Venture Capital · Profile from Venture Capital Research Companion
Arthur Rock & Co. (and Davis & Rock)
The investor who financed the "traitorous eight" into Fairchild, co-founded Davis & Rock (1961–68), one of the first West Coast venture limited partnerships, and then, investing largely on his own account, backed and chaired Intel and sat on Apple's board: the archetype of the founder-first venture capitalist.
At a glance
- Founded
- Davis & Rock: 1961, San Francisco. Arthur Rock & Co.: from 1968, San Francisco
- Founders
- Arthur Rock (b. 1926, Rochester, NY; HBS MBA 1951) and Thomas J. Davis Jr. (Davis & Rock)
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Ownership / structure
- Davis & Rock: limited partnership with ~30 limited partners and general partners sharing profits. Arthur Rock & Co.: Rock's own investing vehicle, mostly his personal capital, sometimes with co-investors
- Leadership (2026)
- Arthur Rock, long retired from active investing; known now mainly as a philanthropist (current status: verify)
- AUM / capital raised
- Davis & Rock raised ~$3.5–5m in 1961 (reports vary); reported ~$3m invested and ~$100m returned to investors over 1961–68
- Stage focus
- Founding-stage technology companies; heavy board involvement, often as chairman
- Signature investments
- Fairchild Semiconductor (1957, arranged at Hayden Stone), Teledyne (1960), Scientific Data Systems (1961), Intel (1968), Apple (1978). Misses / problems: the Fairchild structure that gave most value to the parent; the SDS sale that hurt Xerox; Diasonics (1983 IPO collapse, Rock was a prominent backer; verify role)
5 deals and moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1957
Fairchild Semiconductor
Corporate-Backed Founding Financing
1960
Teledyne
Founding Financing
1961
Scientific Data Systems
Founding Venture Investment
1968
Intel
Founding Convertible Debenture Financing
1978
Apple
Early Venture Round