Mode VC
Sean O'Sullivan

Sean O'Sullivan

Managing General Partner atSOSVSan Francisco
Full bioFirm profile

Sean O'Sullivan founded SOSV in 1995 after his first startup went public. He has since grown it into a global venture firm with 10 general partners and major offices worldwide.

What Sean can write

Writes checks of$500K to $1M
Comes in atPre-seedCan lead the round
Ownership target10-12%At first check
Pitch pageSubmit on their siteThe firm asks founders to apply here.

SOSV writes $500K to $1M checks, larger than 71% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms report each check band. Highlighted: SOSV.

Career

  1. MapInfo · founder
    1985
  2. NetCentric · founder
    1996
  3. SOSV · Managing General Partner
    Now
  4. SOSV
    Now
  5. NetCentric
    1996-null
  6. JumpStart International
    2003-2006

Companies founded

SOSVMapInfoNetCentricJumpStart InternationalOpen Ireland

Focus

deep-techventure capitalstartupsstreet mapping technologycloud computinghumanitarian engineering

Education

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bachelors of Science in Electrical EngineeringUniversity of Southern California, Masters of Fine Arts in Film Production

Also at SOSV

Avra van der Zee
Avra van der ZeeGeneral Partner
Cyril Ebersweiler
Cyril EbersweilerGeneral Partner & Managing Director, HAX
Deborah Zajac
Deborah ZajacGeneral Partner
Duncan Turner
Duncan TurnerGeneral Partner & Managing Director, HAX
Mohan S. Iyer
Mohan S. IyerGeneral Partner
Pae Wu
Pae WuGeneral Partner & CTO
Po Bronson
Po BronsonGeneral Partner & Managing Director, SOSV SF
Stephen Chambers
Stephen ChambersGeneral Partner & Managing Director, SOSV NY

Partners like Sean

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

Po BronsonGeneral Partner & Managing Director, SOSV SF, SOSV SF & NY (Fka IndieBio)
Ann DeWitt
Ann DeWittGeneral Partner, The Engine
Jamie RutledgeGeneral Partner, Bluelake
Rick Moss
Rick MossFounding Partner, Better Ventures
Chris McLeod
Chris McLeodManaging Partner, Elm Street Ventures
Matias MosseFounder & Managing Partner, Starlight Ventures

Alert me when SOSV is active

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

Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

Send Mode VC your deck

Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.

Send your deck

Questions

Who is Sean O'Sullivan?

Sean O'Sullivan founded SOSV in 1995 after his first startup went public. He has since grown it into a global venture firm with 10 general partners and major offices worldwide.

How much does Sean O'Sullivan invest?

Sean O'Sullivan invests through SOSV, which writes checks of $500K to $1M at pre-seed.

How do I pitch Sean O'Sullivan?

A warm intro from a founder SOSV backed works best.

What did Sean O'Sullivan do before SOSV?

founder at MapInfo; founder at NetCentric; NetCentric; JumpStart International.

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