
Investments
1218Portfolio Exits
294Funds
18Partners & Customers
5Service Providers
2About Norwest Venture Partners
Norwest Venture Partners is a global venture capital and growth equity investment firm. The firm targets early to late stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare.

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Latest Norwest Venture Partners News
Jun 1, 2023
Why generative AI is not a replacement for marketers...whatever the cost-conscious CEO might think! Bookmark icon Summary: It's coming to steal away your jobs! Or is it? Why generative AI can help marketers, but not replace them. Comment bubble icon There is a mixed reaction to generative AI in the marketing department. Some see it as a way to cut costs (and headcount), while others see it as a supportive technology to enable marketers to spend more time on the creative aspects of their work. The real answer leans more towards the second option, but that doesn't mean it's cut and dry for companies. A recent survey by Norwest Venture Partners gives us some insights into how marketers are using generative AI and what concerns they have. Lisa Ames, Principal, CMO & Operating Executive at Norwest, discussed the survey results with me and her thinking on the value of generative AI. Marketers are looking for answers Ames spent most of her career working for B2B SaaS companies, but now works with Portfolio companies in the enterprise space at Norwest. She helps marketers with whatever they need to succeed, from strategy and ideation, through board prep and hiring, to even playing a fractional CMO role. Many portfolio leaders and marketers were coming to her and asking for help because the CEO wanted to fire the content team and replace them with ChatGPT (or some other generative AI tool). Her response was to hold a marketing huddle with Barak Turovsky, an AI expert and former Google employee. They brought the community together to discuss generative AI and work to create a "talk track" that would help show the CEO that ChatGPT is not a replacement for marketing people. Convincing the CEO of this was only part of the discussions during the huddle. The marketers came with a lot of other questions on how to best take advantage of generative AI and ended up trading ideas and, in some cases, becoming more open to the bigger opportunities it offers. Ames found it to be a great event, but people were still left with many questions, so they decided to run a survey with a broader group to get the answers they were looking for. I asked Ames if any of the marketers at the event shared the mindset of the CEO. She said no marketer, regardless of their ChatGPT experience, wants to let go of headcount. Instead, they think of other places to deploy people. For marketers, she said, generative AI was additive. Marketers are excited about generative AI… The more you play with generative AI tools, the more you start thinking about all the use cases for it that help marketing, Ames said. She argued that it helps marketers approach problems in unique ways and can open their minds to angles they may not have thought about before. You could equate it to sharing your work with a colleague and getting their feedback, she suggested: And if someone can just give you something that gets you part of the way down the field, you can always apply your creativity, your editing skills, your expertise to refine it. In the Norwest survey, 93% of marketers said they were using generative AI (66% used ChatGPT), with 38% being active users working with AI one to four days a week on average. Nineteen percent considered themselves advanced users using it five plus days a week, some even multiple times a day. What are they using it for? There are a lot of use cases. In this survey, the most common usage was text generation (77%), followed by search (63%) and editing assistance (44%). There was also some use of image and video creation tools. Overall, 60% said they saved time using generative AI, an average improved output of about 25%. But others - 24% - said it didn't save them time. That could reflect not understanding how to best prompt the AI, or it could be that even though AI is helpful, it doesn't always speed up a process, instead shifting where the marketer focuses the most effort. …but there are still concerns As per the survey results, marketers are worried about the accuracy and quality control of AI produced content. So they might save time creating base content they can edit and do more creative work with, but then they have to double-check and make sure that base content is accurate and isn't accidentally sounding a lot like what another competitor says. Ames agreed, but said that the concerns were more about copyright in the huddle session. For example, what percentage must be edited by the company to qualify as their work? Another big concern is the lack of regulations and company policies around generative AI use. Ames said data privacy was a huge topic of concern for marketers at the event (and in the survey). She said people don't know enough, and it's stirring up fear. Regarding policies, Ames was surprised so few organizations had some in place. But she also acknowledged that marketers aren't responsible for policy development and that many didn't know if there were plans in progress. I would argue that while policy development isn't the marketer's purview, when policies affect how they work they should have a say in what's developed, making it their responsibility. Ames said she attended another session with marketers at a portfolio company, and several said they did have policies in place. The ones that did were larger companies. That raises the question of whether there is different thinking based on company size or type. Ames said the themes were consistent across all respondents, for the most part. However, there were noticeable differences around policy development and bans on AI use. Again, these were more reflective of larger companies. Convincing the CEO of the best path forward So if generative AI is not a replacement for marketing people, including content writers, how do you convince the CEO it is not a replacement for people. Ames argued: Show them the use cases. You know, how this is what you know, this is what I put in, this is what I got out from a prompt, and then this is what I put into it to get it over the finish line. And so I think the more people can see examples of how you're using it, what its limitations are, and what its opportunities are, then I think it grounds it a bit more it makes it more real. As CEOs and other members of the C-suite use ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, Ames believes they will see that while it can do many great things, it can't do everything. My take I did not use generative AI to write this article ( see also diginomica’s policy statement here! ). However, I used my faithful Grammarly to make sure my grammar was correct (although I don't always accept the ‘corrected’ version). But I have tested a few generative AI tools. I see the advantages of using it to help with ideation and even creating rough drafts of sections of text that I can then edit and improve (sometimes even completely rewriting). I don't believe we can ignore this technology. It's here, and it does bring benefits. But marketers must use it wisely to improve productivity and efficiency. Getting the right processes understood and in place will help convince the CEO and the rest of the executive team that it's not a replacement for people, and Ames's suggestion of showing them and even getting them to use it makes a lot of sense. Image credit - Pixabay
Norwest Venture Partners Investments
1,218 Investments
Norwest Venture Partners has made 1,218 investments. Their latest investment was in Neura Health as part of their Seed VC - III on May 5, 2023.

Norwest Venture Partners Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5/17/2023 | Seed VC - III | Neura Health | $8M | No | 3 | |
5/16/2023 | Series A | Ray Therapeutics | $100M | Yes | 2 | |
5/16/2023 | Series C | Spiff | $50M | No | Album VC, Kickstart Fund, Lightspeed, Norwest Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Undisclosed Investors | 9 |
5/2/2023 | Series D | |||||
4/11/2023 | Series B |
Date | 5/17/2023 | 5/16/2023 | 5/16/2023 | 5/2/2023 | 4/11/2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Seed VC - III | Series A | Series C | Series D | Series B |
Company | Neura Health | Ray Therapeutics | Spiff | ||
Amount | $8M | $100M | $50M | ||
New? | No | Yes | No | ||
Co-Investors | Album VC, Kickstart Fund, Lightspeed, Norwest Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Undisclosed Investors | ||||
Sources | 3 | 2 | 9 |
Norwest Venture Partners Portfolio Exits
294 Portfolio Exits
Norwest Venture Partners has 294 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was PolicyGenius on April 25, 2023.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4/25/2023 | Acquired | 13 | |||
3/1/2023 | Acquired | 1 | |||
1/13/2023 | Acq - Pending | 1 | |||
Date | 4/25/2023 | 3/1/2023 | 1/13/2023 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | Acquired | Acq - Pending | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | |||||
Sources | 13 | 1 | 1 |
Norwest Venture Partners Acquisitions
14 Acquisitions
Norwest Venture Partners acquired 14 companies. Their latest acquisition was Face Reality on September 15, 2022.
Date | Investment Stage | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Total Funding | Note | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9/15/2022 | Acq - Fin | 1 | ||||
7/8/2019 | Other Venture Capital | $30M | Acq - Fin - II | 2 | ||
5/9/2018 | Series A | $0.64M | Acq - Fin | 1 | ||
6/2/2015 | Debt | |||||
4/21/2015 | Other Venture Capital |
Date | 9/15/2022 | 7/8/2019 | 5/9/2018 | 6/2/2015 | 4/21/2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Investment Stage | Other Venture Capital | Series A | Debt | Other Venture Capital | |
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Total Funding | $30M | $0.64M | |||
Note | Acq - Fin | Acq - Fin - II | Acq - Fin | ||
Sources | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Norwest Venture Partners Fund History
18 Fund Histories
Norwest Venture Partners has 18 funds, including Norwest Venture Partners XVI.
Closing Date | Fund | Fund Type | Status | Amount | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/14/2021 | Norwest Venture Partners XVI | $3,000M | 1 | ||
11/14/2019 | Norwest Venture Partners XV | Multi-Stage Venture Capital | Closed | $2,000M | 3 |
2/14/2018 | Norwest Venture Partners XIV | Multi-Stage Venture Capital | Closed | $1,500M | 2 |
1/20/2016 | Norwest Venture Partners XIII | ||||
5/13/2014 | Norwest Venture Partners XII |
Closing Date | 12/14/2021 | 11/14/2019 | 2/14/2018 | 1/20/2016 | 5/13/2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fund | Norwest Venture Partners XVI | Norwest Venture Partners XV | Norwest Venture Partners XIV | Norwest Venture Partners XIII | Norwest Venture Partners XII |
Fund Type | Multi-Stage Venture Capital | Multi-Stage Venture Capital | |||
Status | Closed | Closed | |||
Amount | $3,000M | $2,000M | $1,500M | ||
Sources | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Norwest Venture Partners Partners & Customers
5 Partners and customers
Norwest Venture Partners has 5 strategic partners and customers. Norwest Venture Partners recently partnered with Face Reality on September 9, 2022.
Date | Type | Business Partner | Country | News Snippet | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9/15/2022 | Partner | United States | 09:00 EDT Face Reality Skincare Charts Path for Growth Through New Partnership with Norwest `` Our partnership with Norwest Venture Partners allows us to increase support of our current channels , especially for our estheticians , and at the same time , continue to deliver the innovative new products our customers have come to love , '' said Jeremy Soine , CEO of Face Reality since 2020 . | 1 | |
1/13/2020 | Partner | ||||
9/14/2017 | Vendor | ||||
3/6/2014 | Partner | ||||
2/11/2013 | Partner |
Date | 9/15/2022 | 1/13/2020 | 9/14/2017 | 3/6/2014 | 2/11/2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Partner | Partner | Vendor | Partner | Partner |
Business Partner | |||||
Country | United States | ||||
News Snippet | 09:00 EDT Face Reality Skincare Charts Path for Growth Through New Partnership with Norwest `` Our partnership with Norwest Venture Partners allows us to increase support of our current channels , especially for our estheticians , and at the same time , continue to deliver the innovative new products our customers have come to love , '' said Jeremy Soine , CEO of Face Reality since 2020 . | ||||
Sources | 1 |
Norwest Venture Partners Service Providers
2 Service Providers
Norwest Venture Partners has 2 service provider relationships
Service Provider | Associated Rounds | Provider Type | Service Type |
---|---|---|---|
Counsel | General Counsel | ||
Service Provider | ||
---|---|---|
Associated Rounds | ||
Provider Type | Counsel | |
Service Type | General Counsel |
Partnership data by VentureSource
Norwest Venture Partners Team
22 Team Members
Norwest Venture Partners has 22 team members, including current Chief Financial Officer, Matthew De Dominicis.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Matthew De Dominicis | Highland Capital Partners, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Ernst & Young | Chief Financial Officer | Current |
Name | Matthew De Dominicis | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | Highland Capital Partners, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Ernst & Young | ||||
Title | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Status | Current |
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