Cathy Gao is a Partner at Sapphire Ventures, where she invests in AI-native companies. She backs founders building products that do more than make existing workflows faster: they redefine how work gets done and become core to how businesses operate. She is an investor in Harvey and serves on the boards of EliseAI and Blue J, with board observer roles at Sword Health and Medable.

Raised by a software engineer and a small business owner, Cathy grew up with equal respect for how technology gets built and how hard it is to build a lasting business around it. She studied economics and history at Wharton, graduating summa cum laude.

Before Sapphire, Cathy invested in enterprise software at AXA Venture Partners and began her career at TA Associates and Blackstone. She also joined Gusto at the Series B stage, giving her firsthand experience inside a high-growth technology company and a deeper appreciation for the difference between recognizing a great business and actually building one.

That combination of investor and operator experience shapes how Cathy works with founders today. She is direct, pragmatic, and focused on the decisions that can materially change a company’s trajectory — building the executive team, sharpening go-to-market and navigating the tradeoffs that come with scaling.

Cathy’s perspectives on AI have been featured in Bloomberg, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal. Outside of work, she is an avid reader and history buff.