# Joe Horowitz

> Joe Horowitz is the founder and Managing General Partner of Icon Ventures, a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm with over $1.4 billion in assets under management. With more than four decades in venture investing - beginning with the seed financing of Sun Microsystems - Horowitz has backed iconic technology companies across cybersecurity, digital health, and enterprise software. He built Icon into a disciplined growth-stage firm focused on Series B and C, built on the belief that human capital is more precious than financial capital.

- **Role:** Managing General Partner at Icon Ventures
- **Organizations:** Icon Ventures, PLAYSTUDIOS Inc., National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MBA, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, BA, Economics, Columbia University, Additional studies, Columbia University School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
- **Known for:** Founded Icon Ventures in 2003, growing it from $100M to $1.4B+ in assets under management, Participated in seed financing of Sun Microsystems at USVP in 1982, Backed cybersecurity giants FireEye (FEYE), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), and Proofpoint (PFPT) before the category took off

## Career timeline

- **1982** — Joined U.S. Venture Partners (USVP); first deal was seed financing of Sun Microsystems
- **1982-1992** — 10-year tenure at U.S. Venture Partners
- **1992** — Moved to Exxon Enterprises for venture investment work
- **~1995** — Became Chairman and CEO of Geocast Network Systems (broadband infrastructure, backed by Mayfield, Kleiner Perkins, IVP)
- **2003** — Founded Icon Ventures in Palo Alto
- **2017** — Joined NVCA Board of Directors
- **2017** — Icon Ventures closes fund (Last Raised At 2017-10-01)
- **2018** — Spoke publicly about megafunds and Icon's strategy on CNBC
- **2020** — Speaker at Stanford NVCA Venture Capital Symposium
- **2021** — Appointed Independent Director at PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYPS)
- **2021** — Departed NVCA Board; joined NVCA Alumni Council
- **2025** — Continues as Managing General Partner at Icon Ventures, now with $1.4B+ AUM

## Achievements

- Founded Icon Ventures in 2003, growing it from $100M to $1.4B+ in assets under management
- Participated in seed financing of Sun Microsystems at USVP in 1982
- Backed cybersecurity giants FireEye (FEYE), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), and Proofpoint (PFPT) before the category took off
- Achieved 16+ successful portfolio exits including acquisitions by Google, Twitter, Fox, Dell, and Cloudflare
- Board member and advisor at PLAYSTUDIOS (NASDAQ: MYPS)
- Former NVCA Board Member (2017-2021), now serves on NVCA Alumni Council
- Speaker at Stanford NVCA Venture Capital Symposium 2020

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Icon Ventures updated website with new team photos and content
- **2021-06** — Appointed Independent Director at PLAYSTUDIOS, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYPS)
- **2021** — Transitioned from NVCA Board of Directors to NVCA Alumni Council
- **2018-10** — Spoke to CNBC about Icon Ventures' fund expansion strategy in the era of megafunds

## Links

- Website: https://iconventures.com/members/joe-horowitz/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-horowitz-6b54b9b
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/joethevc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/pages/Icon-Ventures/1403615393270999

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