# SV Angel

SV Angel is a Private Equity based in San Francisco, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Menlo Park, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2009
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** svangel.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/sv-angel
- **Wikidata:** Q133947726

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 162285
- **SEC file number:** 802-75165
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/162285

## About

Founded in 2009 by Ron Conway, the firm formalized an angel investing practice Conway had been running for over a decade. He and his son, Co-Managing Partner Topher Conway, operate it alongside General Partner Kevin Carter. The firm's origin traces to Conway's personal network — he was an early backer of Google, PayPal, and Facebook, giving SV Angel a relationship map that virtually no other seed investor can replicate. SV Angel targets early-stage technology companies, writing seed checks into software, fintech, AI, crypto, digital health, and consumer platforms. The firm no longer operates a traditional venture fund. Since 2018, it has deployed capital exclusively through SPVs raised from the partners and their limited network of co-investors — effectively a personal-capital vehicle masquerading as an institutional platform. Confirmed portfolio companies over the years include Airbnb, Coinbase, Stripe, Snap, and Notion. The firm invests primarily across North American tech hubs, with its densest activity in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Exact AUM and deployment figures are not publicly disclosed. SV Angel operates from Menlo Park, with known presences in San Francisco, Cambridge, and New York. The firm does not maintain a separate philanthropic foundation, though Conway himself is a major donor to San Francisco civic causes and has signed the Giving Pledge. A significant structural event occurred in May 2018: Conway announced the firm would cease raising traditional venture funds and convert entirely to an SPV-based model, returning to the handshake-and-conviction investing he had practiced before the firm's institutional phase. SV Angel's structural differentiator is its arcane access moat. Conway built his network over 30 years, starting in the 1990s as an early angel investor, and the firm's value to portfolio companies lies in its introductions — to follow-on investors, executive hires, and business-development partners across the Silicon Valley elite. The SPV-only model exempts SV Angel from the fundraising cycle that dictates behavior for nearly every venture firm. It invests only when a partner believes in a founder, making it one of the few venture platforms where asset-gathering pressure is structurally absent.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- FinTech
- AI/ML
- Consumer Tech
- Digital Health
- Crypto / Web3

## Offices

- San Francisco, CA
- Cambridge, MA
- New York, NY

## People

- Ron Conway — Founder and Co-Managing Partner
- Topher Conway — Co-Managing Partner
- Kevin Carter — General Partner

## Questions

### Who makes investment decisions at SV Angel?

Ron Conway and Topher Conway serve as Co-Managing Partners and lead investment decisions. Kevin Carter, a General Partner, is also a named decision-maker. The firm operates with a flat structure — partners evaluate opportunities personally, and there is no investment committee staffed by non-partner analysts. This keeps the decision loop short, often a single meeting.

### How does SV Angel source deals?

The firm sources almost entirely through its partner network. Ron Conway's relationship graph — built over 30-plus years of backing founders, many of whom became repeat entrepreneurs or investors — generates a proprietary funnel. Alumni of SV Angel portfolio companies frequently route their own startups back to the firm. Cold outreach is not a meaningful source.

### What is SV Angel's posture on crypto and Web3?

Ron Conway was an early and vocal supporter of crypto. SV Angel invested in Coinbase as early as 2012, and Conway served as an advisor and active advocate for the company during regulatory skirmishes. The firm continues to back Web3 founders, though it does not have a dedicated crypto fund or token-investing vehicle. Exposure comes through equity rounds in crypto infrastructure and consumer products.

## Related profiles

- [Suzuken Investment](https://altss.com/profile/suzuken-investment)
- [Svarog Capital Advisors](https://altss.com/profile/svarog-capital-advisors)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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