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John O’Farrell is an Advisory Partner and former General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Before transitioning to venture capital, he served as Executive Vice President of Business Development at Opsware, where he led the company's $1.65 billion acquisition by Hewlett-Packard in 2007. Specializing in enterprise software and cloud computing, O’Farrell directed early-stage investments in highly successful startups, notably leading funding for PagerDuty and Slack, which Salesforce later acquired for $27.7 billion. He holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, and a Bachelor of Electronic Engineering from University College Dublin. Beyond his extensive corporate governance roles guiding high-growth B2B technology platforms through public offerings, he serves on the boards of nonprofit organizations including UNICEF USA and the Karam Foundation.
John O’Farrell stands as a highly respected General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the most influential venture capital firms in the technology landscape. At a16z, John plays a pivotal role in identifying and nurturing the next generation of enterprise technology leaders, focusing his investment thesis on critical areas such as enterprise software, Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud computing infrastructure, and financial technology (fintech).
His investment philosophy is deeply rooted in his extensive operational background. John O’Farrell is not just an investor; he is a seasoned technology executive with a career spanning over 30 years, marked by significant leadership roles at both startups and established giants. Prior to joining Andreessen Horowitz, he served as CEO of several successful technology companies, including Silver Spring Networks, a smart grid networking platform that went public, Staffware, a business process management software company acquired by TIBCO, and Objective Software. His executive experience also includes senior positions at industry titans like Cisco Systems and Oracle, where he honed his understanding of market dynamics, product development, and scaling businesses globally. This rich operational history provides him with invaluable insights, enabling him to truly understand the challenges and opportunities faced by founders.
At Andreessen Horowitz, John leverages this deep well of experience to support his portfolio companies, offering strategic guidance on everything from product-market fit and go-to-market strategies to scaling operations and navigating complex competitive landscapes. His notable investments reflect his keen eye for disruptive enterprise technologies. These include companies like Okta, a leading identity and access management provider; Databricks, a unified data analytics platform; HashiCorp, known for its open source tools for infrastructure automation; Rubrik, a cloud data management and data security company; DigitalOcean, a cloud infrastructure provider for developers; and Fivetran, an automated data integration platform. These investments underscore his commitment to backing companies that are building foundational technologies essential for modern businesses.
John O’Farrell’s transition from a successful operator to a leading venture capitalist highlights his passion for innovation and his dedication to empowering entrepreneurs. He is a trusted advisor to many founders, helping them transform their visions into market-leading companies. His contributions continue to shape the future of enterprise technology, making him a key figure in the venture capital ecosystem.
John O’Farrell is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a prominent venture capital firm. He is known for his extensive experience as a technology executive and his focus on investing in enterprise software, SaaS, cloud, and fintech companies.
John O’Farrell primarily invests in companies within the enterprise software, Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud infrastructure, and financial technology (fintech) sectors. He seeks out innovative startups that are building foundational technologies for businesses.
John O’Farrell works as a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a leading venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with a significant presence in the technology investment landscape.
