TeamInvestmentOfficeMenlo Park
Steve
Schlenker
Steve co-founded DN Capital in June 2000 and is currently Managing Partner, running the firm's US operations.
Investment sectors
FintechSoftwareConsumer InternetMarketplaceHealthcare
Biography
Steve is a Managing Partner of DN Capital, which he co-founded with Nenad in 2000. He has been investing in venture capital and private equity since 1990.
Steve currently oversees DN Capital’s US investment strategy and co-leads the firm’s AI strategy. He led and was on the board of DN Capital portfolio company Auto1 (Frankfurt IPO), led and was board observer for DN Capital portfolio company Remitly (Nasdaq IPO), and led and was board observer for DN Capital portfolio company Endeca (acquired by Oracle), all exits of over $1 billion and collectively over $550 million of DN LP value creation.
Other portfolio companies of his include Brigit, Datanomic, Futureplay, MEXT, Robin Systems, and Yottaa (all successful trade sales), and private companies Sanas and RecargaPay, amongst others.
Prior to DN Capital, Steve led technology investments for the family office SUN Capital Partners, and began his career at the buyout firm Interlaken Capital. Steve has an MBA from Harvard with high distinction where he was a Baker Scholar and has an BS in economics from Wharton where he graduated summa cum laude. Steve is a regular guest lecturer at Stanford on venture capital and mentors Stanford undergraduate and graduate students in courses on entrepreneurship.
Select investments
EndecaMakes enterprise data discoverable: guided navigation and search for e-commerce.$ billion+ acquisition (Oracle)Enterprise SearchRemitlyTransforms lives by making sending money home fast, fair, and digital.$7 billion IPO (NASDAQ)Cross-border paymentsSanasThe world’s first real-time accent translation technology.$ billion+ valuationVoice AIAuto1Europe's digital infrastructure for buying and selling used cars.$10 billion IPO (MDAX)MarketplaceIncodeTrust layer for the AI era: verifies that people, content, and agents are who they claim to be.$ billion+ valuationIdentity verificationMEXTMEXT's predictive memory software enables transparent auto-tiering of memory pages.SoftwareBrigitConsumer finance platform offering budgeting tools and flexible short-term cash advances.AcquiredFintechRobin SystemsEnterprise software optimizing infrastructure performance and costs for big data systems.AcquiredSoftwareAcceptAccept Inc. is the first iLender, “technology-enabled lender”, that gives people a way to submit all-cash offers on a home upon qualifying for a mortgage.AcquiredFintechAforzaLeading Industry Cloud empowering Consumer Goods companies to sell more and grow faster.SoftwareAibidiaAibidia is a ground-breaking platform that is revolutionising transfer pricing for multinational.SoftwareDatanomicFounded in 2001, Datanomic was a UK-based software company providing an end-to-end data quality tool kit encompassing, data profiling, auditing, cleansing and matching through a single graphical user interface and all written in Java. Most successful of these was its Watchlist Screening application (in support of compliance with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism know-your-customer regulation), which was adopted by clients including Barclays Bank, Bank of America, MetLife and Vodafone.AcquiredSoftwareDigitalmotorsSoftware-as-a-Service platform that enables traditional off-line car retailers to complete a car sale, including complex loan or lease financing, on-line.AcquiredSoftwareEvidentlyCognitive A.I. Platform for Healthcare.Enterprise AIFuturePlay GamesInnovative mobile gaming studio revolutionizing the view to play modelAcquiredConsumer InternetKanaLagan Technologies, part of KANA Software, provides government to citizen technology that is claimed to enable governments and citizens to communicate more effectively. Lagan has over 200 public sector customers worldwide. Lagan’s solutions for government Customer Relationship Management and Enterprise Case Management are offered through several delivery methods including on-premise, on-demand and hosted.AcquiredSoftwareLoop GenomicsPlatform technology for long-read DNA sequencing.AcquiredHealthcareMcMaklerMcMakler develops an online real estate marketing platform designed to bring a new level of service quality, pricing and corporate presentation into the real estate sector. The company's online real estate marketing platform combines digital analysis, marketing and communication technologies with the personal advice of its customers through its own local brokers, enabling landlords, real estate agents and people to take advantage of centralized marketing.AcquiredMarketplaceOmbudOmbud Inc is an enterprise software company that helps CIOs determine which technologies are most appropriate for their enterprises to procure. The intention is to replace third party consultancies such as Gartner and Forrester with a software solution, thereby saving companies both time and money, while also finding solutions that are more appropriate to the specific circumstances of that company.SoftwareParallelParallel Wireless is a software company for cellular edge-of-network software and related hardware/services.SoftwarePartnerizePartnerize provides technology and services to more than 300 of the world's largest brands. The Company has developed a leading-edge partner marketing platform (PMP) to make it easy for marketers to form, manage, and make payments to any type of business partner.SoftwarePatronusPatronus is rethinking elderly healthcare through technology and thus helps parents and grandparents to live safely and independently in the future.AcquiredHealthcarePeakPeak (a.k.a. "Brainbow”) is a mobile games business focusing on the knowledge sector. In particular, Peak is building brain training games and related analytics delivered via a mobile application which monetizes through a freemium subscription model.AcquiredConsumer InternetRecargaPayRecargaPay is the leading mobile payment platform and wallet for Brazil.Consumer InternetShiphawkShiphawk is an online marketplace that connects businesses needing to pack and ship large items with relevant logistics providers based on pricing, quality of service, and time of delivery for unpacked and packed items. Shiphawk services retail shippers via a web platform and businesses through an integrated API (Application Program Interface) into their inventory or shipping cart.SoftwareSpireSpire is a clip-on wearable device that measures your breathing patterns throughout the day. It can notify you when you're tense, guide you to greater calm, help you discover what makes you focused, and much more.HealthcareTesseractDigital asset lending company, which specializes in bridging institutional capital flows between traditional and digital asset finance.SoftwareFintechTignisA physics-driven low-code AI process control software enabling next-generation innovation in semiconductor manufacturing sector, especially with process optimisation and predictive maintenance.AcquiredSoftwareWellthyWellthy is a platform which links families with virtual care coordinators for the elderly and the chronically ill. The site acts as a communication hub, storing medical information as well as making it easy for the coordinator, caregiver and extended family to share updates.HealthcareYottaaYottaa’s eCommerce Acceleration platform enables online retailers to significantly improve eCommerce website performance across all devices resulting in higher conversions.AcquiredSoftware
