Eric Liaw

Background

Eric Liaw is a General Partner at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners), where he has invested since joining in 2011 ¹². He was promoted from Partner to General Partner in January 2015, alongside Somesh Dash ³.

Liaw holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Computer Science and an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering, both from Stanford University ⁴⁵.

Before joining IVP, Liaw was a Vice President at Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), where he completed minority and control investments in private and public companies across the Internet and software sectors, including Netflix, Zillow, eHarmony, Fandango, TechTarget, Altiris (acquired by Symantec), and Tiny Prints (acquired by Shutterfly) ²⁴. Earlier in his career, he was a member of Morgan Stanley’s Technology Investment Banking Group, where he was involved in strategic and financing transactions valued at over $4 billion ⁴.

In August 2023, Liaw relocated from the Bay Area to London with his family to open IVP’s first office outside of Silicon Valley, describing the move as building “a London-based bridge to Europe” after the firm’s decade-plus track record of European investments including Supercell, UiPath, Wise, and MySQL ⁶.

Liaw has received significant industry recognition: GrowthCap named him one of the Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors in 2018, Business Insider recognized him among the top 23 most respected enterprise technology VCs in 2018, and The New York Times and CB Insights listed him as one of the top 100 venture capitalists in the world in 2019 ⁴⁵. He was also named to GrowthCap’s Top 25 Software Investors list in 2020 and 2021 ²⁷, and Forbes and TrueBridge Capital Partners named him to the 2023 Midas Brink List ¹⁷.

Stated Thesis

Liaw publicly describes his focus as partnering with entrepreneurs at inflection points in their growth trajectory, across enterprise software, Internet, and mobile sectors ¹².

On his commitment to founders, Liaw has stated: “My commitment to entrepreneurs is to be available whenever they need me” ¹.

On IVP’s role, he has said: “Capital is definitely part of it. It’s venture capital, so let’s be real. You can’t ignore that part of it. But I do think that it is only a part of it” and “We aspire to be partners with entrepreneurs in good times and in bad” ⁸.

On board involvement, Liaw has stated: “We take board seats in two-thirds of the companies that we invest in…when you’re on a board, you have a responsibility to be helpful and involved” ⁸.

On investing in European founders, Liaw stated he relocated to London to be “on the ground to meet with founders, co-investors and operators earlier in their journeys and partner with them just as they hit their stride” ⁶.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 32 verified investments in the portfolio table where Liaw is identified as the lead or board member (excluding follow-on rounds), the following patterns emerge. Note: Liaw’s IVP portfolio page lists 100+ companies, but not all have confirmed individual attribution; this analysis is based on the subset where his personal involvement is verified.

Stage distribution: Almost exclusively Series B and later growth-stage investments, consistent with IVP’s firm-wide focus. Of investments with confirmed round data: Series A (1), Series B (12), Series C (4), Series D (2), Series E (3), Series F (1), unspecified Growth (3). Typical check sizes range from $10M to $100M with a sweet spot around $25M ⁹.

Sector breakdown (32 verified investments): Enterprise software and infrastructure: 10 of 32 (31%) — Datadog, GitHub, UiPath, ZipRecruiter, Supermetrics, Aiven, Deputy, NextRoll, Data.ai, Baseten. Fintech: 6 of 32 (19%) — Klarna, Robinhood, Brex, IEX, Ajaib, Kalshi. Consumer: 6 of 32 (19%) — Glossier, The Honest Company, MasterClass, Lulu’s, WHOOP, FightCamp. Gaming: 3 of 32 (9%) — Supercell, Dream Games, Sorare, Appcharge (4 if Appcharge counted here). AI and deep tech: 4 of 32 (13%) — DeepL, Perplexity, Cradle, Baseten. Health tech: 3 of 32 (9%) — Sage, Tennr, WHOOP (some overlap with consumer) ¹²⁹.

Geographic patterns: Liaw has personally led IVP’s international push, relocating to London in 2023. Non-US investments in his portfolio include Supercell (Finland), UiPath (Romania), Klarna (Sweden), DeepL (Germany), Dream Games (Turkey), Sorare (France), Aiven (Finland), Supermetrics (Finland), Appcharge (Israel), and Cradle (Netherlands) — representing approximately 10 of 32 verified investments (31%). This international tilt predates the London office opening ¹⁶.

Board engagement: Liaw takes an active board role. Confirmed board directorships or observer seats include WHOOP, Glossier, The Honest Company, MasterClass, ZipRecruiter, IEX, Lulu’s, Aiven, Deputy, NextRoll, Supermetrics, Sage, Appcharge, and Data.ai — 14 board seats from 32 investments (44%) ¹².

Co-investor patterns: Frequently co-invests with Index Ventures (Supercell, Dream Games, DeepL), SoftBank (WHOOP, Sorare, Perplexity), DST Global (Brex, Ajaib), and Bessemer Venture Partners (DeepL). Multiple investments alongside a16z and Lightspeed at later stages.

Notable pattern — consumer brand affinity: Unlike many growth-stage investors who focus exclusively on enterprise, Liaw has a distinctive mix of consumer brand investments (Glossier, The Honest Company, MasterClass, WHOOP, FightCamp) alongside enterprise SaaS, suggesting comfort with consumer unit economics and brand-driven growth models.

Notable pattern — AI acceleration (2023-2026): Recent investments show a sharp tilt toward AI: DeepL (2023), Perplexity (2024), Cradle (2024), Baseten (2026), and Tennr (2025). This represents 5 of his last 8 known investments, a significant shift from his earlier enterprise/consumer mix.

Portfolio

This table represents investments where Eric Liaw’s personal involvement is confirmed through board seats, lead attribution, or IVP announcements. Liaw’s IVP portfolio page lists 100+ companies, but many reflect firm-wide portfolio attribution rather than individual lead roles.

In Their Own Words

“My commitment to entrepreneurs is to be available whenever they need me.” — Eric Liaw, IVP team page ¹

“Great entrepreneurs and great ideas come together at all times, regardless of whether the stock market is up or down.” — Eric Liaw, Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots podcast ⁸

“We’re not the flashiest ones out there…But when you need something, we’re there.” — Eric Liaw, Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots podcast ⁸

“We take board seats in two-thirds of the companies that we invest in…when you’re on a board, you have a responsibility to be helpful and involved.” — Eric Liaw, Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots podcast ⁸

“Sometimes the right thing to do is actually to do nothing in the investment world.” — Eric Liaw, Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots podcast ⁸

“Fire people early. If your gut says it won’t work, it won’t.” — Eric Liaw, Giant Ventures interview on CEO leadership ¹⁴

“Once the CEO doesn’t know everyone’s name, you are truly relying on culture.” — Eric Liaw, Giant Ventures interview on CEO leadership ¹⁴

“Belief in the future can sometimes outstrip reality.” — Eric Liaw, CNBC interview at Slush, November 2024 ¹⁵

On IVP’s culture: IVP is “not sharp-elbowed, with a culture of distributed trust.” — Eric Liaw, Fortune interview, March 2024 ³⁸.

On Klarna’s IPO: “What struck us most was Sebastian’s unwavering belief in Klarna’s mission. That unshakeable confidence led to our initial investment. And it’s why we helped Klarna buy the German payment processing company Sofort.” — Eric Liaw, IVP blog ³⁹.

“We look at valuations on a company-by-company and deal-by-deal basis. It’s like public stocks.” — Eric Liaw, StrictlyVC interview, August 2014 ⁴⁰.

On Glossier: “We think that Glossier is a truly exceptional company that is poised to become a household name.” — Eric Liaw, IVP blog, November 2016 ²³.

What Founders Say

Brian Lee, CEO & Co-Founder of The Honest Company, stated about Liaw: “He has always been deeply thoughtful and is one of the brightest partners I have had the pleasure of working with. Eric has experience beyond his years, and knows how to work with entrepreneurs in a truly constructive and positive manner.” — Business Wire, January 2015 ³.

Maor Sason, CEO of Appcharge, said of the IVP team including Liaw: “Karthik Ramakrishnan, Eric Liaw, and the IVP team saw what we were building long before this round, and when it was time to raise, they moved fast.” — Appcharge blog, August 2025 ¹⁶. Note: this references the broader IVP team, not Liaw individually.

Several IVP-backed founders have voluntarily become LPs in IVP’s funds, including CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen, and Harness founder Jyoti Bansal, which serves as an indirect endorsement of the firm and its partners including Liaw ³⁸.

Connections

• Board Member, WHOOP — joined board upon IVP’s Series E investment in 2020 ¹⁰
• Board Member, IEX Group — listed on IEX leadership and board page ⁴
• Board Member, The Honest Company (HNST) — public company board seat ²
• Board Member, ZipRecruiter (ZIP) — public company board seat ²
• Board Member, Glossier — board director since ~2016 ²⁹
• Board Member, MasterClass — board director ²
• Board Member, Sage — joined upon IVP’s Series B lead in 2024 ¹¹
• Board Member, Appcharge — joined upon IVP’s Series B lead in 2025 ⁹
• Former Vice President, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) — worked on investments in Netflix, Zillow, eHarmony ⁴
• Former Analyst, Morgan Stanley Technology Investment Banking — early career ⁴
• IVP London office lead — relocated to London in 2023 with James Black and Shreyas Garg to open IVP’s first non-US office ⁶
• Speaker, Slush 2024 — keynote speaker at Slush in Helsinki ¹⁵

Sources