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Chris Farmer

Founder & CEO of SignalFire

Chris Farmer, Founder & CEO of SignalFire

Chris Farmer is the Founder and CEO of SignalFire, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco.12 He has over 15 years of experience in the venture capital industry, having previously worked at Bessemer Venture Partners and General Catalyst Partners.12

Key Facts about Chris Farmer

  • Founded SignalFire in 2013 after leaving General Catalyst Partners in 20132
  • Previously worked as a Vice President at Bessemer Venture Partners and a Venture Partner at General Catalyst Partners12
  • Passionate about using technology, data, and AI to support founders and add value to portfolio companies13
  • SignalFire has invested in companies like Snapchat, Stripe, and Discord by leveraging Farmer's approach3
  • Expanded SignalFire's team in 2023 with new hires focused on AI, healthcare, and other core sectors4
  • Believes in fostering an environment where the SignalFire team can grow and thrive4

Education and Early Career

  • Received a BA in International Relations & Business from Tufts University & the Fletcher School of Diplomacy1
  • Started career on Wall Street in the private equity group of Cowen & Company1
  • Served as a Venture Advisor to an early stage venture capital fund where he led investments in SkyBitz and Applied Semantics (acquired by Google)1
  • Spearheaded the successful turnaround of Skybitz, a wireless enabled SaaS company, where he served as led Product Management, Finance & Business Development1

Chris Farmer's experience, vision, and focus on leveraging technology to support founders have been key to SignalFire's success in identifying and partnering with promising startups in the technology sector.

Highlights

Mar 31 · twitter

Saturday AM hustle @WhopIO style.

Aug 26 · linkedin

San Francisco's resurgence is real, and now SignalFire has the data to prove it. Our data science team found that SF is home to the most founders, fundraising activity, and AI/eng talent.

People claimed SF was dead after the pandemic, but our Beacon AI data platform shows the city's share of top founders and startup talent actually dropped by <10% during that time. Now, SF has bounced back, rapidly growing on both counts.

We're so proud to be headquartered here and to support SF's tech community. Check out our full SF Is Back report in the comments with more stats and visualizations from SignalFire's Head of Research Asher Bantock.

Related Questions

What inspired Chris Farmer to leave traditional venture capital and start SignalFire?
How does SignalFire's Beacon AI data platform work?
What are some notable companies that SignalFire has invested in?
How does Chris Farmer's background in Bain & Co. influence his approach at SignalFire?
What are the main goals of SignalFire's AI Lab?
Chris Farmer
Chris Farmer, photo 1
Chris Farmer, photo 2
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Experience

Founder & CEO at SignalFire since April 2013
Venture Partner at General Catalyst Partners (November 2010 - April 2013), Vice President at Bessemer Venture Partners (September 2005 - May 2009), Consultant - Private Equity at Bain & Co. (March 200 at SkyBitz (2000 - 2004)

Location

San Francisco, California, United States