Frederic Kerrest
About Frederic Kerrest
Frederic Kerrest co-founded Okta in 2008 and has been its Chief Operating Officer since July 2009. He is now Executive Vice Chairman. Okta sells identity and access management software.
Before Okta he worked in sales and business development at Salesforce.com from 2002 to 2007, where he built the Latin America sales organization and the OEM and reseller programs. He also worked at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Stanford and an MBA from MIT Sloan.
Outside Okta, he founded 515 Ventures and is a managing partner at Windproof Partners, according to PitchBook. He is co-founder and chairman of System1 Biosciences, a neurotherapeutics company. He co-hosts the Zero to IPO podcast, which became a book of the same name.
Public databases count his investments differently. Crunchbase lists 48 and PitchBook lists 55, including 10 exits. PitchBook classifies him as an individual angel investor.
Dated deals in these databases include Klue (Series A, September 2020), Vowel (Series A, 2021, later acquired in March 2024) and Verve Motion (Series B, July 2023). They also include Promptfoo (seed, August 2024) and Method Security (Series A, November 2025).
On the Lounge deals desk, Kerrest appears in two recent AI rounds.
JetStream Security raised a $34M seed round announced on March 3, 2026. Redpoint Ventures led it, with the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund participating. Kerrest was one of several named angels, alongside CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz and Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. JetStream sells an AI governance platform for enterprises.
Datalinx AI raised a $4.2M seed round announced on January 29, 2026. High Alpha led it, with Databricks Ventures and Aperiam co-investing. Datalinx describes itself as an AI data refinery for enterprise marketing and data teams.
His public deals are mostly seed and Series A rounds in enterprise software, security and data infrastructure. NFX Signal lists him as an angel in SMB software and enterprise applications from pre-seed through Series B, based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
NFX Signal also lists an investment range of $5K to $50K with a sweet spot of $25K. That profile shows only one investment on record, so treat the figures as indicative. Kerrest has not published a check size or a thesis in the sources reviewed.
- JetStream Security: AI governance platform for enterprises; $34M seed announced March 2026.
- Datalinx AI: AI data refinery for enterprise marketing and data teams; $4.2M seed announced January 2026.
- Method Security: Series A announced November 2025, reported at $26M by Tracxn.
- Promptfoo: seed round, August 2024.
- Klue: Series A, September 2020.
- Vowel: Series A, 2021; acquired March 2024.
- crunchbase.com/person/frederic-kerrest
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/186986-80
- signal.nfx.com/investors/frederic-kerrest
- orbit.mit.edu/mentors/frederic-kerrest
- comparably.com/companies/okta/j-frederic-kerrest
- fastcompany.com/user/frederic-kerrest
- mitsloan.mit.edu/alumni/okta-co-founder-offers-entrepreneurs-practical
- fintech.global/2026/03/04/ai-security-platform-jetstream-security-bags
Investing activity
Frederic Kerrest appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $34M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $34M. The most recent are JetStream Security (Seed, $34M, Mar 2026) and Datalinx AI (Seed, $4.2M, Jan 2026).
Frederic Kerrest most often invests alongside Redpoint Ventures, Thayer Ventures, Seed Capital and George Kurtz, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Frederic Kerrest
Who is Frederic Kerrest?
He is a co-founder of Okta, where he has been COO since 2009 and is now Executive Vice Chairman. He also founded 515 Ventures and invests as an angel.
Does Frederic Kerrest invest in AI startups?
Yes. He was a named angel in the $34M JetStream Security seed round in March 2026 and the $4.2M Datalinx AI seed round in January 2026.
What is Frederic Kerrest's check size?
He has not published one. NFX Signal lists a range of $5K to $50K with a $25K sweet spot, but that profile shows only one recorded investment.
What stage does Frederic Kerrest invest in?
His dated deals are mostly seed and Series A, with at least one Series B. NFX Signal lists him across pre-seed to Series B.
What sectors does Frederic Kerrest back?
Public deals fall mainly in enterprise software, security and data infrastructure. Recent examples are AI governance (JetStream) and AI-ready data (Datalinx).
How can founders contact Frederic Kerrest?
His LinkedIn profile is linkedin.com/in/fkerrest. No personal website or X account was confirmed in the sources reviewed.
Is Frederic Kerrest an angel investor?
Yes. Frederic Kerrest invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Frederic Kerrest invested in?
Frederic Kerrest's AI investments include JetStream Security and Datalinx AI. The 2 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Frederic Kerrest invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Frederic Kerrest has invested at Seed, with a median round of $34M.
Who does Frederic Kerrest co-invest with?
Frederic Kerrest's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Redpoint Ventures (1 deal), Thayer Ventures (1 deal), Seed Capital (1 deal), George Kurtz (1 deal) and Assaf Rappaport (1 deal).