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Darren Liccardo

Cofounder and Managing Director atCatapult VenturesFirm active Oct 13Silicon Valley
LinkedIn Catapult Ventures websiteFirm profile

Darren Liccardo is an engineering executive with experience in aerospace and automotive industries, focusing on autonomous systems. He co-founded Catapult Ventures and previously held leadership roles at DJI, Tesla, BMW, and Crossbow Technology.

What Darren can write

Writes checks of$250K to $3MEstimate
Comes in atSeed, Series ALead preference not reported
Pitch pageSubmit on their siteThe firm asks founders to apply here.

Catapult Ventures writes $250K to $3M checks, larger than 33% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: Catapult Ventures.

Career

  1. Crossbow Technology · Director of Inertial Systems
  2. BMW Technology Office · led North American autonomous driving research
  3. Tesla · founding Director of Autopilot engineering group
  4. DJI · VP of engineering
  5. Catapult Ventures
    Now
  6. BMW Technology Office · Leader of North American autonomous driving research
  7. Catapult Ventures · Cofounder and Managing Director
    Now

Companies founded

Catapult Ventures

Investments named in public bios

Starsky RoboticsSwift NavigationBarajaAuro RoboticsDeepscalePolysyncRightHook

Focus

autonomous systemsaerospaceautomotiveroboticssensing

Education

UC Berkeley

Also at Catapult Ventures

Rouz JazayeriCo-Founder and Managing Director
Rob CarrollManaging Director
Gareth KingLife Science Partner, GM&C Life Sciences Fund

Partners like Darren

At firms with a similar stage, sector and check size.

Dan Kerr
Dan KerrManaging Partner, Flyover Capital
Joanna Drake
Joanna DrakeCo-Founder & Managing Partner, Magnify Ventures
Andy Will
Andy WillGeneral Partner, Motivate Venture Capital
Paul Lacerte
Paul LacerteChief Purpose Officer, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners
John Stokes
John StokesManaging Partner, Real Ventures
Lan Xuezhao
Lan XuezhaoFounder & Managing Partner, Basis Set Ventures

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One email when Darren's firm raises a fund, adds a partner or shows new activity.

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Questions

Who is Darren Liccardo?

Darren Liccardo is an engineering executive with experience in aerospace and automotive industries, focusing on autonomous systems. He co-founded Catapult Ventures and previously held leadership roles at DJI, Tesla, BMW, and Crossbow Technology.

How much does Darren Liccardo invest?

Darren Liccardo invests through Catapult Ventures, which writes checks of $250K to $3M at seed, series a.

How do I pitch Darren Liccardo?

A warm intro from a founder Catapult Ventures backed works best. A short LinkedIn note with one line on traction is the next best route.

What did Darren Liccardo do before Catapult Ventures?

Director of Inertial Systems at Crossbow Technology; led North American autonomous driving research at BMW Technology Office; founding Director of Autopilot engineering group at Tesla; VP of engineering at DJI; Leader of North American autonomous driving research at BMW Technology Office.

Last updated 2026-10-15. Is this you? Ask for a correction.