Building an Enterprise VC Firm with Jai Das, President and Co-Founder of Sapphire Ventures | Founding the Fund 4

In this bonus episode of The Room Podcast, we speak with Jai Das, President, Partner and Co-Founder of Sapphire Ventures, one of the world's leading enterprise venture capital firms backing category-defining B2B software and AI companies.

Sapphire Ventures has invested in companies including monday.com, Box, Square, MuleSoft, Fitbit, ExactTarget, and many others, while building one of the industry's most recognized enterprise-focused venture platforms. Before co-founding Sapphire Ventures, Jai's career spanned software engineering at Oracle, founding startups during the dot-com era, corporate venture investing, and leading the transformation of SAP Ventures into the independent firm it is today.

In this conversation, Jai reflects on the lessons learned across multiple technology cycles, from the early internet to today's AI revolution, sharing how his experiences as an engineer, founder, and investor shaped Sapphire's long-term strategy and investment philosophy.

Learn more about Jai on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaidas
Explore Sapphire Ventures on their website - https://sapphireventures.com/

(05:38) Jai's upbringing in India and journey to Silicon Valley
(08:20) Did Jai always think he would become a founder
(09:37) What was it like being an engineer at Oracle in the 1990s?
(11:51) Did Oracle miss its opportunity in cloud computing?
(13:10) Jai’s startup journey after Oracle and the path to SAP Ventures
(17:53) How did Jai’s first venture investing experience shape your career?
(18:50) What was early corporate venture capital like at Intel and SAP?
(20:57) How should founders think about taking money from corporate VCs?
(23:33) How did SAP Ventures become Sapphire Ventures?
(25:06) How did Sapphire differentiate itself in a crowded VC market?
(28:19) When did Sapphire experience its biggest growing pains?
(32:40) Who was Sapphire Ventures' first LP?
(34:18) Why did Sapphire build a fund-of-funds strategy?
(35:59) What was the first portfolio company that believed in Sapphire?
(37:37) Why has the developer become such an important buyer?
(39:58) How has AI changed who the modern "developer" really is?
(41:50) How does the rise of AI agents influence your investment thesis?
(44:42) How does venture capital stay relevant in the age of AI?
(48:11) What is Jai most excited about right now?
(49:37) Who is a woman that has had a profound impact on Jai’s life and career?

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