# Matthew Darrow

> Matthew Darrow is the CEO and co-founder of Vivun, the pioneer of AI-powered presales software that has raised $131 million to transform how B2B companies manage their sales engineering function. A former VP at Zuora who witnessed its growth from $7M to $200M ARR and through IPO, Darrow conceived Vivun during a campervan trip through New Zealand, coding the first version from campsite Airbnbs alongside his wife Dominique. Today, Vivun's platform serves customers like Snowflake, Seismic, ADP, and Autodesk, with clients reporting 37% gains in technical win rates and 31% shorter sales cycles.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-Founder at Vivun
- **Organizations:** Vivun, Zuora, Big Machines (Oracle), Deloitte, Forbes Business Council
- **From:** Ohio, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S., University of California, Berkeley, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
- **Known for:** Founded Vivun in 2019 and raised $131M across 4 rounds from Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Global, Accel, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures, Created an entirely new software category: presales operations and AI-powered sales engineering platforms, Grew Vivun to serve enterprise customers including Snowflake, Seismic, ADP, Autodesk, and Coupa

## Career timeline

- **2007-2008** — Completed M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at UCLA
- **2008-2012** — Technology consulting at Deloitte, deploying SAP and enterprise software for state governments
- **2012-2015** — Sales engineering career at Big Machines (acquired by Oracle), rising to senior presales roles
- **2015-2019** — Joined Zuora during Series B; grew with the company through IPO; reached VP of Sales Engineering and VP of Product as Zuora grew from $7M to $200M ARR
- **2018** — Took sabbatical in New Zealand with wife Dominique; coded first Vivun prototype from campsite Airbnbs
- **2019** — Founded Vivun with co-founders John Bruce, Dominique Darrow, and Claire Bruce; raised $3M seed from Unusual Ventures
- **2020** — Navigated company through COVID-19 pandemic; ran fully remote operations before remote work was mainstream
- **2021** — Raised Series A led by Accel; became Forbes Business Council official member (March 2021)
- **2022** — Raised $75M Series C led by Salesforce Ventures with Tiger Global participation, bringing total funding to $131M
- **2022** — Held first Vivun all-company gathering in Chamonix, France after 3 years of fully remote operations
- **2023-2024** — Navigated SVB collapse and AI disruption; pivoted Vivun toward agentic AI sales platform
- **2025** — Launched Ava, an AI sales engineer agent automating presales workflows; pivoted to full AI sales agent platform

## Achievements

- Founded Vivun in 2019 and raised $131M across 4 rounds from Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Global, Accel, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures
- Created an entirely new software category: presales operations and AI-powered sales engineering platforms
- Grew Vivun to serve enterprise customers including Snowflake, Seismic, ADP, Autodesk, and Coupa
- Vivun customers achieve 37% higher technical win rates, 31% shorter sales cycles, and 95% faster pipeline insights
- Forbes Business Council Official Member since March 2021
- Licensed pilot with aerobatic certification for unlimited aerobatic aircraft
- Scaled Zuora from $7M to $200M ARR as a VP-level executive through its 2018 IPO
- Co-authored AI methodology with Chief Data Scientist Joe Miller (former Bridgewater AI programmer) resulting in patented, production-grade AI architecture
- Launched Ava, the first AI sales engineer agent for enterprise B2B teams

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Appeared on Shift & Thrive podcast Episode 027 discussing 'Embracing Change with Agentic AI'
- **2025-01** — Launched Ava, Vivun's AI sales engineer agent that automates presales workflows and demo creation
- **2024-11** — Appeared on Ascend Podcast discussing 'AI Sales Gimmicks vs Gold' - distinguishing genuine AI value from hype
- **2022-05** — Closed $75M Series C led by Salesforce Ventures with Tiger Global, bringing total raised to $131M
- **2022-01** — Held first all-company in-person gathering in Chamonix, France

## Links

- Website: https://vivun.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdarrow
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Vivun_Inc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/matthew-darrow
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-12