# Paul Weinstein

> Paul Weinstein is the Founder, General Partner, and COO of Azure Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm he founded in 2000 with over $750 million under management across 8 funds and more than 200 investments. A former top-ranked Wall Street equity research analyst covering data communications at firms including Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank, Paul transitioned from sell-side analyst to VC investor and has backed transformative technology companies including Docker, VMware, Salesforce (via Prediction.io), and Calix. He focuses on early and mid-stage ventures in cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, AI, and communications technology across North America.

- **Role:** Founder, General Partner & COO at Azure Capital Partners
- **Organizations:** Azure Capital Partners, Ericsson North American Advisory Board, Citrix Startup Accelerator Advisory Board
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Finance (graduated with highest honors), Babson College, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), CFA Institute
- **Known for:** Founded Azure Capital Partners in 2000 - now manages $750M+ across 8 funds with 203 investments and 51 exits, Top-ranked equity research analyst (Institutional Investor & Greenwich Associates) for five consecutive years: 1995-1999, Early investor in VMware, Docker, Calix, and Ginkgo Bioworks

## Career timeline

- **late 1980s** — Senior Vice President, Equity Research Analyst at Kidder Peabody, covering Data Communications and Data Storage (New York/Boston)
- **early-mid 1990s** — Managing Director at Paine Webber, equity research analyst covering data communications and network equipment (New York/San Francisco)
- **mid-late 1990s** — Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Securities, equity research covering data communications and network equipment (San Francisco)
- **1995-1999** — Top-ranked analyst for five consecutive years in Institutional Investor and Greenwich Associates surveys
- **late 1990s-2000** — Managing Director and communications equipment analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), San Francisco
- **2000** — Founded Azure Capital Partners in San Francisco
- **2000-present** — Founder, General Partner & COO at Azure Capital Partners; built firm to $750M+ AUM across 8 funds

## Achievements

- Founded Azure Capital Partners in 2000 - now manages $750M+ across 8 funds with 203 investments and 51 exits
- Top-ranked equity research analyst (Institutional Investor & Greenwich Associates) for five consecutive years: 1995-1999
- Early investor in VMware, Docker, Calix, and Ginkgo Bioworks
- Backed Prediction.io (acquired by Salesforce) and Tutum (acquired by Docker)
- Portfolio includes 2 unicorns: Eight Sleep and Docker
- Built Azure Capital Partners into a multi-office firm with presence in San Francisco, Menlo Park, Miami, and Calgary
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation
- Graduated with highest honors from Babson College

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Azure Capital Partners participated in Glydways Series C ($170M) funding round
- **2025-08** — Chairish (Azure portfolio company) exited
- **2024-11** — Selector raised $33M Series B with Azure participation; GXC acquired by Motive Companies
- **2024-03** — Pliant acquired by IBM - Azure portfolio exit
- **2024-01** — Azure Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I ($10.15M) active

## Links

- Website: https://azurecap.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulweinstein
- Twitter/X: http://twitter.com/azurecap

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paul-weinstein
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17