Investing in a company isn’t just about numbers; it’s about belief, vision, and the people behind a startup. In the venture capital world, few stories encapsulate this journey better than my relationship with Mohit Aron and Cohesity, which has been a journey marked by conviction, one missed opportunity, and, ultimately, unwavering belief.
I first met Mohit over a decade ago, shortly after he founded Nutanix, where he pioneered the company’s converged primary storage appliance and led it to become one of the fastest-growing storage companies. Although my previous firm opted not to invest in Nutanix (a missed opportunity as it became a poster child of the unicorn startup era), Mohit and I stayed in touch, and I have the pleasure of calling him a close friend.
In 2015, before Cohesity had a product or revenue, I saw the potential in Mohit’s new vision. While still at Trinity, I seized the opportunity to invest in Cohesity — a decision I’ll never regret. I was able to stand behind my conviction six years later while at Steadfast. As the company scaled and eventually hired the inimitable Sanjay Poonen in 2022 to lead it through its next phase of hypergrowth, it reminded me that the opportunity to work with world-class teams like this comes around once a decade, if at all. I’m honored today to announce Madrona’s participation in Cohesity’s Series F and my continued conviction in the team’s vision to become the de facto leader in AI-powered data security and management.
While the original vision of Cohesity was to revolutionize storage by rethinking the entire secondary storage ecosystem, the company has evolved into a full data management platform and is a leader in AI-powered data storage, security, and management. The company’s unique distributed architecture allows enterprise customers to have global data management and security in a single, safe, and scalable environment. And, with today’s announcement that Cohesity and Veritas’ Data Protection business plan to combine, a new leader in AI-powered data security and management will be formed, with over 10,000 customers that include 96 of the Fortune 100 and $1.6B in annual revenues.
Having been part of Cohesity’s journey for nearly 9 years, I’m excited about the opportunity ahead for this combined team, led by Sanjay, to build on the strong leadership position in AI data management and security. Throughout these last 9 years, I’ve become very close to the Cohesity team and have appreciated and respected the team’s relentless focus on execution excellence to complement the audacity of ambition. Mohit’s audacious goals and technical prowess as a founder and an extraordinary engineer built the company’s foundation. With the addition of Sanjay and his operational excellence and leadership skills, Cohesity boasts a lineup of individuals and proven leaders dedicated to realizing the company’s full potential. The team’s synergy I have witnessed is something you rarely see and underscores Cohesity’s trajectory of innovation and growth.
As Cohesity prepares to embark on its latest chapter, my — and Madrona’s — involvement symbolizes more than a financial commitment — it’s a reaffirmation of trust and partnership built over nearly a decade. For me, tripling down on Cohesity is an authentic outgrowth of my first meeting with Mohit, my early conviction, and building the relationship with Mohit and Sanjay throughout the company’s transformation. As Cohesity charts its course toward new horizons, one thing remains clear: we are still early in the journey, and the best is yet to come.
Related Insights
