# Jake Saper

> Jake Saper is a General Partner at Emergence Capital, the San Francisco-based venture firm that backed Zoom, Salesforce, and Veeva before the rest of the world caught on. Over a decade at Emergence, he has become one of the loudest and most credible voices on AI-native services — companies that combine human expertise with AI to displace the $200B consulting industry. His 2024 essay 'The Death of Deloitte' earned him a cease-and-desist from Deloitte and a loyal readership of founders rebuilding professional services from scratch. A Yale and Stanford-trained operator-turned-investor, he grew up in Austin watching serial-entrepreneur parents build companies, started his own career selling rocks door-to-door from a Radio Flyer wagon, and today holds board seats at category-defining enterprise companies while maintaining a side career as a self-described 'mediocre guitar player.'

- **Role:** General Partner at Emergence Capital
- **Organizations:** Emergence Capital, Kauffman Fellows (Class 2015-2017)
- **From:** Austin, Texas, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. in Political Science and International Studies (magna cum laude), Yale University, MBA (Arjay Miller Scholar), Stanford University, M.S. in Environment and Resources, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Promoted to General Partner at Emergence Capital in 2020 (sixth GP in firm history), Led Emergence's 2014 Zoom investment, which returned 16x distribution multiple, Authored 'The Death of Deloitte' — one of the most-discussed VC essays of 2024

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Launched solar projects across emerging markets
- **Early career** — Management consulting — honed deep love of frameworks
- **ca. 2013** — Joined Kleiner Perkins as venture investor
- **ca. 2014** — Joined Emergence Capital; led due diligence on Zoom investment
- **2015-2017** — Completed Kauffman Fellows program
- **2016** — Co-authored Emergence's thesis on AI Coaching Networks
- **2020** — Promoted to General Partner at Emergence Capital (sixth GP at the firm)
- **2024** — Published 'The Death of Deloitte' essay; received cease-and-desist from Deloitte
- **2024** — Authored AI-Native Services Playbook
- **2025** — Closed Emergence's Fund VII at $575M
- **2026** — Led investments in Bedrock Robotics (Series B, $270M round) and Rowspace (Series A, $50M)

## Achievements

- Promoted to General Partner at Emergence Capital in 2020 (sixth GP in firm history)
- Led Emergence's 2014 Zoom investment, which returned 16x distribution multiple
- Authored 'The Death of Deloitte' — one of the most-discussed VC essays of 2024
- Co-authored Emergence's 2016 AI Coaching Networks thesis
- Kauffman Fellow (Class 2015-2017)
- Arjay Miller Scholar at Stanford GSB
- Graduated magna cum laude from Yale
- Active board director at 15+ portfolio companies including Guru, Ironclad, Regal, Unify, Mechanical Orchard, DroneDeploy
- Ranks in top 1% of LinkedIn creators worldwide and top 3% in venture capital globally
- Part of Emergence team that invested $2B and returned $8B in cash from portfolio including Salesforce, Zoom, Veeva, Bill.com

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Led Emergence's participation in Hanover Park's $27M Series A
- **2026-02** — Led Emergence's participation in Bedrock Robotics' Series B ($270M round) and Rowspace's $50M Series A
- **2025-07** — Led Emergence's participation in Unify's $40M Series B
- **2025-03** — Emergence Capital closed Fund VII at $575M
- **2024-04** — Published 'The Death of Deloitte' essay; received cease-and-desist from Deloitte
- **2024-02** — Led Emergence's Series A investment in Mechanical Orchard ($24M)

## Links

- Website: https://emcap.com/people/jake-saper
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakesaper/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/jakesaper
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/emergencecapitalpartners/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jake-saper
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18