Decibel
About Decibel
Decibel invests at seed and Series A in developer, security and AI infrastructure companies.
Decibel was created in partnership with Cisco as an independent venture firm. Preqin lists 2019 as its founding year, but other data sites give different years, so treat the date as unconfirmed. Preqin says the firm invests a separate pool of capital raised from outside investors, not Cisco's own money. Jon Sakoda is the founding partner. He founded IMlogic, which Symantec acquired, then spent more than a decade at NEA before starting Decibel. Public sources I found do not give fund names or fund sizes, and Decibel's site was not available to confirm them, so none are listed here.
Decibel describes its focus as developer platforms and tools, data and AI engineering products, cybersecurity, and autonomous software and services. In practice, much of its recent AI work sits in security for AI-era threats and in infrastructure for agents. In June 2026 it led a $100M seed round in Ent, an endpoint security company that assesses the behavior of human users and AI agents. Sequoia, Crosspoint Capital, Craft Ventures, Shield Capital, Felicis and In-Q-Tel took part. Decibel also led, with Acrew Capital, an $8.5M seed round in Veris AI, which builds simulated environments for training and testing AI agents. Sakoda has spoken publicly about AI and security investing, including the Ent round.
Decibel invests at seed and Series A, and it has also joined later rounds, such as Botpress's Series B. It does not publish check sizes. Third-party sites give conflicting ranges, from $100K to $10M on some and $5M to $15M on another. Neither range is confirmed by the firm. The Ent seed round shows it will lead very large seed rounds, although $100M is the size of the whole round and not Decibel's own check.
- Ent: intent-aware endpoint security for human users and AI agents; $100M seed led by Decibel, June 2026.
- Veris AI: simulated environments to train and test AI agents; $8.5M seed co-led with Acrew Capital.
- Botpress: platform for building and deploying AI agents; $25M Series B in 2025, led by Framework, with Decibel participating.
- Dreadnode: AI security company; $14M Series A in February 2025, with Decibel listed among its investors by a third-party tracker.
- Scrunch AI: $4M seed in March 2025, listed in Decibel's investments by a third-party tracker.
- Abacus.AI: AI platform; $50M Series C in October 2021, flagged as led by Decibel by a third-party tracker.
- Credo AI: AI governance; $12.8M Series A in May 2022, flagged as led by Decibel by a third-party tracker.
- preqin.com/data/profile/fund-manager/decibel/319179
- cbinsights.com/investor/decibel-partners
- resilientcyber.io/p/ai-cyber-and-where-the-smart-money
- securitybrief.news/story/ent-raises-usd-100-million-seed-round-led-by-
- bankinfosecurity.com/ent-raises-100m-to-reinvent-endpoint-security-for
- ventureburn.com/ent-raises-100m-seed-workspace-security
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/266373-55
- seedtable.com/investors/decibel-ventures
Investing activity
Decibel appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $200M, and led 2 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $100M. The most recent are Ent (Seed, $100M, Jun 2026) and Ent.AI (Seed, $100M, Jun 2026).
Decibel most often invests alongside Sequoia Capital, Shield Capital, Craft Ventures and In-Q-Tel, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Decibel
Does Decibel invest in AI startups?
Yes. Its stated focus includes data and AI engineering products and autonomous software, and recent deals include Ent, Veris AI and Botpress. Much of its AI investing is in security and agent infrastructure.
What stage does Decibel invest at?
Decibel invests at seed and Series A. It has also taken part in later rounds, such as Botpress's Series B. It has led very large seed rounds, including Ent's $100M seed in 2026.
How big are Decibel's checks?
Decibel does not publish check sizes. Third-party sites list ranges from $100K to $10M, and one lists $5M to $15M. None of these is confirmed by the firm.
Who leads AI investing at Decibel?
Founding partner Jon Sakoda is the public face of its AI and security investing and commented on the Ent round. The firm's other partners are not confirmed here.
Is Decibel connected to Cisco?
Decibel was created in partnership with Cisco but operates as an independent firm. Preqin says its capital comes from outside investors, separate from Cisco's own.
What AI companies has Decibel invested in?
Decibel's AI investments include Ent and Ent.AI. The 2 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Decibel based?
Decibel is based in Palo Alto, California, United States.
Who does Decibel co-invest with?
Decibel's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Sequoia Capital (2 deals), Shield Capital (2 deals), Craft Ventures (2 deals), In-Q-Tel (2 deals) and Felicis (2 deals).
How can founders reach Decibel?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Decibel's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Decibel to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.