Venture Capital

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Listwin Ventures

Don Listwin is a technology investor, operator, and philanthropist backing companies in AI, robotics, networking, data, and early cancer detection.

Listwin Ventures logo

Listwin Ventures

Don Listwin is a technology investor, operator, and philanthropist backing companies in AI, robotics, networking, data, and early cancer detection.

General information

Firm type

Venture Capital

Year founded

AUM

Undisclosed

Location

Region

North America

Country

United States

City

Redwood City

Corporate office

Redwood City, CA, United States

Principals

Don Listwin

Founder and Managing Partner

Sector focus

Enterprise SoftwareAI/MLDigital HealthVenture (General)

Frequently asked questions

Who runs investment decisions at Listwin Ventures?

Don Listwin, the founder and sole managing partner, drives all investment decisions. His professional background as a senior executive at Cisco Systems during its high-growth 1990s era forms the foundation of both his capital base and his deal-sourcing network. The firm does not publicly disclose a broader investment committee or additional investment professionals, consistent with a principal-managed single-family office structure.

How does Listwin Ventures source its deals?

Deal flow appears to derive from Listwin's deep network within the Silicon Valley enterprise-technology ecosystem, built over his Cisco tenure and subsequent operating and board relationships. Longstanding professional connections to figures like John Chambers and Kevin Kennedy, both former CEOs of major technology companies, suggest sourcing is relationship-driven rather than reliant on traditional GP-led fund structures. The firm does not publicly participate in co-investment clubs or deal-sharing platforms.

What investment stages does the firm target?

Listwin Ventures concentrates on seed-stage and early-stage venture investments, per consistent public record. This stage preference aligns with Listwin's operating background — early-stage enterprise software and technology bets map directly onto the domain where his own pattern-recognition advantage is most acute.

Is Listwin Ventures structured as a single-family office or a venture firm?

All available evidence points to a single-family office architecture rather than a venture firm raising outside capital. There is no record of the firm soliciting third-party LPs, registering as an investment advisor, or marketing pooled vehicles. The structure is consistent with technology wealth built during the Cisco era being managed through a private investment entity.

How is the philanthropic activity related to the investment activity?

Don Listwin founded the Canary Foundation, a nonprofit focused on early cancer detection research, which operates separately from the investment vehicle. However, the personal networks overlap: Canary Foundation board members include former Cisco CEO John Chambers and former Avaya CEO Kevin Kennedy, both of whom share professional history with Listwin. The foundation's focus on detection technologies creates potential thematic adjacency with the firm's digital health venture interests, though the two entities remain legally distinct.

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