Aydin Senkut

Aydin Senkut is a Turkish-American venture capitalist and the founder of Felicis, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. He was among the early employees at Google, where he served as the company’s first product manager. As an investor, he's recognized for early-stage investments in startups across enterprise software, artificial intelligence, and software infrastructure.

Early life and education

Senkut was born in Istanbul, Turkey.[1] He is fluent in Turkish, English, French, German, and Portuguese.[2]

He earned his undergraduate degree from Boston University in 1992[3] and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996. He currently serves on Wharton’s Graduate Executive Board.[4]

He is married to author Sonia Arrison.

Career

Senkut began his career in the finance department of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche, followed by a business development role at Silicon Graphics (SGI).[3]

He joined Google in 1999 as employee #63.[5] He served as the company’s first product manager,[6] its first international sales manager,[3] and later as a senior manager for web search and syndication.[7] In 2005, a year after Google went public, he left the company to focus on investing.[5]

Angel investing and Felicis Ventures

Senkut began angel investing in 2005, making early bets on approximately three dozen startups. He also organized gatherings of Google alumni to exchange investment ideas.[8][9]

He founded Felicis in 2006 and raised the firm’s first institutional fund in 2010.[10]

Notable early investments by Senkut include Shopify, Adyen, Notion, Fitbit, Credit Karma, and Rovio, the developer of Angry Birds.[1]

Felicis is known for its founder-aligned governance approach, including a policy to vote its shares in line with company founders.[11][1][10]

Recognition

Senkut has been named to the Forbes Midas List for twelve consecutive years, from 2014 to 2025.[1] He has also been recognized by The New York Times as a "Top Tech Investor" [12] and was named one of the Top 25 Angel Investors by BusinessWeek in 2010.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Aydin Senkut". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  2. ^ Cohan, Peter (2012-08-16). "Aydin Senkut's Voyage from Turkey to the Heart of Silicon Valley". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  3. ^ a b c "Distinguished Alumni: Aydin Senkut". Boston University. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  4. ^ "Graduate Executive Board". Wharton School. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  5. ^ a b Spencer E. Ante and Kimberly Weisul (2010-03-09). "Google millionaires spreading their wealth". Business Week (via NBC News). Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  6. ^ Cromwell Schubarth (2020-02-03). "Here's how Felicis Ventures founder says the firm wins hot unicorns in a valley awash with cash". Silicon Valley Business Journal (via BizJournals). Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  7. ^ Thurston, Andrew (2016-03-01). "The Trendspotter". Questrom Magazine, Boston University. Retrieved 2025-07-20.
  8. ^ "A Circle of Tech: Ex-Google, Now Angel Investors". The New York Times. 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  9. ^ "Ex-Google employees turn to angel investing". NBC News. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  10. ^ a b "Exclusive: Felicis has raised $900 million tenth fund". Fortune. 2025-06-12. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  11. ^ "Why This VC Firm Gives Founders More Control". The Wall Street Journal. 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  12. ^ "Top Tech Investors". The New York Times. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  13. ^ "Top Angel Investors of 2010". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
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