Proven Tech Visionary and Investor Joins Finistere to Drive Early Stage Investment in the Newly Closed Finistere Ventures Fund III
PALO ALTO, CA — November 11, 2021— Finistere Ventures today announced the appointment of Dr. Steve Goldberg, a seasoned technology executive and investor, as a partner. Dr. Goldberg brings decades of investment and technology leadership experience to his new role and will help lead Finistere Ventures’ efforts to find, invest and grow disruptive innovators across the food value chain.
“Massive shifts are happening across all industries as we try to navigate global market pressures, changing consumer demands and existing infrastructure limitations; the food value chain is by no means immune,” said Goldberg. “Finistere has been a leader in this change, and I could not pass up the opportunity to invest alongside Spencer Maughan. I am looking forward to working with the entire Finistere Ventures team to help accelerate the change needed to improve the food supply chain.”
Having backed companies now valued at over $5 billion, the Finistere Ventures team includes an expansive network of investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and industry pioneers with established offices in Palo Alto and San Diego. With the addition of Dr. Goldberg, who has helped guide high growth companies leading to over $40B in technology value, Finistere strengthens its deep bench of technology leaders and gains a proven investment authority.
After working with Finistere Ventures Co-Founder and Managing Partner Spencer Maughan in his previous VC role, Goldberg will now work hand-in-hand with Dr. Maughan to support Finistere Funds and lead investments from the newly closed Finistere Ventures Fund III (FV Fund III), which will focus on pre-A and Series A tech investments that will define the changing food value chain. Dr. Goldberg will provide strategic, operational and governance guidance for current portfolio companies. He will also take a lead role in guiding early-stage portfolio companies as they navigate periods of intense team expansion, product development, intellectual property protections and proof of concept.
“As we close the Finistere Ventures Fund III and embark on the next chapter of the Finistere investing legacy, having Steve Goldberg on our team will further our ability to fully capitalize on the acceleration of the food value chain digital transformation,” added Maughan. “Our shared history and complementary skill set will prove incredibly valuable to our extended global team, current portfolio companies, and the innovative entrepreneurs we hope to welcome to the Finistere family as we continue our mission to drive a more sustainable agrifood ecosystem in the years ahead.”
With a passion for wireless communications, 5G, IoT, embedded systems and robotics, Goldberg spent a decade as an operating partner at venture capital powerhouse Venrock where he served on the boards of a number of companies including Lucid Motors (NASDAQ: LCID) and Quantenna (Acquired by ON Semiconductor, NASDAQ: ON), and as a board observer at Shape Security (Acquired by F5 Networks, NASDAQ: FFIV). Prior to Venrock, he was a serial CEO at CoWave Networks (Arcwave), DataRunway, Inc., Verticom, Inc., and Vidient Systems. He also served in various business leadership and R&D roles at Cylink Corporation (P-Com), Nokia Internet Communications and Trimble Navigation, after starting his career in senior engineering positions at Applied Signal Technology, Hewlett Packard, and California Microwave. He holds a Ph.D. E.E. degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and M.S.E.E. and B.S.E.E degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a Life Member of the IEEE and a past president of the IEEE Communications Society, Santa Clara Section.
Based in the Silicon Valley office, Goldberg will join the board of Taranis (a Finistere portfolio company) and focus on new investments in AI, IoT, and other technology-driven companies.
About Finistere Ventures
Finistere Ventures is a leading venture capital investor with a focus on the Food Value Chain. Finistere has established offices in Palo Alto and San Diego with additional operations in Ireland, Israel and Australasia. Its team has developed and invested in some of the most innovative companies of the last 20 years—building and backing companies worth more than $5 billion. Visit Finistere.com.
