Manatt Venture Fund

Manatt Venture Fund, also known as Manatt Ventures, is the corporate venture capital arm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips LLP, a prominent Los Angeles-based law firm. Founded in 2000, the fund was created to provide an alternative revenue stream while deepening the firm's relationships with the venture capital, startup, and technology communities. Funded exclusively by partner capital, Manatt Venture Fund has invested approximately $13 million in over 90 companies and funds since inception. Lisa Suennen has led the fund since November 2018, bringing prior experience as Managing Partner of Venture Valkyrie, Senior Managing Director of GE Ventures' Healthcare Venture Fund, and 15 years as a partner at Psilos Group. The fund focuses on early-stage investments in technology, healthcare, and media sectors. Notable portfolio companies that have gone public include Pinterest, Etsy, and Chegg. The fund has achieved 6 portfolio exits, with HAAWK (October 2024) and Pathmatics among the most recent. Other portfolio names include Genome Medical, which raised a $23 million Series B in 2019; Sayari Labs, which received a TPG growth investment; Pledge; HealthBeacon; and Two Bit Circus. Ennov acquired Calyx's enterprise technology division as a portfolio-adjacent transaction. The portfolio spans healthtech, software, media, data analytics, advertising, e-commerce, and fintech across 90 or more investments. Manatt Ventures integrates an unusual combination of legal services with venture capital, providing portfolio companies with access to an experienced team of attorneys and consultants who are themselves former entrepreneurs, VC investors, management consultants, and industry professionals. This multidisciplinary backing gives founders immediate access to corporate, regulatory, and transactional expertise alongside the investment itself.