# In Sik Rhee

> In Sik Rhee is the Founder and General Partner of Vertex Ventures US, a Palo Alto-based venture firm focused exclusively on early-stage enterprise software. He co-founded two companies that sold for a combined $1.8 billion - Kiva Software (acquired by Netscape in 1997) and Opsware (acquired by HP in 2007 for $1.6 billion) - before transitioning into venture capital. At Vertex Ventures US, he backs pre-revenue founders in enterprise infrastructure, data platforms, and open-source software at the Seed and Series A stages, with notable portfolio wins including LaunchDarkly, Cyberhaven, and Evisort (acquired by Workday).

- **Role:** Founder and General Partner at Vertex Ventures US
- **Organizations:** Vertex Ventures US, UC Berkeley College of Engineering Executive Advisory Board, Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (Advisor), Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded Kiva Software at 24, which created the application server market and was acquired by Netscape for ~$180M, Co-founded Loudcloud/Opsware with Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen; company went public in 2001 and sold to HP for $1.6B, Combined two founding exits totaling approximately $1.8 billion

## Career timeline

- **~1983** — Received first computer at age 12; taught himself programming using library books
- **~1991** — Began developing commercial software at age 19
- **~1992-1994** — Senior Software Engineer at Lotus Development Corporation; developed Approach database product for Windows
- **1995** — Co-founded Kiva Software at age 24 with two IBM engineers; created the application server market, powering early internet sites for E*Trade, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo
- **1997** — Kiva Software acquired by Netscape for approximately $180 million
- **1999** — Co-founded Loudcloud with Ben Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Tim Howes, and Jonathan Heiliger; managed infrastructure for Nike, Adidas, Fox News, USA Today
- **1999** — Brief role as CTO at AOL
- **2001** — Loudcloud IPO'd on NASDAQ
- **2002-2006** — Loudcloud pivoted and rebranded as Opsware, pioneering data center automation software
- **2006-2008** — Venture Partner at Accel Partners; advised early-stage investments including Cloudera, Couchbase, and Facebook
- **2007** — Opsware acquired by HP for $1.6 billion
- **2009-2015** — General Partner at Rembrandt Venture Partners; led investments in A Bit Lucky (acquired by Zynga), CloudOn (acquired by Dropbox), and Ooyala (acquired by Telstra)
- **2014** — Reconnected with Jonathan Heiliger and co-founded Vertex Ventures US, joining the global Vertex Ventures network
- **2015** — Launched Vertex Ventures US (VVUS) officially, focused on Seed and Series A enterprise software
- **2020** — Developed a passion for Formula 1 during the pandemic; built a home sim racing rig inspired by Netflix's Drive to Survive
- **2022** — VVUS raised a new fund ($200M); portfolio includes unicorns LaunchDarkly, Cyberhaven, and Hasura
- **2024** — Workday acquired Evisort, a Vertex Ventures US portfolio company

## Achievements

- Co-founded Kiva Software at 24, which created the application server market and was acquired by Netscape for ~$180M
- Co-founded Loudcloud/Opsware with Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen; company went public in 2001 and sold to HP for $1.6B
- Combined two founding exits totaling approximately $1.8 billion
- Founded Vertex Ventures US, which has backed 4 unicorns including LaunchDarkly, Cyberhaven, and Hasura
- 12 portfolio company acquisitions including Evisort (Workday), CloudOn (Dropbox), and Ooyala (Telstra)
- Serves on UC Berkeley's College of Engineering Executive Advisory Board
- Created Breakfast@Vertex, educational seminars for portfolio founders

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Workday acquired Evisort, a Vertex Ventures US portfolio company where Rhee served on the board
- **2024-01** — Welcomed a new team member to Vertex Ventures US (Simon)
- **2022-09** — Vertex Ventures US raised a $200M fund, marking continued growth of the firm

## Links

- Website: https://vvus.com/team/in-sik-rhee/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/insikrhee
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/vertexvus

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/in-rhee
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Last updated: 2026-05-18