Matt Curl
About Matt Curl
Matt Curl is Chief Executive Officer of Apollo.io, a sales engagement and go-to-market software company based in San Francisco. Axios Pro reported on 3 February 2026 that Apollo promoted him from COO to CEO. Co-founder Tim Zheng moved to chairman. Curl studied Management Information Systems at Texas A&M University.
Before Apollo he was SVP and General Manager at Checkr, where he launched Checkr Self Serve and served as CEO of Tessera Data, a Checkr subsidiary. Earlier he was SVP of Operations at Fivestars, a Y Combinator-backed company, from seed through its sale to SumUp. In a CaptivateIQ interview he described a career spent mostly leading sales and revenue operations teams.
Curl's Crunchbase profile lists one personal investment, in Lightsage. Beyond that round, we found no public record of his angel investments, a fund, or a stated check size. He is not listed as a professional investor, and angel investing appears to be a side activity next to his operating role.
Lightsage announced a $4M seed round on 8 September 2026, led by Nexus Venture Partners. Lightsage helps software companies reach and sell to AI agents, which it calls agent-led growth. Press coverage lists Curl among the angel investors, alongside operators from Postman, DocuSign, Salesforce, GitLab and Resend. One outlet (SiliconANGLE) gave his employer as Apollo GraphQL. Crunchbase and the other coverage identify him as the CEO of Apollo.io, so this page treats that as an error.
There is not enough public information to describe a formal thesis. The one known investment is a seed-stage AI company selling to software and developer markets, which fits his background in go-to-market and revenue operations. Curl has not published a check size, preferred stages or geographies that we could find. Founders should treat any claim about these as unconfirmed until they ask him directly.
- Lightsage: San Francisco startup that helps software vendors get found and chosen by AI agents. Curl took part in its $4M seed round, led by Nexus Venture Partners, announced September 2026.
- crunchbase.com/person/matt-curl-9bc7
- linkedin.com/in/curlm
- axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2026/02/03/sales-engagement-ap
- siliconvalleyinvestclub.com/companies/apollo/team/matt-curl
- captivateiq.com/multiplier/stories/interview-with-matt-curl
- siliconangle.com/2026/09/08/lightsage-gets-4m-in-funding-to-help-softw
- hackernoon.com/lightsage-raises-$4m-led-by-nexus-to-build-the-growth-s
Investing activity
Matt Curl appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $4M. The most recent is Lightsage (Seed, $4M, Sep 2026).
Matt Curl most often invests alongside Nexus Venture Partners, Robert Chatwani, Ivan Burazin and Steven Tamm, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Matt Curl
Is Matt Curl an angel investor?
Yes, in a limited public sense. Crunchbase lists one personal investment, in Lightsage, and press on its $4M seed round names him among the angels. His main role is CEO of Apollo.io.
What AI startups has Matt Curl invested in?
The only public AI investment we found is Lightsage, a seed-stage company building tools for agent-led growth. The round was announced in September 2026.
What is Matt Curl's check size?
He has not published one, and none of the sources we found report it. Ask him directly rather than assuming a range.
What stage does Matt Curl invest in?
His one known investment is a seed round. He has not stated a broader stage preference publicly.
What is Matt Curl's background?
He is CEO of Apollo.io and was previously its COO. Before that he held senior operations roles at Checkr, including CEO of its subsidiary Tessera Data, and at Fivestars.
How can founders contact Matt Curl?
His public profile is on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/curlm. We did not find a personal website or an X account.
What AI companies has Matt Curl invested in?
Matt Curl's AI investments include Lightsage. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Matt Curl invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Matt Curl has invested at Seed, with a median round of $4M.
Who does Matt Curl co-invest with?
Matt Curl's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Nexus Venture Partners (1 deal), Robert Chatwani (1 deal), Ivan Burazin (1 deal), Steven Tamm (1 deal) and Hila Qu (1 deal).
How can founders reach Matt Curl?
Founders on Lounge can see Matt Curl'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 Matt Curl to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.