Ron Conway
About Ron Conway
Ron Conway grew up in San Francisco and graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in political science. He worked at National Semiconductor and Altos Computer Systems in the 1970s and 1980s. Altos went public in 1982. He later ran the software-training company Personal Training Systems.
He moved into angel investing in the mid-1990s. He ran the Angel Investors LP funds from 1998 to 2005. He made most of his investments through Baseline Ventures until mid-2009, when he and David Lee launched SV Angel, a seed-stage firm based in San Francisco.
In 2018 SV Angel said it would not raise another fund. Conway and his son Topher continued to invest under the SV Angel name on a smaller scale with personal funds. SV Angel's team page lists Conway as Founder and Managing Partner.
Conway has invested in hundreds of internet companies since the early 1990s. His early investments include Google, PayPal, Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, Square and Pinterest. PitchBook also lists Ask Jeeves, Loudcloud and Napster among his early investments. He has been named on Forbes' Midas list since 2011.
SV Angel describes its focus as AI, software and IT. Its AI-related investments include Safe Superintelligence, Mistral AI, OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, Hippocratic AI, Modular and Skild AI. Conway publicly criticized the OpenAI board's removal of Sam Altman in November 2023. SV Angel also launched Project Blueprint, an effort to build consensus between AI industry leaders and lawmakers on AI policy.
SV Angel invests at the seed and early stage, with small checks across many companies. Public data shows activity in the US and Israel.
In 2018 Conway said he expected to write checks of $25,000 to $100,000 per company. That figure is from 2018, and the firm has not published a current check size.
In a Soapbox interview, Conway said SV Angel invests in people first, the idea second and market size third. He said he looks at whether a founder can lead a team, and at the dynamic between co-founders. His advice to founders was to build a working prototype and gain some users before approaching angels.
- Google: early investment, made before SV Angel was formed.
- Facebook: early investor, per SV Angel and press coverage.
- Airbnb: early investor, per SV Angel and press coverage.
- Twitter, Pinterest, Square, PayPal: early-stage investments, years not specified in sources.
- Safe Superintelligence: AI lab; SV Angel is listed as an investor.
- Mistral AI: French AI model developer; SV Angel is listed as an investor.
- OpenAI and Anthropic: AI labs listed among SV Angel's notable investments.
- Hugging Face, Hippocratic AI, Modular, Skild AI: AI companies listed in SV Angel's portfolio.
- svangel.com/about/team
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Conway
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SV_Angel
- cnbc.com/2018/06/01/ron-conway-one-of-techs-top-power-brokers-is-scali
- inc.com/business-insider/ron-conway-silicon-valley-investor-godfather-
- zurb.com/soapbox/ron-conway-zurbsoapbox-investing-with-the-godfather-o
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/106104-88
- dealroom.co/investors/sv-angel
Investing activity
Ron Conway is listed on Lounge as an angel investor based in San Francisco, CA. The deals desk records Series A and later AI rounds and seeds over $10M, so smaller checks may not show here yet.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Ron Conway
Does Ron Conway invest in AI startups?
Yes. SV Angel, the firm he founded, has backed AI companies including Safe Superintelligence, Mistral AI, OpenAI and Anthropic. Public data lists dozens of AI deals.
What check size does Ron Conway write?
In 2018 he said he expected to write checks of $25,000 to $100,000 per company. No current check size is public.
What stage does Ron Conway invest in?
SV Angel is a seed-stage firm that makes small investments across many early-stage companies.
What does Ron Conway look for in founders?
He has said SV Angel invests in people first, the idea second and market size third. He looks at leadership ability and at how co-founders work together.
Is Ron Conway still investing?
Yes. In 2018 SV Angel said it would stop raising funds, and Conway and his son Topher kept investing under the SV Angel name with personal funds. SV Angel's AI deals since then show it is still active.
How can founders reach Ron Conway?
He is active on X as @RonConway, and his bio there links to svangel.com. No public pitch process is documented in the sources.
Is Ron Conway an angel investor?
Yes. Ron Conway invests personally as an angel.
Where is Ron Conway based?
Ron Conway is based in San Francisco, CA.