Ann Miura-Ko
PARTNER
Ann Miura-Ko is a co-founding Partner at Floodgate and a repeat member of the Forbes Midas List, Barron's 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance, and the New York Times Top 20 Venture Capitalists Worldwide.
Well-known in Silicon Valley as a pioneer investor in highly technical companies, Ann holds a PhD from Stanford in mathematical modeling of cybersecurity. Her deep interest in technology began in childhood (inspired by her father, a NASA rocket scientist!) and developed as an undergraduate at Yale University, where she participated in the Robocup Competition in Paris, France. Her investments include Lyft (2010, board through 2023), SmarterDX ($1B+ exit in 2025), and seed or pre-seed rounds in AI companies like Counsel Health, Hebbia, and ReadyOn.
Beyond investing, Ann is a lecturer in entrepreneurship at Stanford, a co-director of the Mayfield Fellows Program at Stanford, and a co-founding member of All Raise, a nonprofit committed to improving diversity in funders and founders. She served on the Yale Corporation Board of Trustees from 2019 to 2025. Prior to Floodgate, Ann worked at Charles River Ventures and McKinsey and Company. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three energetic children.
Interests:
Piano, Robots, and Gastronomy.
Education:
BS, Electrical Engineering, Yale
PhD, Math Modeling of Infosec, Stanford
I've always been someone who loved being different. Whether it was loving roller skating when the cool thing was roller blading, being an EE major at a liberal arts college like Yale or being the only female in mosts rooms I've walked into, being different has always felt like an advantage.
Starting Floodgate was also a different path. In 2008, I was told that I was insane to create an upstart venture firm in the midst of a financial crisis. A lot of people assumed I was doing it because I couldn't find a job. The reality was that founders were giving up 50% of their company for $5m and I knew there was a better way. My perch as a PhD student in quantitative modeling of infosec at Stanford as well as the teaching assistant to Steve Blank as he taught the initial principles behind lean startups convinced me that my co-founder Mike Maples was right. $500k would be the new $5M.
Being different has had its distinct rewards. In my first year starting Floodgate, I gave birth to my second child, defended my PhD thesis 6 weeks later and was on my way to making my first investment in TaskRabbit. I know I can do hard things and I can help others do the same.
I'm known for being a straight shooter who has an uncanny eye for talent and a sixth sense about the path to product market fit. I love working in partnership with our founders and believe that my role is as your co-conspirator, not an investor.
