Lew Cirne
About Lew Cirne
Lew Cirne is a software engineer and founder. He earned an A.B. in computer science from Dartmouth College in 1993 and held engineering positions at Apple and Hummingbird before starting his own company.
In 1998 he founded Wily Technology, an application performance management company. He was CEO until 2001 and CTO from 2001 to 2006. CA acquired Wily in March 2006, and Mixergy reports the price as $375 million in cash.
He founded New Relic in 2008 after a period as entrepreneur in residence at Benchmark Capital. New Relic went public in 2014. In July 2021 Bill Staples succeeded him as CEO and Cirne became Executive Chairman. Crunchbase also lists him as a strategic limited partner at Four Rivers Group.
Crunchbase lists three personal investments for Cirne: Upriver (seed), Circuit (Series A) and BotCity (Series A). In each case press coverage names him as one of several angels in the round, not as the lead. No check sizes or total number of angel investments have been published.
Upriver builds AI agents that manage enterprise data. Lounge's deals desk records its seed round at $14M in June 2026. Calcalist, reporting on the round, names Cirne among the angels and gives a $10 million figure, so confirm the final size with the company.
Circuit is an Austin AI startup that builds software for manufacturing and service operations. Axios Austin reported in February 2026 that it raised $30 million from angel investors, including Cirne, Jim Breyer and Charlie Amato.
BotCity is a Y Combinator company whose platform governs Python-based automations and AI agents. It raised $12 million in a round led by Dan Scholnick of Four Rivers. Cirne took part as an angel.
His public investments are in AI and automation software for enterprises, including data management, manufacturing operations and automation governance. This matches his background in observability and developer tooling. The deals above are seed and Series A rounds with institutional or angel co-investors. We found no public statement from Cirne on check size, preferred stage or what he looks for in a pitch.
- Upriver: AI agents that autonomously manage enterprise data; seed round in 2026, with Cirne as an angel.
- Circuit: Austin AI software for manufacturing and service operations; $30M angel round reported February 2026.
- BotCity: governance platform for Python automations and AI agents; $12M round led by Four Rivers, investment year not confirmed.
- crunchbase.com/person/lewis-cirne
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Cirne
- cxotalk.com/bio/lew-cirne-ceo-founder-new-relic
- newrelic.com/press-release/20210513
- mixergy.com/interviews/lew-cirne-interview
- calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/byf53eewzl
- axios.com/local/austin/2026/02/23/austin-ai-startup-circuit
- justainews.com/companies/funding-news/botcity-raises-12m-to-govern-ai-
Investing activity
Lew Cirne appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $14M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $14M. The most recent is Upriver (Seed, $14M, Jun 2026).
Lew Cirne most often invests alongside Valley Capital Partners, Hetz Ventures, Tamar Bar-Ilan and Yotam Segev, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Lew Cirne
Does Lew Cirne invest in AI startups?
Yes. He is named as an angel in Upriver, Circuit and BotCity, all AI or automation companies. Press coverage dates Circuit to February 2026, and Lounge records the Upriver seed in June 2026.
What is Lew Cirne's background?
He founded Wily Technology in 1998 and sold it to CA in 2006. He then founded New Relic in 2008 and became its Executive Chairman in 2021.
What is Lew Cirne's angel check size?
It is not public. Press reports name him as a participant in rounds but do not disclose his individual amounts.
Does Lew Cirne lead rounds?
In the rounds we found he took part as one of several angels. We found no round that he led.
What stage does Lew Cirne back?
His known investments are a seed round (Upriver) and Series A rounds (Circuit and BotCity). He has not published a stage preference.
What kind of founders should pitch Lew Cirne?
His public deals are in enterprise AI and software infrastructure, so founders in those areas have the closest fit. He has not published any pitch guidelines.
Is Lew Cirne an angel investor?
Yes. Lew Cirne invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Lew Cirne invested in?
Lew Cirne's AI investments include Upriver. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Lew Cirne invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Lew Cirne has invested at Seed, with a median round of $14M.
Who does Lew Cirne co-invest with?
Lew Cirne's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Valley Capital Partners (1 deal), Hetz Ventures (1 deal), Tamar Bar-Ilan (1 deal), Yotam Segev (1 deal) and Abe Gong (1 deal).