Joseph Malchow
About Joseph Malchow
Joseph Malchow founded Hanover Technology Investment Management, also styled HNVR, and is its founding partner. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Stanford University. Forbes named him to its 30 Under 30 list in 2012.
Early in his career he worked on mixed-signal microcontrollers at Cypress Semiconductor. He later cofounded Publir, a software and ad exchange company for high-traffic websites. Sources differ on whether that was 2010 or 2011. SEC filings describe him as having started two software companies before founding Hanover.
He has been on the board of Enphase Energy since February 2020 and joined the Enovix board in June 2023. SEC filings show he also served on Archaea Energy's board from January 2021 to January 2023, until BP acquired it. In winter 2026 he co-created and co-teaches Stanford's EE 292P, "Atoms, Bits, and the National Interest," with Ali Keshavarzi. The course covers semiconductors and national power.
Third-party databases list a small number of personal investments, and the counts differ. Crunchbase shows 1 investment and no exits. PitchBook lists 3 angel investments: Sourcegraph (December 2015), Socotra (September 2018) and Tetra Insights (a seed round, August 2020). NFX Signal lists Frisbee (seed, August 2016), Mulberri (seed, July 2022) and Voltra (pre-seed, May 2025).
These listings may be incomplete, and some deals may have gone through Hanover rather than his own money. Crunchbase marks Hanover as lead investor on the Mulberri seed round.
Hanover describes its focus as software companies that advance the state of the art in artificial intelligence, developer tooling, data and computing infrastructure, security and finance. Crunchbase says Malchow's recent work has centered on data infrastructure, devtools, AI and simulation, energy and enterprise automation. We found no public list of AI-specific investments with dates that we could attribute to him.
Hanover is described as a Seed and Series A firm. Malchow says his work is finding and supporting highly technical founders at the earliest stages, often providing the first capital. In advising companies he focuses on systems thinking, company processes and governance, and strategic relationships. He is based in the Stanford and Menlo Park area, and Hanover is listed in Portola Valley. No check size is public.
- Sourcegraph: software development company; listed on PitchBook as a December 2015 investment.
- Frisbee: listed on NFX Signal as a seed round in August 2016.
- Socotra: business software company; listed on PitchBook as a September 2018 investment.
- Tetra Insights: business software company; listed on PitchBook as a seed investment in August 2020.
- Mulberri: seed round in July 2022, with Hanover shown as lead on Crunchbase.
- Voltra: pre-seed round listed on NFX Signal in May 2025.
- Enphase Energy (board since 2020), Enovix (board since 2023) and Archaea Energy (board 2021 to 2023) are public company board roles, not early-stage angel investments.
- crunchbase.com/person/joseph-malchow
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/118521-19
- signal.nfx.com/investors/joseph-malchow
- newsroom.enphase.com/joseph-malchow
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Malchow
- sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1828318/000110465920124492/tm2035822d1_s1.
- sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1828318/000182831825000131/envx-20250424.h
- sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1828318/000119312523174501/d460970dex991.h
Investing activity
Joseph Malchow has made 1 investment according to Crunchbase across 1 portfolio company, and has founded 2 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Joseph Malchow
Does Joseph Malchow invest as an angel?
Yes. PitchBook classifies him as an angel investor and NFX Signal lists several early-stage deals under his name. He also runs Hanover, so some investments may be made through the firm.
What stage does Joseph Malchow invest in?
Hanover is described as a Seed and Series A firm, and Malchow says he focuses on the earliest stages of company growth. His listed deals include pre-seed and seed rounds.
What sectors does Joseph Malchow back?
Hanover lists AI, developer tooling, data and computing infrastructure, security and finance. Malchow also cites simulation, energy and enterprise automation, and sits on the boards of Enphase and Enovix.
What is Joseph Malchow's check size?
No check size is public. NFX Signal shows round sizes, such as $2M for Voltra, but not his own contribution.
What does Joseph Malchow look for in founders?
He says he looks for highly technical founders at the earliest stages. He advises on systems thinking, company processes and governance, and strategic relationships.
How can founders contact Joseph Malchow?
His LinkedIn and X profiles are linked on this page. Hanover's site is hnvr.com. We found no public statement on how he prefers to receive pitches.
Is Joseph Malchow an angel investor?
Yes. Joseph Malchow invests personally as an angel and is Founding Partner at Hanover. Crunchbase counts 1 investment.
Where is Joseph Malchow based?
Joseph Malchow is based in Stanford, California, United States.
How can founders reach Joseph Malchow?
Founders on Lounge can see Joseph Malchow'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 Joseph Malchow to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.