# Sara Ittelson

> Sara Ittelson is a Partner at Accel, the global venture capital firm, where she invests in early-stage AI, consumer, enterprise, and SMB technology companies. Before joining Accel in 2022, she spent four years at Faire as Head of Strategic Partnerships, helping the wholesale marketplace grow from a $535M to a $12.4B valuation, and four years at Uber spanning ride-share and Uber Eats. A Stanford MBA and GSE alum originally from Chico, California, Sara brings a rare blend of operator grit and investor acuity to founders building category-defining companies.

- **Role:** Partner at Accel
- **Organizations:** Accel, Faire, Uber, Knewton, Chicago Public Schools, McKinsey & Company
- **From:** Chico, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Stevenson School, BS, Northwestern University, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business, MA in Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education
- **Known for:** Partner at Accel, one of the world's leading venture capital firms, Helped Faire grow from $535M to $12.4B valuation as Head of Strategic Partnerships, Named to Gift + Stationery '40 Under 40' Class of 2021

## Career timeline

- **2007** — Joined McKinsey & Company as Consultant
- **2009** — Became Chief of Staff to Chief Performance Officer at Chicago Public Schools
- **2010** — Started dual MBA/MA program at Stanford GSB and GSE
- **2011** — Joined Knewton as Director of Global Business Development (EdTech startup)
- **2015** — Joined Uber for Global Business Development across ride-share and Uber Eats
- **2019** — Joined Faire as Head of Strategic Partnerships; company grew from $535M to $12.4B valuation during tenure
- **2021** — Named to Gift + Stationery '40 Under 40' Class of 2021
- **2022** — Joined Accel as Partner, focusing on AI, consumer, enterprise, and SMB technology

## Achievements

- Partner at Accel, one of the world's leading venture capital firms
- Helped Faire grow from $535M to $12.4B valuation as Head of Strategic Partnerships
- Named to Gift + Stationery '40 Under 40' Class of 2021
- Judge at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 Startup Battlefield
- Speaker at HumanX 2025 and 2026 AI Conferences
- Board member at AssemblyAI, Cinder, depthfirst, Minoan, Syrup, and Venue
- Led Accel's $40M Series A investment in depthfirst (cybersecurity AI)
- Collaborated with Anthropic and Perplexity to run Stanford founder hackathon

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Speaking at HumanX 2026 Conference (April 6-9, San Francisco)
- **2026-03** — Portfolio company depthfirst raised $80M Series B
- **2026-01** — Led Accel's $40M Series A in depthfirst, AI-powered cybersecurity platform
- **2024-01** — Featured in Bloomberg Technology interview arguing AI is 'under-hyped'
- **2023-09** — Served as judge at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 Startup Battlefield

## Links

- Website: https://www.accel.com/team/sara-ittelson
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saraittelson/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/SaraIttelson
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sittelson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ittelson/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sara-ittelson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-25