Mike Volpi

Mike Volpi is a prominent venture capitalist and a General Partner at Index Ventures, where he has been instrumental since co-founding the firm's San Francisco office in 2009. He primarily focuses on investments in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and open-source companies. His extensive portfolio includes board positions at notable companies such as Aurora, ClickHouse, Cockroach Labs, Confluent, Covariant.ai, Kong, Scale, Sonos, and Wealthfront.125

Early Life and Education

Born on December 13, 1966, in Milan, Italy, Volpi moved to Tokyo at the age of five, where he lived until he relocated to the United States in 1984 for his studies. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University, followed by an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.23

Career Highlights

Before joining Index Ventures, Volpi had a significant career at Cisco Systems, where he served as Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President/General Manager of the Routing and Service Provider Group. During his tenure, he led a team responsible for over 70 acquisitions, shaping Cisco's strategy and contributing to its growth during a pivotal era in technology.125

In addition to his role at Index Ventures, Volpi has served on the boards of various companies, including Blue Bottle Coffee and Zuora, and is currently a Non-Executive Director at Ferrari N.V..45

Personal Life

Volpi is trilingual and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is married with two children and is actively involved in various educational and philanthropic initiatives, including serving on the Global Advisory Board of Stanford's Knight Hennessy Scholars program.12