Steve Case

Background

Steve Case is the co-founder of America Online (AOL) and Chairman and CEO of Revolution, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm he founded in 2005 ¹². Born and raised in Hawaii, Case joined AOL’s predecessor company, Quantum Computer Services, in 1985 and built AOL into the world’s largest Internet company, with nearly 50% of U.S. Internet users on the platform at its peak ¹. AOL was the first Internet company to go public and delivered an 11,616% return to shareholders during the 1990s ¹. In 2000, Case negotiated the AOL-Time Warner merger, the largest in business history at the time ¹.

After departing AOL, Case founded Revolution in 2005 with a focus on backing entrepreneurs across the United States, particularly outside traditional tech hubs ². Revolution has invested nearly $2 billion across more than 200 companies in over 100 cities in 40+ states and territories ¹². The firm operates multiple funds: Revolution Growth (growth-stage), Revolution Ventures (early-stage), and the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund (seed-stage, focused on startups outside Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston) ².

Case served as Chair of the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents ¹. He is Chairman of the Case Foundation, established with his wife Jean Case in 1997 ¹. Case and his wife joined The Giving Pledge in 2010, committing to give away the majority of their wealth ¹. He was the founding chair of the Startup America Partnership, launched at the White House in 2011 ¹. Case was instrumental in passing the JOBS Act, the Investing in Opportunities Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act ¹. He is the author of two books: The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future (2016) and Rise of the Rest: How Entrepreneurs in Surprising Places are Building the New American Dream (2022) ¹.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Case says publicly about his investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Case’s stated investment thesis centers on his “Third Wave” framework and geographic diversification of venture capital. He publicly argues that the next wave of innovation will transform major real-world sectors like health, education, transportation, energy, and food, and that these companies will increasingly emerge outside of Silicon Valley ³⁴.

Case has stated: “It’s a huge opportunity for investors to look outside of their networks — not just geography, but with a broader and more diverse mix of entrepreneurs, who are closer to a wide range of problems” ⁵. He has described the pandemic as “a real tipping point” for distributed entrepreneurship, calling it a “‘shake-the-snow-globe’ moment” ⁵.

On inclusive entrepreneurship, Case has stated: “A lot of people feel frustrated and left out, and they think the ‘innovation economy’ is about a few people on the coasts doing things that might disrupt their lives and destroy their lives. If you offset that by backing people and companies that can create jobs in their own communities, that can change things” ⁵.

Case has publicly noted that 75% of venture capital spending goes to just three states — California, New York, and Massachusetts — and that more than 40% of the 200+ companies backed by Rise of the Rest have female founders or founders of color ⁴⁶.

Revolution states that 99% of its capital has been deployed outside Silicon Valley ².

Inferred Thesis

The analysis below is based on 24 verified investments across Revolution Growth, Revolution Ventures, and Rise of the Rest portfolios from press releases, Crunchbase, and other public sources.

Sector concentration (based on 24 verified investments): - Food & restaurant / consumer: 7 of 24 (29%) — Sweetgreen, CAVA, Revolution Foods, Bloomscape, Bright Cellars, OrderUp, Framebridge - Sports, media & entertainment: 4 of 24 (17%) — DraftKings, Sportradar, Scopely, Bedrock Manufacturing - E-commerce & enterprise SaaS: 4 of 24 (17%) — BigCommerce, Custom Ink, Optoro, PolicyGenius - Healthcare & life sciences: 2 of 24 (8%) — Tempus, Pathos AI - National security / defense: 2 of 24 (8%) — Anduril, Hidden Level - Fintech: 2 of 24 (8%) — Tala, Kashable - Identity & security: 1 of 24 (4%) — CLEAR - Logistics: 1 of 24 (4%) — STORD - Other (education/media): 1 of 24 (4%) — Echo360

Stage distribution: Case invests across all stages through different funds. Revolution Growth makes growth-stage investments of $25M-$50M+ (e.g., $22M in Sweetgreen ⁷, $40M in BigCommerce ⁹, $40M in Custom Ink ¹⁰, $153M in DraftKings ¹¹). Revolution Ventures makes early-stage investments of $1M-$12M ¹². Rise of the Rest makes seed-stage investments, typically smaller checks in companies outside major tech hubs ¹³.

Geographic focus: Revolution’s defining characteristic is its commitment to investing outside Silicon Valley. The firm states that 99% of its capital is deployed outside Silicon Valley ². Portfolio companies are headquartered in Washington, D.C. (Sweetgreen, Optoro, CAVA), Austin (BigCommerce), Chicago (Tempus), Boston (DraftKings, RunKeeper), and other cities across the U.S. ²⁹¹⁴.

Founder profile patterns: Case backs founders building businesses in large, established industries (food, sports, defense, retail) where technology can disrupt incumbents — consistent with his “Third Wave” thesis. Rise of the Rest specifically targets founders outside coastal tech hubs, with a stated emphasis on diverse founders ⁶.

Co-investor patterns: Revolution Growth frequently co-invests with major growth-stage firms. Notable co-investors include T. Rowe Price (CLEAR) ¹⁵, NEA (Tempus, Framebridge) ¹⁴, and Invus (CAVA) ¹⁶. Rise of the Rest LPs who also co-invest include Jeff Bezos, Sara Blakely, Jim Breyer, Ray Dalio, and Meg Whitman ¹³¹⁷.

Notable gaps: Despite claiming focus on education and energy in his Third Wave thesis, the verified portfolio is heavily weighted toward food/consumer and sports/entertainment. The healthcare allocation (8%) is smaller than the stated emphasis on health innovation would suggest, though the Tempus investment represents a major commitment in the space. The defense/national security investments (Anduril, Hidden Level) are not mentioned in the firm’s stated thesis but represent a meaningful allocation.

Portfolio

This table represents a subset of Revolution’s 200+ portfolio investments across all funds. Revolution Growth alone has deployed nearly $1 billion across its funds ². Many Rise of the Rest seed investments are not individually documented in press releases.

Notable exits and public companies: BigCommerce (IPO, 2020), Sweetgreen (IPO, 2021), DraftKings (public via SPAC, 2020), CLEAR (IPO, 2021), Sportradar (IPO, 2021), CAVA (IPO, 2023), Tempus (IPO, 2024) ².

In Their Own Words

“It’s not just happening in a few places. This is a broad-based phenomenon, across dozens and dozens of cities. It bodes well for those cities and the nation.” — Steve Case, interview with Technical.ly ⁵

“The Rise of the Rest doesn’t mean the fall or the decline of Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley will continue to be the leading startup ecosystem in the country, and really the pride of America and the envy of the world. It’s not going anywhere.” — Steve Case, interview with Technical.ly ⁵

“Many industries that powered the nation were already spread. The big companies are already distributed. Can we have the same thing with new and startup companies?” — Steve Case, interview with Technical.ly ⁵

“This is how we remain the most innovative, entrepreneurial nation in the world. We can make sure everyone everywhere has a chance at the American Dream.” — Steve Case, interview with Technical.ly ⁵

“Leveraging social marketing, local sourcing, and community building, sweetgreen truly understands the power of thinking globally and acting locally to change the way business is done.” — Steve Case, Revolution press release on Sweetgreen investment, December 2013 ⁷

“CLEAR is using biometric technology to make life easier for people by making entry into airports and other secure venues faster and more convenient.” — Steve Case, Revolution press release on CLEAR investment, January 2019 ¹⁵

“The entrepreneurs of this era are going to challenge the biggest industries in the world, and those that most affect our daily lives.” — Steve Case, The Third Wave (2016) ²⁶

What Founders Say

Sweetgreen co-founders Nicolas Jammet, Jonathan Neman, and Nathaniel Ru stated upon receiving Revolution Growth’s investment: “We are incredibly proud to partner with Steve Case and Revolution Growth, a company that not only knows how to build and scale some of the most exciting brands, but also embraces our core values. This investment will enable us to bring sweetgreen’s original vision to life in more communities across the country, continue to build an outstanding team of people, and support our local farmers and communities” ⁷.

No other independently sourced founder testimonials found. The firm’s portfolio page does not feature founder testimonials, and dedicated searches for founder quotes about working with Steve Case or Revolution did not yield additional verified results.

Connections

• Board member, Sweetgreen — joined the board as part of Revolution Growth’s $22M investment in 2013 ⁷
• Chair, Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents — led efforts to increase the institution’s reach and relevance ¹
• Chairman, Case Foundation — established with wife Jean Case in 1997 ¹
• Founding Chair, Startup America Partnership — White House initiative launched in 2011 ¹
• Co-Chair, National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) — advising on national entrepreneurship strategy ²⁷
• Member, President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness — chaired the entrepreneurship subcommittee ¹
• Congressional testimony — testified before the House Financial Services Committee, March 2025 ²⁸
• Co-founded Revolution with Ted Leonsis — former AOL senior executive and owner of the Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics ⁸
• Rise of the Rest LPs include Jeff Bezos, Sara Blakely, Jim Breyer, Ray Dalio, Eric Schmidt, Sean Parker, Meg Whitman, James Murdoch, Kevin Plank, and Brad Smith ¹³¹⁷

Sources