and define entire categories. Unlike diversified CVCs, DTC is solely focused on enterprise technology, enabling the investment team to build genuine domain depth across cybersecurity, AI/ML, developer tools, infrastructure, data, silicon, and logistics.
DTC adds value beyond capital via its Portfolio Development Team — a group of dedicated GTM operators who provide pricing analysis, deck reviews, sales leadership coaching, pipeline benchmarking, and direct customer introductions. Dell's ecosystem spans 98%+ of the Fortune 500, making enterprise customer access a meaningful differentiator.
Sector Focus
DTC's core investment verticals are:
- Cybersecurity: Zero-trust security (Zscaler), identity security (Descope, Entro Security), API security (Cequence), AI-native ransomware defense (Halcyon), browser security (LayerX), and software supply chain security (Endor Labs)
- AI and Machine Learning: Open AI compute infrastructure (Prime Intellect, RunPod), AI training data platforms (SuperAnnotate), voice AI for enterprise (Bland.ai, Cartesia), and AI-native enterprise applications (MavenAGI)
- Data and Analytics: Real-time databases (SingleStore, Redis), log management and observability (Humio/CrowdStrike, OpenObserve), data governance (Immuta, Alation), and data versioning (LakeFS)
- Developer Tools and Infrastructure: Developer platforms and open-source projects with organic community traction (MinIO, JFrog), cloud-native infrastructure, and agentic platforms (Sycamore)
- Silicon and Hardware: Custom silicon for AI workloads (Rivos, acquired by Meta; SiMa.ai; SILC), and compute infrastructure
- Logistics and Supply Chain: Robotics and warehouse automation (Exotec), freight logistics AI (Augment), and industrial manufacturing AI (Limitless Labs)
- Enterprise Software: Vertical SaaS, workflow automation, and AI-native B2B platforms
Stage Focus
DTC invests primarily at Seed and Series A, with meaningful follow-on through later rounds. They seek to be "first in" on the best enterprise technology companies and typically lead or co-lead early rounds. The firm takes board seats and explicitly commits to stay engaged all the way through exit. Follow-on investments have extended into Series B, C, and beyond for high-conviction portfolio companies.
Check Size
As a corporate venture arm of Dell Technologies, DTC does not operate traditional fund structures with fixed AUM. Capital is deployed from Dell Technologies' balance sheet. Early-stage check sizes range from a few million for Seed investments (e.g., Descope, Endor Labs) up to participation in large rounds (e.g., Prime Intellect's $130M Series A co-led with Radical Ventures, NVIDIA Ventures, Intel Capital, and Iconiq; Bland.ai's $50M Series C which DTC led). Exact check sizes per investment are not publicly disclosed.
Lead Tendency
DTC explicitly leads rounds. Per their FAQ: "We lead early-stage investment rounds." They take board seats and stay engaged all the way through exit. Co-investors include Radical Ventures, NVIDIA Ventures, Intel Capital, Iconiq, General Catalyst, and other top-tier venture firms.
Recent Activity (2025-2026)
DTC has been highly active in 2025-2026, demonstrating particular momentum in AI and cybersecurity:
- July 2026: Led investment in Prime Intellect's $130M Series A (open AI infrastructure and training)
- June 2026: Led Bland.ai's $50M Series C (enterprise voice AI, full-stack owned models)
- June 2026: Invested in Limitless Labs Seed (AI for industrial manufacturing, Israel, Yair Snir)
- June 2026: Entro Security acquired (DTC portfolio exit)
- May 2026: LayerX acquired by Akamai (DTC portfolio exit, Israel)
- April 2026: Invested in OpenObserve Series A (cloud observability infrastructure, Deepak Jeevankumar)
- March 2026: Invested in Sycamore (agent OS for the future, Deepak Jeevankumar)
- January 2026: Published "AI Infrastructure Landscape 2026" thesis essay (Radhika Malik)
- July 2025: Invested in LakeFS's $20M funding round (AI data versioning, Yair Snir)
- June 2025: TheLoops acquired by IFS (DTC portfolio exit, Radhika Malik)
- March 2025: Invested in Cartesia Series A (AI voice models, Radhika Malik)
- January 2025: Invested in Savant Labs Series A (AI analytics, Radhika Malik)
- November 2025: Datometry acquired by Snowflake (DTC portfolio exit, Scott Darling)
- October 2025: Invested in Augment Series A (freight logistics AI)
- September 2025: Netskope IPO (Nasdaq: NTSK) - major DTC portfolio exit
- September 2025: Rivos acquired by Meta (DTC portfolio exit, Scott Darling)
- April 2025: Invested in VanishID (identity exposure security, Raman Khanna)
- February 2025: Invested in Auditoria AI and Singulr AI (Raman Khanna)
Portfolio Highlights
Notable IPOs (9 total):
- Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) - 2014, infrastructure networking
- MongoDB (Nasdaq: MDB) - 2017, developer-first database
- Zscaler (Nasdaq: ZS) - 2018, zero-trust security leader
- DocuSign (Nasdaq: DOCU) - 2018, electronic signature
- JFrog (Nasdaq: FROG) - 2020, software supply chain
- Xometry (Nasdaq: XMTR) - 2021, manufacturing marketplace
- Netskope (Nasdaq: NTSK) - 2025, cloud security
Notable Acquisitions (85+ total):
- Humio acquired by CrowdStrike (log management)
- Guardicore acquired by Akamai (microsegmentation)
- Nasuni acquired by Vista Equity (cloud file services)
- Regrello acquired by Salesforce (supply chain workflows)
- Datometry acquired by Snowflake (2025, database migration)
- Rivos acquired by Meta (2025, RISC-V silicon)
- TheLoops acquired by IFS (2025, AI customer operations)
- LayerX acquired by Akamai (2026, browser security)
- Entro Security acquired (2026, secrets management)
Active Portfolio Highlights:
- VAST Data (AI infrastructure and storage, Israel, $9.8B+ valuation)
- Halcyon (AI-native ransomware resilience)
- Immuta (data access governance and AI)
- Redis (enterprise in-memory platform)
- SingleStore (real-time analytics database)
- Prime Intellect (open AI infrastructure)
- Bland.ai (enterprise voice AI)
- MavenAGI (AI customer experience agents)
- Cartesia (AI voice models for enterprise)
- Druva (SaaS data protection and management)
Team
- Scott Darling, President: Founded DTC in 2012 as EMC Ventures. Previously President of EMC Corporate Development and Ventures, GP at Frazier Technology Ventures, VP/MD at Intel Capital, 20 years at Intel including GM roles. Stanford MBA, UC Santa Cruz undergraduate. Focuses on silicon, cybersecurity, enterprise software, and logistics.
- Raman Khanna, Managing Director: AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, data infrastructure. Former CIO at Stanford University. Co-founded Diamondhead Ventures (notable exits: Cavium Networks). Forbes Midas List member twice. MBA from Golden Gate University; MS CS from Virginia Tech.
- Daniel Docter, Managing Director: Big/fast data, AI/ML, cloud management, silicon. Former Intel Capital (exits: Switch, Virident, Tier 3). Former AT&T Bell Labs and Hughes Research Labs. PhD from University of Bradford; 50+ published papers, 10 patents.
- Deepak Jeevankumar, Managing Director: Cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, developer tools, open-source. Former General Catalyst (6+ years, west coast build-out). MBA from Yale; engineering degrees from NUS and Singapore-MIT Alliance. Based in Palo Alto.
- Yair Snir, Managing Director: Europe and Israel focus; data infrastructure from silicon to SaaS. Former Microsoft BD/M&A for Europe/Israel, ECI Telecom CSO. MBA from Reichman University; CS and Computational Biology from Hebrew University. Lectures at Wharton and Reichman.
- Radhika Malik, Partner: AI/ML, cloud infrastructure, deep tech. Former Samsung Catalyst Fund. Software engineer at MindMeld (acquired by Cisco), Microsoft, Amazon. MIT BS/MEng CS; Harvard MBA. Active in All Raise and Women in VC.
- Elana Lian, Partner: AI, enterprise software, deep tech. Former Intel Capital (10+ years, AI/frontier tech/IoT/robotics). Co-founded two startups. Kauffman Fellow Class 22. MBA from Northwestern Kellogg; MEng from Tufts; BEng from University of Toronto.
- Barrel Kfir, Partner: Cybersecurity focus, Israel/Europe perspective.
- Nina Lu, Principal: Investment team.
- Chris Hillock, VP, Portfolio Development: GTM operations and portfolio support.
- Keshav Goel, Analyst: Investment team.
Decision Process
DTC operates as a team-based partnership. Individual Managing Directors and Partners lead deals in their domain expertise areas, but the broader team provides comprehensive support. The firm actively encourages direct outreach via LinkedIn ("DMs on LinkedIn are open across the investment team"), indicating a relatively accessible process without hard warm intro requirements. They take board seats on all investments.
Geographic Focus
Primary markets are the United States (HQ in Palo Alto, CA; second office in Boston, MA), Israel (active since 2013, managing director Yair Snir leads Israel/Europe coverage), and Europe (selective investments, notable include Exotec in France and Humio in Denmark). International coverage is a genuine differentiator — particularly strong in Israel with VAST Data, JFrog, Guardicore, LayerX, and Limitless Labs.
Headquarters and Contact
- Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA
- Website: https://www.delltechnologiescapital.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delltechcapital/
- X/Twitter: @DellTechCapital
- Email: [email protected]