Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Spark Capital Expands SF Presence, Adding Former Twitter Exec Kevin Thau as GP

Every time a fund is raised, a VC gets his wings.

Spark Capital said it hired well-known entrepreneur Kevin Thau as a general partner in its San Francisco office.

The former Twitter business development head — he was one of its earliest employees, leaving in 2013 — was most recently COO at Jelly, the question-and-answer platform founded by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone that never really caught on.

Spark has invested in a wide range of consumer-focused startups, including Oculus, Tumblr, Twitter and Warby Parker.

“We have invested in Silicon Valley companies for a long time, but we are thrilled to add to the team based there,” said the venture firm’s co-founder Bijan Sabet, who said that it was important to show more presence in its California office in the South of Market part of San Francisco. “Kevin has great relationships with entrepreneurs across the tech landscape.”

Thau said that he was not going to focus on any one area, although his background is in the consumer arena. Pointing to a number of startups that have gotten a lot of traction in recent years, even though valuations have risen precipitously, he noted: “It’s still a very good time to be founding a company, given all the shifts in consumer behavior and the opportunities to take advantage of these disruptions.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Future Perfect
The 5 most unhinged revelations from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAIThe 5 most unhinged revelations from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI
Future Perfect

The Musk v. OpenAI trial is over. Here are the receipts.

By Sara Herschander
Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady