# Sleeping Bear Capital

Sleeping Bear Capital is a Private Equity based in San Francisco, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 833 Market Street, Suite 316, San Francisco, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** sleepingbearcap.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-bear-capital

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Sleeping Bear Capital is a founder-first private equity firm that seeks to launch, invest in and acquire controlling interests in strong businesses across defense, technology, manufacturing, and eCommerce. It focuses on business unit spinouts and mature founder-led businesses that need a new capital stack and fresh energy. The firm was founded by Ranvir Gujral.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- Defense Tech
- Manufacturing
- eCommerce

## People

- Ranvir Gujral — Founder and Managing Partner
- Kate — Partner
- Alexandra — Associate

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Sleeping Bear Capital?

Ranvir Gujral, the firm’s founder and managing partner, leads investment decisions. His background includes private equity roles at Silver Lake and Morgan Stanley Capital Partners and serving as co-founder and CEO of Chute, a marketing SaaS business backed by Y Combinator, Foundry Group, USVP, and Salesforce Ventures, which sold to a private equity firm in 2018.

### What is Sleeping Bear Capital’s specific investment niche?

The firm focuses on control acquisitions of orphan and aging venture-backed technology and e-commerce companies, as well as business-unit spinouts from larger corporations. It targets defense, technology, manufacturing, and eCommerce sectors where mature founder-led businesses need a new capital stack and hands-on operational support to reach their next growth phase.

### Does Sleeping Bear Capital invest as a venture capital firm or a traditional buyout fund?

It operates as a private equity firm executing control buyouts, not venture capital. However, it brings an operational, founder-minded approach rather than relying on financial engineering. The firm’s principals have direct operator experience in early-stage sales, go-to-market strategy, and brand development, deploying that expertise post-acquisition.

### What known portfolio companies has Sleeping Bear Capital exited or sold?

The firm’s portfolio includes at least two defense-technology holdings. One unnamed portfolio company completed a sale to Redwire, and Adaptive Energy was acquired by Edge Autonomy for accelerated technology development (per the firm). Both exits align with its stated focus on defense and technology businesses.

### What makes Sleeping Bear Capital’s team different from a typical private equity firm’s?

Its Partner, Kate, was Head of Revenue at Nova, joining as the fourth employee and growing revenue 300% year-over-year before its acquisition by AngelList. The team explicitly assembles operator talent with early-stage sales and go-to-market pedigree, rather than exclusively hiring from investment-banking or consulting backgrounds.

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- [Slayton Lewis](https://altss.com/profile/slayton-lewis)
- [Slimmer AI](https://altss.com/profile/slimmer-ai)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:08:11.274Z

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