Brendan Dickinson
General Partner / East Coast
Canaan Partners
Canaan General Partner leading the firm’s fintech practice, with emphasis on fintech infrastructure, platforms, products, and insurance.
Bio
Professional summary
Hrach Simonian is a General Partner at Canaan, where he invests across technology markets from the West Coast. His official profile emphasizes consumer and enterprise technology, marketplace efficiency, and his role in building Canaan’s West Coast practice since joining in 2007. His portfolio listed by Canaan includes companies such as Instacart, Aeva, Cargomatic, CompStak, Field AI, Instrumental, nTopology, Reibus, RealtyMogul, and Tubular Labs. Before Canaan, he worked at Rutberg & Company and as a laser researcher at Northrop Grumman. His education includes an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCLA.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
ventureearly-stage technologygrowth-stage technology
Sector
consumer technologyenterprise technologymarketplacesmobilitysupply chainmanufacturing technologyproptech
Thesis
Consumer and enterprise technology with marketplace elementsMarketplaces and operational efficiencyMobility, supply chain, manufacturing technology, and proptech
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
InstacartAevaCargomaticCompStakField AIInstrumentalnTopologyRealtyMogulReibusTubular LabsZugata
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Lead with a marketplace-efficiency or workflow-density thesis, especially where software improves liquidity, matching, or operating leverage in a large market.
Personalization hooks
- 1Engineer-turned-investor background may resonate with technical founder narratives.
- 2Marketplace structure and efficiency are explicit themes on his official profile.
- 3Portfolio includes both consumer marketplaces and enterprise/supply-chain businesses.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Canaan profile lists current investments including Instacart, Aeva, Field AI, Instrumental, nTopology, Reibus, and others.
Official profile emphasizes marketplace elements across both consumer and enterprise technology investments.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- Canaan PartnersGeneral Partner2007 – Present
- Rutberg & CompanyAssociatePrior to 2007
- Northrop GrummanLaser ResearcherPrior to 2007
Education
- Stanford Graduate School of BusinessMBA
- University of Michigan, Ann ArborM.S., Electrical Engineering
- UCLAB.S., Electrical Engineering
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