Cherryrock Capital Is Backing Underinvested Founders at the Series A and B Stage
While much of Silicon Valley continues chasing mega AI rounds and billion-dollar valuations, Stacy Brown-Philpot is taking a different path.
Who Is Stacy Brown-Philpot and Why She Launched Cherryrock Capital
The former CEO of TaskRabbit and longtime Google executive recently launched Cherryrock Capital, a venture firm focused on Series A and B software companies led by what she calls “underinvested entrepreneurs.” Her mission is clear: close the persistent capital gap facing talented founders who don’t fit the traditional Silicon Valley mold.
After serving on the investment committee for SoftBank’s $100 million Opportunity Fund, Brown-Philpot saw firsthand that there was no shortage of overlooked talent — only a shortage of access. When SoftBank divested from that diversity-focused initiative in 2023, she doubled down instead of stepping back. By February 2025, Cherryrock closed its debut fund with more than 2,000 companies in its pipeline.
What Cherryrock Capital Invests In: Series A and B Software Companies
Unlike firms that deploy capital rapidly, Cherryrock is intentionally measured. The fund plans to make just 12–15 concentrated investments. A year in, it has backed five companies — prioritizing quality, conviction, and long-term value over speed.
Why Underinvested Entrepreneurs Are the Next Venture Opportunity
Her LPs include major institutions like JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, MassMutual, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Pivotal Ventures. Brown-Philpot remains unfazed by political headwinds around diversity initiatives. Her stance is pragmatic: investors expect returns. Backing overlooked founders is not charity, it is opportunity.
Her portfolio reflects that thesis. Cherryrock has invested in companies like Coactive AI, which provides multimodal AI infrastructure to media and entertainment, and Vitable Health, a health insurance platform serving hourly workers, populations often ignored by traditional models.
Brown-Philpot’s philosophy is grounded and honest. Most startups won’t IPO. Many will be acquired. Success is about building durable value, not chasing headlines.
As she looks ahead, her focus remains simple: deploy capital into strong founders who have achieved product-market fit and are ready to scale.
Her words capture the mindset driving Cherryrock:
“Hard things are hard, but we know how to do hard things.”
For the WeAre community, her approach is a reminder that access matters, capital follows conviction, and leadership is about building what others overlook.
the pitch at all,” she said. “When we look at the people who decided to back Cherryrock, like JPMorgan and Bank of America…these are financial institutions who expect to generate a return. Our job as investors is to do just that.”
In addition to those investors, Cherryrock’s LP roster includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management, MassMutual, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Melinda Gates’s Pivotal Ventures. Some of these have stepped back from explicit diversity pledges amid pressure from the Trump administration. Yet Brown-Philpot may find herself in an unexpectedly advantageous position.
Read her full interview on Techcrunch.
