Amy Banse, managing director and head of funds for Comcast Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of media company Comcast, said in her nomination of Andy Cao, a principal at the unit: “Andy focuses on enterprise software and cybersecurity investments at Comcast Ventures. He joined the San Francisco office in June 2018 and quickly hit the ground running – participating in Aporeto’s $20m series B funding round in January of 2019.
“In addition, Andy leveraged his network to source an investment opportunity in Hypr, an enterprise security platform. It was a competitive deal and through Andy’s aggressive and thorough diligence, Comcast Ventures led Hypr’s $18.3m series B financing round announced in October [2019].
“Andy is a contributor, always looking for ways to collaborate. While working closely with managing director David Zilberman, Andy also absorbs information on what other partners and principals are working on – asking questions to draw out debate, offering insight and introductions, and being the first to congratulate a colleague on a win.
“He is truly a team player – and brings that attitude and energy outside of Comcast Ventures. Within months of starting here, Andy launched a Bay Area ‘Info Hack Session’ bringing together principals at other venture firms to discuss emerging technology in the enterprise.
“He organises meetups with this community at industry conferences to create a culture of partnership versus competition. I am impressed with Andy’s curiosity, attention to detail, excitement for venture and desire to create an inclusive community around him.”
Having worked at a traditional VC firm for six years before joining Comcast Ventures, Cao appreciated both advantages and challenges of an independent, financial vehicle. He said: “With the broader VC landscape becoming more crowded and competitive, moving quickly and offering a differentiated, value-add message has never resonated more with today’s founders. I found that the industry relationships we build as CVCs to be instrumental in these areas.”
Cao was quick to point out, however, that CVCs unfortunately still retain a stigma for some founders. “In certain cases, they only view us as ‘strategic’ investors guided by corporate interests. In other cases, they expect that our involvement is a guarantee that our LPs (limited partners) will become customers.
“Changing that misperception has taken time and effort, but founders often come around quickly once they see how Comcast Ventures has helped other founders in the past. References go a long way. I embrace the challenge of building a community of investors who are willing to vouch for the value that Comcast Ventures and other CVCs bring to the startup ecosystem.”
He has carried out two investments to date on behalf of Comcast Ventures: a $22m series B round in network security technology developer Aporeto and an $18m series B in decentralised authentication platform provider Hypr, adding: “I sourced the second opportunity by identifying the company through my personal network.”
Cao started his career at financial services firm Citigroup before joining VC firm Trident Capital. He later co-founded a growth equity firm called Sunstone Partners. He graduated from the Jerome Fisher Program at the University of Pennsylvania where he received dual degrees from the Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
