Freddy Kerrest
About Freddy Kerrest
Freddy Kerrest, formally J. Frederic Kerrest, is a co-founder of Okta and has been a director there since July 2009. He served as Okta's Chief Operating Officer from 2009 to November 2023 and is now Vice Chairman. Before Okta he worked at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, evaluating enterprise software investments, and at Salesforce.com in business development and alliances.
He wrote Zero to IPO, a Wall Street Journal bestseller on building startups. By his own description he also co-founded the neurotherapeutics company Herophilus, which Genentech/Roche acquired. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Crunchbase lists 48 personal investments and PitchBook lists 55. Public records show deals going back to at least 2020, including Klue (Series A, September 2020) and Airbase (Series B, August 2021). They also show Granica (Series A, June 2023), Socket (Series A, August 2023) and Doppel (Series A, January 2024).
He describes himself as the founder and managing partner of 515 Ventures (early-stage) and Windproof Partners (growth-stage). He also founded The Operator Network, a syndicate of public-company executives, according to Crunchbase.
Lounge's deals desk records two recent AI rounds. The first is the Sandstone seed in January 2026, which the desk lists at $39.6M. Press coverage reports a $10M seed led by Sequoia and names Kerrest among the participants. Dealroom shows a $40M valuation for that round. The second is the Sycamore seed in March 2026, listed at $65M. PitchBook dates his Sycamore investment to 30 March 2026, and press reports say Coatue and Lightspeed led the round.
Other AI-related names in public records include Actively AI (April 2025), Datalinx AI and JetStream Security. His own profile says he backs Chainguard, ClickHouse, Cyera and Decagon through his firms.
His own profile says he focuses on enterprise AI, infrastructure and cybersecurity. Third-party directories list seed and Series A as his typical stages, and Tracxn lists the United States, Canada and one other country as his investment geographies.
NFX Signal lists an angel range of $5K to $50K, but this is a directory figure and not a statement from Kerrest. Another directory says his check sizes and lead or follow behavior are not publicly detailed. We found no public statement from him on what he looks for in founders.
- Sandstone: legal AI platform for in-house teams; seed round in January 2026.
- Sycamore: operating system for enterprise AI agents; seed round in March 2026.
- JetStream Security: appears as his latest Crunchbase seed investment; date not shown.
- Actively AI: listed as an April 2025 investment.
- Method Security: Series A in November 2025, per Tracxn.
- Doppel: Series A, January 2024.
- Socket: Series A, August 2023.
- Granica: Series A, June 2023.
- Airbase: Series B, August 2021.
- Klue: Series A, September 2020.
- okta.com/company/leadership/frederic-kerrest
- comparably.com/companies/okta/j-frederic-kerrest
- crunchbase.com/person/frederic-kerrest
- crunchbase.com/search/funding_rounds/field/principal.investors/num_inv
- crunchbase.com/organization/the-operator-network
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/186986-80
- signal.nfx.com/investors/frederic-kerrest
- angelflow.com/angels/frederic-kerrest
Investing activity
Freddy Kerrest appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $105M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $65M. The most recent are Sycamore (Seed, $65M, Mar 2026) and Sandstone (Seed, $39.6M, Jan 2026).
Freddy Kerrest most often invests alongside Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, Soham Mazumdar and Dell Technologies Capital, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Freddy Kerrest
Who is Freddy Kerrest?
Freddy Kerrest is the formal Frederic Kerrest, co-founder and Vice Chairman of Okta and its Chief Operating Officer from 2009 to 2023. He is also an active angel investor.
Does Freddy Kerrest invest in AI startups?
Yes. Lounge's deals desk lists him in the Sandstone seed (January 2026) and the Sycamore seed (March 2026). His profile says he focuses on enterprise AI, infrastructure and cybersecurity.
What check size does Freddy Kerrest write?
He has not publicly stated a check size. NFX Signal lists an angel range of $5K to $50K, but that is a directory figure, so treat it as unconfirmed.
What stage does Freddy Kerrest invest in?
Public records show seed and Series A rounds, with some Series B participation. His growth-stage investing runs through Windproof Partners and his early-stage investing through 515 Ventures.
What does Freddy Kerrest look for in a founder?
We found no public statement from him on this. His portfolio leans toward enterprise software, security and AI infrastructure.
Is Freddy Kerrest an angel investor?
Yes. Freddy Kerrest invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Freddy Kerrest invested in?
Freddy Kerrest's AI investments include Sycamore and Sandstone. The 2 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Freddy Kerrest invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Freddy Kerrest has invested at Seed, with a median round of $65M.
Who does Freddy Kerrest co-invest with?
Freddy Kerrest's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Lightspeed Venture Partners (1 deal), Coatue (1 deal), Soham Mazumdar (1 deal), Dell Technologies Capital (1 deal) and Rajiv Gupta (1 deal).
How can founders reach Freddy Kerrest?
Founders on Lounge can see Freddy Kerrest's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Freddy Kerrest to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.