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Leo Polovets

Leo Polovets

General Partner at Humba Ventures, Co-founder of Susa Ventures, and Deep Tech investor

lpolovets
San Francisco Bay Area, California
Joined August 2025
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Summary

Leo Polovets is a seasoned software engineer turned venture capitalist, having held key engineering roles at prominent tech companies such as LinkedIn (where he was the 2nd non-founding engineer), Google (working on payment fraud detection), and Factual. This background provides him with a deep, engineer-centric perspective on technology and startups, which he shares through his 'Coding VC' blog and his investment strategies. codingvc+4
As a General Partner, Leo has a distinct investment focus spanning B2B SaaS, enterprise software, developer tools, technical products, logistics, and supply chain. He co-founded Susa Ventures and later launched Humba Ventures, where he specifically targets early-stage deep tech companies and those in critical national sectors. His writing consistently advocates for the potential of deep tech, indicating a strong conviction in this area. substack+5
Leo Polovets has a strong academic and competitive programming background from Caltech. He graduated with honors in Computer Science, was a member of Caltech's world finalist ACM programming team, and achieved 5th place in the '01 Top Coder Invitational. These achievements highlight his foundational technical expertise and problem-solving capabilities. datacouncil+3

Work

Education

Writing

Humba II: Doubling Down on Deep Tech

December 12, 2024

An update on Humba Ventures' second fund, Humba II, highlighting its continued commitment to investing in deep tech and critical sectors.

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The Golden Age of Deep Tech

April 11, 2024

An article exploring the factors contributing to the current favorable environment for deep tech companies, including technological advancements and increased funding.

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Betting on Deep Tech

November 21, 2023

An article discussing the rationale and opportunities for investing in deep tech, emphasizing its potential for engineers and investors.

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Announcing Humba Ventures

July 12, 2022

An announcement outlining the launch and vision of Humba Ventures, detailing its focus on deep tech investments and its initiatives like supportive investments and Susa Scouts.

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How to Use Thought Experiments to De-Risk Your Startup

December 15, 2016

An article providing advice to founders on using thought experiments to identify and mitigate risks in their startup ventures.

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15 Short Stories About LinkedIn's Early Days

January 1, 2015

A collection of anecdotes and insights from Leo Polovets' time as an early engineer at LinkedIn, offering a glimpse into the company's foundational period.

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Notes

DHDan Hnatkovskyysaid
LPLeo Polovets
is one of the most impressive venture capitalists they've worked with or interacted with.

Mar 26, 2026

PAPeter Atkinsaid that if they were seeking an entrepreneurial partner in AI,
LPLeo Polovets
would be one of their top picks.

Feb 25, 2026

PAPeter Atkinsaid they've seen
LPLeo Polovets
lead or co-lead investment rounds in deep tech or space tech.

Feb 25, 2026

THTammy Hansaid
LPLeo Polovets
is one of the most impressive investors they've seen backing deeptech or frontier tech startups.

Nov 11, 2025

MCMichael Cohnsaid
LPLeo Polovets
is one of the most impressive investors they've seen backing deeptech or frontier tech startups.

Nov 11, 2025

THTammy Hansaid
LPLeo Polovets
is someone they view as a particularly sharp early-stage investor in software startups.

Oct 21, 2025

MTMichael Tansaid
LPLeo Polovets
is one of the most insightful investors they've seen in deep tech, frontier tech, or hardware.

Oct 14, 2025

BRBen Reinhardtsaid
LPLeo Polovets
is one of the most insightful investors they've seen in deep tech, frontier tech, or hardware.

Oct 13, 2025

MGMike Greenfieldsaid they've seen
LPLeo Polovets
make particularly smart investments in aerospace companies.

Sep 27, 2025

MGMike Greenfieldsaid that if they were building a defense tech company,
LPLeo Polovets
would be among their top choices as an early-stage investor.

Sep 27, 2025

MKMichael Kimsaid they've seen
LPLeo Polovets
make especially thoughtful investments in defense tech startups.

Sep 26, 2025

RCRachel Coffmansaid
LPLeo Polovets
is one of the most insightful early stage VC investors they know in robotics or trucking.

Aug 27, 2025

MTMichael Tansaid they would consider
LPLeo Polovets
a go-to investor for startups in logistics or mobility tech.

Jul 24, 2025

AKAndreas Klingersaid that if a friend was raising a pre-seed or seed round,
LPLeo Polovets
would be among the first investors they'd think to introduce them to.

Jul 11, 2025