Catapult Ventures
Venture capital investor that co-led Anello Photonics' Series B and participated in its Series B-2 round.
Catapult Ventures (catapult.vc) is a Silicon Valley seed-stage venture fund backing deep-tech founders in autonomous systems, aerospace, and photonics. Co-founded by Darren Liccardo (former VP Engineering at DJI; built Tesla's Autopilot engineering group) and Rouz Jazayeri (ex-Kleiner Perkins), the firm positions itself as operator-investors with hardware/robotics pedigree. Its Anello Photonics investment traces to Associate Michael Paniccia, who was Anello's first intern before joining Catapult.
Overview
- Firm
- Catapult Ventures
- Headquarters
- Silicon Valley, CA
- Founded
- 2017
- AUM
- $55M (maiden fund, closed Feb 2019); Fund II targeted $60M (SEC Form D, 2022); current total AUM not disclosed
- Stages
- Pre-Seed, Seed
- Thesis
- Deep-tech founders in autonomous systems, aerospace, and photonics, backed by operator-investors with hardware/robotics pedigree.
Portfolio companies1
Partners0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What is Catapult Ventures?
- Deep-tech founders in autonomous systems, aerospace, and photonics, backed by operator-investors with hardware/robotics pedigree.
- How much does Catapult Ventures manage?
- Catapult Ventures manages $55M (maiden fund, closed Feb 2019); Fund II targeted $60M (SEC Form D, 2022); current total AUM not disclosed in assets, and was founded in 2017.
- What stages does Catapult Ventures invest at?
- Catapult Ventures invests at Pre-Seed, Seed.
Sources & citations3
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Catapult Ventures is a Silicon Valley seed-stage venture fund co-founded by Darren Liccardo and Rouz Jazayeri, backing deep-tech founders in autonomous systems, aerospace, and photonics.
Catapult Ventures: AboutVerified2026-08-08 - 2
Catapult Ventures co-led Anello Photonics's Series B round alongside Lockheed Martin and One Madison Group.
PR Newswire: ANELLO Photonics Secures Series B Funding to Propel the Future of Inertial Navigation for Autonomous ApplicationsVerified2024-11-01 - 3
Catapult Ventures closed its maiden seed fund above target at $55 million in February 2019.
Venture Capital Journal: Catapult Ventures closes maiden fund above target at $55 mlnVerified2019-02-14