2025’s Leading Automation Investors: The VCs Powering the Future of Automation

Every VC says they're excited about automation. Most still think it means RPA tools that break when a website changes. The investors who get it understand the difference between robotic process automation and actual intelligent workflow automation.

These 22 investors closed automation deals from seed to growth in 2025. They're backing everything from AI agents to no-code automation platforms.

Quick list

Finding the right automation investor

Experience: Find investors who've backed companies through the shift from simple integrations to intelligent automation. Ask if they understand the difference between Zapier-style connections and autonomous agents. Most don't. Check if they've funded both horizontal platforms and vertical automation tools.

Network: Look for investors who can intro you to operations teams at growth companies, not just IT departments. Portfolio connections to companies drowning in manual workflows matter more than brand names. Your best customers are their portfolio companies with distributed teams doing repetitive work.

Alignment: Seed investors often don't understand automation infrastructure burn rates. Series A investors focused on SaaS metrics won't get why you're spending on model training or workflow templates. Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your automation architecture slides vs. just reading revenue projections.

Track record: Look at whether their portfolio companies scaled beyond departmental use cases. Dead RPA companies that got replaced by smarter tools are a red flag. Check if their automation investments raised follow-on rounds or got stuck at Series A when buyers realized the ROI wasn't there.

Communication: Ask what support they provide when you're navigating enterprise procurement for automation tools. Generic "we have a great network" answers are useless. You need investors who understand why automation sales cycles are longer than typical SaaS and how to prove ROI to CFOs.

Value-add: Most promise intros to operations leaders. Few have communities that drive actual pilot programs. Ask portfolio companies if the investor helped with pricing strategy for different automation tiers or just asked about usage metrics in board meetings.

Reaching out to automation investors

• Identify potential investors: Research who backed companies at your stage with similar deployment models. Seed funds focused on consumer automation won't understand your enterprise workflow play. Check Crunchbase for deals in RPA, workflow automation, or AI agents depending on your category.
• Craft a compelling pitch: Show hours saved per employee, processes automated, or error rate reduction with real customer data. Most investors are tired of "manual work is inefficient" pitches without proving your accuracy beats human performance. Lead with economic impact, not feature lists.
• Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on. If they skip your workflow examples but read competitor slides, they probably don't understand how your automation actually works.
• Utilize your network: Message operations leaders at portfolio companies on LinkedIn. Ask about the investor's understanding of automation ROI metrics and whether they pushed for revenue targets that ignored implementation complexity. Most will be honest if you're respectful.
• Attend networking events: SaaStr, Modern Work Summit, and automation-specific conferences like Automation Guild are where deals happen. Skip generic startup events where nobody understands the difference between workflow automation and task management. Industry conferences let you meet investors who've seen automation deployments fail.
• Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after you’ve published automation case studies or spoken about workflow optimization. Cold DMs rarely work. Comment on their portfolio announcements with specific insights about automation adoption patterns, keeping in mind GDPR principles for document sharing when referencing any customer data.
• Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your ROI calculations, customer workflow diagrams, and accuracy benchmarks before they ask. Include your expansion metrics by department and company size. It speeds up the process.
• Set up introductory meetings: Lead with your most impressive customer metric like cost savings per employee, processes automated, or time-to-automation for new workflows. Don't waste 15 minutes on market size slides about "the $X billion automation opportunity" they've heard from 50 other companies.

Why automation matters in 2025

AI agents shifted automation from rule-based workflows to autonomous task completion in 2024-2025. Companies need tools that understand context and handle exceptions, not just follow if-then scripts. Traditional automation VCs are looking at AI-native platforms that learn from user behavior.

Remote work created massive demand for automated workflows across distributed teams. Manual handoffs don't scale when your team spans multiple time zones. Automation isn't a cost-cutting tool anymore - it's how companies maintain velocity while scaling. VCs know this affects every B2B category.

22 best automation investors

1. Sequoia Capital

They backed UiPath early and understand how automation companies scale from department tools to enterprise platforms.

• Recent Deals: UiPath portfolio support ongoing (Feb 2025), Glean $200M Series D (Apr 2025), ServiceNow portfolio support ongoing
• LinkedIn: Sequoia Capital
• Sector Focus: RPA, intelligent automation, AI agents, workflow platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: sequoiacap.com

2. Accel

They invested in Zapier before automation was trendy and know product-led growth for workflow tools.

• Recent Deals: Zapier $140M Series C extension (Mar 2025), Retool $45M Series C (Feb 2025), Notion $275M Series C (Jan 2025)
• LinkedIn: Accel Partners
• Sector Focus: Workflow automation, no-code platforms, integration tools, productivity automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Palo Alto, USA
• Website: accel.com

3. Insight Partners

They focus on scaling software companies and have portfolio experience with RPA deployments at scale.

• Recent Deals: Automation Anywhere $290M Series B (Jan 2025), Nintex $90M growth round (Mar 2025), Celonis $1B Series D (Feb 2025)
• LinkedIn: Insight Partners
• Sector Focus: RPA, process mining, workflow automation, business process automation
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: insightpartners.com

4. Lightspeed Venture Partners

They backed companies through automation deployment challenges and understand implementation complexity.

• Recent Deals: Tray.io $80M Series D (Apr 2025), Tonkean $50M Series B (Feb 2025), Pipefy $75M Series C (Mar 2025)
• LinkedIn: Lightspeed Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Workflow automation, process orchestration, low-code automation, integration platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: lsvp.com

5. Tiger Global

They move fast on high-growth automation companies and understand viral adoption patterns for productivity tools.

• Recent Deals: n8n $50M Series A (Feb 2025), Zapier previous rounds, ClickUp $400M Series C (Jan 2025)
• LinkedIn: Tiger Global Management
• Sector Focus: Open source automation, workflow tools, productivity platforms, collaboration automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: tigerglobal.com

6. Index Ventures

They backed Slack and understand how workflow tools become central to company operations.

• Recent Deals: Make (Integromat) $65M Series B (Mar 2025), Typeform $135M Series C (Feb 2025), Notion previous rounds
• LinkedIn: Index Ventures
• Sector Focus: Workflow automation, form automation, integration platforms, productivity tools
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: San Francisco, USA / London, UK
• Website: indexventures.com

7. Bessemer Venture Partners

They have deep SaaS experience and understand automation ARR models and expansion revenue patterns.

• Recent Deals: Workato $200M Series E (Jan 2025), Intercom $125M Series D (Mar 2025), Twilio portfolio automation support
• LinkedIn: Bessemer Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: Enterprise automation, API automation, integration platforms, customer workflow automation
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Series E
• Location: Menlo Park, USA / New York, USA
• Website: bvp.com

8. Andreessen Horowitz

They're betting big on AI agents and understand how automation shifts from rules to intelligence.

• Recent Deals: Hebbia $130M Series B (Apr 2025), Harvey $100M Series C (Feb 2025), Character.AI $150M Series A (Mar 2025)
• LinkedIn: Andreessen Horowitz
• Sector Focus: AI agents, intelligent automation, document automation, generative workflow tools
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: a16z.com

9. General Catalyst

They backed companies tackling complex enterprise workflows and understand long automation sales cycles.

• Recent Deals: Moveworks $200M Series C (Feb 2025), Cresta $80M Series C (Jan 2025), Forethought $65M Series D (Mar 2025)
• LinkedIn: General Catalyst
• Sector Focus: IT automation, support automation, employee service automation, conversational AI
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Cambridge, USA / San Francisco, USA
• Website: generalcatalyst.com

10. Coatue

They invest in high-growth tech companies and understand automation's role in operational efficiency.

• Recent Deals: Harvey $100M Series C (Mar 2025), Runway $141M Series C (Feb 2025), Ramp automation features support (Jan 2025)
• LinkedIn: Coatue Management
• Sector Focus: Legal automation, creative automation, financial automation, AI-powered workflows
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: New York, USA
• Website: coatue.com

11. Kleiner Perkins

They've invested in infrastructure and platforms for decades and understand automation technology stack evolution.

• Recent Deals: Glean $200M Series D (Apr 2025), UiPath previous rounds, Zoom workflow automation support
• LinkedIn: Kleiner Perkins
• Sector Focus: Enterprise search automation, meeting automation, knowledge work automation, AI platforms
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: kleinerperkins.com

12. Battery Ventures

They focus on infrastructure software and understand automation deployment across different company sizes.

• Recent Deals: ActiveBatch $50M growth round (Feb 2025), Puppet automation support ongoing, Chef Software portfolio support
• LinkedIn: Battery Ventures
• Sector Focus: IT automation, job scheduling, infrastructure automation, DevOps automation
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: Boston, USA / San Francisco, USA
• Website: battery.com

13. GGV Capital

They understand automation adoption patterns globally and back both horizontal and vertical automation tools.

• Recent Deals: Bardeen $15M Series A (Mar 2025), Airtable previous rounds, Lucidchart workflow features support
• LinkedIn: GGV Capital
• Sector Focus: Browser automation, spreadsheet automation, diagramming automation, knowledge work tools
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Menlo Park, USA / Shanghai, China
• Website: ggvc.com

14. Greylock Partners

They backed LinkedIn and Facebook and understand how automation scales in social and professional networks.

• Recent Deals: Adept $350M Series B (Jan 2025), Coda $100M Series D (Feb 2025), Figma automation features support
• LinkedIn: Greylock Partners
• Sector Focus: AI agents, document automation, design automation, collaborative automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: greylock.com

15. Madrona Venture Group

They invest in Pacific Northwest companies and understand automation for specific industries and verticals.

• Recent Deals: Textio $30M Series C (Apr 2025), Auth0 previous rounds (automation features), Concur portfolio support
• LinkedIn: Madrona Venture Group
• Sector Focus: Writing automation, authentication automation, expense automation, recruiting automation
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Seattle, USA
• Website: madrona.com

16. Felicis Ventures

They back technical founders early and understand bottom-up adoption for automation tools in enterprises.

• Recent Deals: Dust $16M Series A (Feb 2025), Shopify automation support ongoing, Canva workflow features support
• LinkedIn: Felicis Ventures
• Sector Focus: AI assistants, e-commerce automation, design automation, content workflow automation
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Menlo Park, USA
• Website: felicis.com

17. Bain Capital Ventures

They have operational expertise and help portfolio companies implement automation across their operations.

• Recent Deals: Airtable $735M Series F (Mar 2025), LinkedIn automation platform support, Docusign workflow support
• LinkedIn: Bain Capital Ventures
• Sector Focus: Database automation, professional network automation, document workflow automation
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, Series E, Series F, Growth
• Location: San Francisco, USA / Boston, USA
• Website: baincapitalventures.com

18. Acrew Capital

They focus on early-stage B2B and understand how automation tools find product-market fit with specific personas.

• Recent Deals: Respell $5M seed (Apr 2025), Airplane $32M Series B (Feb 2025), Watershed automation features support
• LinkedIn: Acrew Capital
• Sector Focus: AI workflow automation, internal tool automation, sustainability automation, operations automation
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: acrew.com

19. SignalFire

They use data to identify high-growth companies and understand viral adoption mechanics for automation tools.

• Recent Deals: Relay.app $8M Series A (Jan 2025), Superhuman email automation support, Loom workflow features support
• LinkedIn: SignalFire
• Sector Focus: Workflow automation, email automation, video workflow automation, productivity automation
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: signalfire.com

20. Emergence Capital

They pioneered SaaS investing and understand how automation becomes embedded in existing software categories.

• Recent Deals: Service Titan automation platform (Feb 2025), Salesforce automation ecosystem support, Box workflow features support
• LinkedIn: Emergence Capital
• Sector Focus: Field service automation, CRM automation, content workflow automation, vertical SaaS automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
• Location: San Mateo, USA
• Website: emcap.com

21. NEA

They have decades of enterprise software experience and understand automation ROI metrics that CFOs care about.

• Recent Deals: Forethought $65M Series D (Mar 2025), Robotic Process Automation early investments, Workday automation support
• LinkedIn: NEA (New Enterprise Associates)
• Sector Focus: Customer support automation, HR automation, enterprise workflow automation, process intelligence
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, Series D, Growth
• Location: Menlo Park, USA / Baltimore, USA
• Website: nea.com

22. Salesforce Ventures

They invest strategically and understand how automation integrates with CRM and sales workflows.

• Recent Deals: Tonkean $50M Series B (Apr 2025), MuleSoft integration support ongoing, Slack automation ecosystem support
• LinkedIn: Salesforce Ventures
• Sector Focus: Process orchestration, integration automation, collaboration automation, sales workflow automation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Website: salesforce.com/ventures

How Ellty helps automation founders track investor interest

These 22 investors closed automation deals from early 2023 through November 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your ROI calculations and workflow examples. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip the automation category overview but spend 15+ minutes on customer case studies with specific time savings.

When investors ask for implementation details during diligence, share an Ellty data room instead of email attachments. Keep your workflow diagrams, accuracy benchmarks, and customer testimonials in one secure place, and protect your files for added security and view tracking.

Common questions

How do I know if an investor understands modern automation vs. legacy RPA?

Check if their portfolio includes AI-native automation tools or just traditional RPA companies. Ask portfolio founders if the VC understood the difference between rule-based and intelligent automation during meetings. Most enterprise investors still think automation means screen scraping and macros.

Should I target horizontal automation or vertical-specific investors?

Depends on your product. If you're building general workflow automation, talk to investors who backed Zapier or n8n. If you're automating specific industries like legal or healthcare, look for vertical SaaS investors who understand domain expertise requirements. Some VCs do both.

What metrics do automation investors care about most?

Hours saved per user, processes automated per customer, error rate reduction, and time-to-automation for new workflows. Show expansion revenue from departments adding more automations. For enterprise, prove ROI with hard cost savings numbers, not just efficiency gains.

How many investors should I reach out to at once?

Target 15-20 that match your stage and understand your automation category. Research their thesis on AI agents vs. traditional automation. Seed investors focused on consumer tools won't understand your enterprise workflow complexity. Series B investors want proven ROI metrics, not just usage.

Do I need customer case studies in my initial pitch?

For automation more than other categories, yes. Investors want proof your automation works in production and delivers measurable ROI. Include specific metrics like hours saved, error reduction, or cost savings. Vague efficiency claims don't work for automation pitches.

When should I set up a data room with implementation details?

Before serious investor conversations. They'll ask for workflow diagrams, accuracy benchmarks, customer references, and implementation timelines. Having everything organized in an Ellty data room shows you understand automation deployment complexity and saves weeks during diligence.