MENLO PARK: Menlo Ventures, a leading venture capital firm, announced Tuesday that Matt Kraning has joined as its newest partner. Kraning, a seasoned entrepreneur and technologist, will focus on investments in artificial intelligence, enterprise SaaS, national defense, and cybersecurity.
Kraning previously co-founded and served as chief technology officer of Expanse, a cybersecurity company acquired by Palo Alto Networks for $1.25 billion in 2020. A machine learning Ph.D. and distributed systems expert, he helped develop Expanse’s AI-driven attack surface management technology, which was widely adopted by Fortune 500 firms and U.S. government agencies. Before founding Expanse, Kraning worked at DARPA and served as lead data scientist in Afghanistan.
“AI’s true promise extends beyond technology—it’s about how companies evolve to harness it,” Kraning said in a statement. “Menlo Ventures has built a reputation as a home for deeply technical investors who cut through the AI hype. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and help founders build the next generation of AI-native companies.”
Menlo Ventures partner Venky Ganesan said Kraning’s deep technical expertise and entrepreneurial experience make him well-positioned to advise AI startups. “Matt understands AI from its core technology to large-scale enterprise adoption,” Ganesan said. “Founders will benefit from his insights as they navigate the evolving AI landscape.”
Menlo Ventures, which manages $5.8 billion in assets, has invested in AI-driven startups such as Anthropic, Abnormal Security, Neon, and Typeface. The firm has assembled a team of investors with deep technical backgrounds, including former executives from Splunk, LinkedIn, and Atlassian.