Veteran Growth Investor Behind Clay, Datadog, DoorDash, Kalshi, Snowflake, and Other Category-Defining Companies Joins Menlo’s Inflection Team

Alex Kurland

Alex Kurland, Partner, Menlo Ventures

MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Menlo Ventures, a leading venture capital firm investing at the forefront of AI, today announced that Alex Kurland has joined the firm as a Partner on its Inflection team, where he will help lead the firm’s growth-stage investing practice. Kurland will focus on AI-native companies across infrastructure, software, and financial technology.

Kurland joins Menlo after more than a decade investing in some of technology’s most consequential companies. Previously a partner at Meritech and Kleiner Perkins, he was responsible for investments in Clay, Datadog, DoorDash, Kalshi, Looker, OpenEvidence, Slack, Snowflake, and UiPath.

Backing the Next Generation of Breakout Companies

Kurland’s arrival comes at a pivotal moment in the AI era, as a new generation of founders brings disruptive ideas and new approaches to transform industries and reshape how work gets done. His addition also reflects Menlo’s deepening commitment to partnering with founders who have the ambition to build enduring companies.

“AI is creating one of the most exciting periods for company building we’ve seen, and the opportunity extends across every layer of the technology stack,” said Kurland. “I’ve always gravitated toward highly technical, ambitious founders with the potential to build generational companies. Menlo has an exceptional track record of identifying those founders early and supporting them as they scale, and I’m humbled to join such an accomplished team.”

Throughout his career, Kurland has focused on identifying breakout companies and partnering with founders through critical stages of growth. Central to his investing philosophy is a belief that people and talent are the atomic unit of every generational company, and that in an increasingly competitive environment, the strongest companies are built around missions capable of attracting the people who can shape the future.

“Alex is an exceptional investor who has consistently identified category defining companies,” said Matt Murphy, Partner at Menlo Ventures. “We’ve known and worked with Alex for over a decade and have seen firsthand the judgment, conviction, hustle, and founder-first approach he brings to investing. As AI creates an entirely new generation of breakout opportunities, adding Alex to the team significantly strengthens our ability to partner with the very best founders as they scale generational companies.”

Building for Menlo’s Next Chapter

Kurland joins Menlo as the firm continues to expand its ability to support companies from inception through growth. In June, Menlo announced $3 billion in new capital to back promising AI companies at every stage.

As a member of the Inflection team, Kurland will help lead Menlo’s growth-stage investing practice, bringing deep experience identifying emerging category leaders and partnering with founders as they build enduring companies.

About Menlo Ventures

Menlo Ventures is a leading early-stage venture capital firm investing at the forefront of AI. Our portfolio includes more than 85 public companies and over 170 exits through mergers and acquisitions. Currently managing more than $8.5 billion in capital, we invest at every stage across consumer, enterprise, and healthcare. Our portfolio companies include Abnormal AI, Anthropic, Axiom, Carta, Chai Discovery, Chime, Harness, Lovable, OpenEvidence, Poshmark, Recursion, Roku, Rover, Siri, Suno, and Uber. We strive to have a positive impact on everything we do. When we’re in, we’re ALL IN, and we are ALL IN on AI.

www.menlovc.com
@MenloVentures

Media Contact:
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact menlo@nectarpr.com.

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