# Darius Sankey

> Darius Sankey is a Series A investor at Sway Ventures (Los Angeles) backing Computer and Hardware. See 7 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Sway Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/swayvc)
- Location: Los Angeles, United States
- Total investments: 7
- Last investment: Nov 2008
- Lead investor: 14%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dariussankey
- Website: http://swayvc.com/about/n-darius-sankey/

Darius Sankey is a Series A investor at Sway Ventures in Los Angeles focused on Computer and Hardware. N. Darius Sankey, PhD is a founding General Partner at Sway Ventures, as well as a seasoned executive in the venture capital and technology industries.Before his work with Sway Ventures, Darius served as a Senior Director of Portfolio Management at Intellectual Ventures, a Managing Director at DFJ – Zone Ventures, and has served as a boardmember for several companies including Siimpel Corporation and Neven Vision (acquired by Google). He has worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, Inc. and held strategic planning, consulting, and R&D positions at RAND and AT&T Bell Laboratories.Darius holds a Ph.D. in Optical Engineering from the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester and a B.S. in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT. He is also an adjunct professor at Rady School of Business at the University of California, at San Diego (UCSD).

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Computer | 1 | 14% |
| Hardware | 1 | 14% |
| Software | 1 | 14% |
| Web Hosting | 1 | 14% |
| Enterprise Software | 1 | 14% |

6 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 29% |
| Series B | 1 | 14% |
| Series C | 1 | 14% |
| Series D | 1 | 14% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Siimpel Corporation | Siimpel Corporation has been in the business of innovation since its original founding in 2000 as SiWave. With a heritage from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a background in high-precision navigation grade MEMS sensors, the company has maintained a leadership in technology. In its short history, Siimpel Corporation created the smallesthigh port count optical switches in the world, packaged MEMS components for NASA's Mars rovers, developed the world's first MEMS horizon sensor, developed the highest precision laser ranging system, and created the world's smallest stages using MEMS technology. A recipient of the ATP (advanced technology program) award from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), Siimpel is proud of its history of ground breaking innovation. Since 2004, Siimpel has been applying the high precision MEMS platform technology to enable the drastic reduction in size of high performance digital cameras. Siimpel's innovative products set new standards for the size and performance of digital cameras in mobile platforms. | $8.7M | Series D | Nov 26, 2008 |  |
| Siimpel Corporation | Siimpel Corporation has been in the business of innovation since its original founding in 2000 as SiWave. With a heritage from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a background in high-precision navigation grade MEMS sensors, the company has maintained a leadership in technology. In its short history, Siimpel Corporation created the smallesthigh port count optical switches in the world, packaged MEMS components for NASA's Mars rovers, developed the world's first MEMS horizon sensor, developed the highest precision laser ranging system, and created the world's smallest stages using MEMS technology. A recipient of the ATP (advanced technology program) award from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), Siimpel is proud of its history of ground breaking innovation. Since 2004, Siimpel has been applying the high precision MEMS platform technology to enable the drastic reduction in size of high performance digital cameras. Siimpel's innovative products set new standards for the size and performance of digital cameras in mobile platforms. | $21.5M | Series D | Oct 23, 2007 |  |
| Siimpel Corporation | Siimpel Corporation has been in the business of innovation since its original founding in 2000 as SiWave. With a heritage from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a background in high-precision navigation grade MEMS sensors, the company has maintained a leadership in technology. In its short history, Siimpel Corporation created the smallesthigh port count optical switches in the world, packaged MEMS components for NASA's Mars rovers, developed the world's first MEMS horizon sensor, developed the highest precision laser ranging system, and created the world's smallest stages using MEMS technology. A recipient of the ATP (advanced technology program) award from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), Siimpel is proud of its history of ground breaking innovation. Since 2004, Siimpel has been applying the high precision MEMS platform technology to enable the drastic reduction in size of high performance digital cameras. Siimpel's innovative products set new standards for the size and performance of digital cameras in mobile platforms. | $20.1M | Series C | Nov 11, 2005 |  |
| Siimpel Corporation | Siimpel Corporation has been in the business of innovation since its original founding in 2000 as SiWave. With a heritage from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a background in high-precision navigation grade MEMS sensors, the company has maintained a leadership in technology. In its short history, Siimpel Corporation created the smallesthigh port count optical switches in the world, packaged MEMS components for NASA's Mars rovers, developed the world's first MEMS horizon sensor, developed the highest precision laser ranging system, and created the world's smallest stages using MEMS technology. A recipient of the ATP (advanced technology program) award from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), Siimpel is proud of its history of ground breaking innovation. Since 2004, Siimpel has been applying the high precision MEMS platform technology to enable the drastic reduction in size of high performance digital cameras. Siimpel's innovative products set new standards for the size and performance of digital cameras in mobile platforms. | $9.5M | Series B | Nov 16, 2004 |  |
| Siimpel Corporation | Siimpel Corporation has been in the business of innovation since its original founding in 2000 as SiWave. With a heritage from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a background in high-precision navigation grade MEMS sensors, the company has maintained a leadership in technology. In its short history, Siimpel Corporation created the smallesthigh port count optical switches in the world, packaged MEMS components for NASA's Mars rovers, developed the world's first MEMS horizon sensor, developed the highest precision laser ranging system, and created the world's smallest stages using MEMS technology. A recipient of the ATP (advanced technology program) award from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), Siimpel is proud of its history of ground breaking innovation. Since 2004, Siimpel has been applying the high precision MEMS platform technology to enable the drastic reduction in size of high performance digital cameras. Siimpel's innovative products set new standards for the size and performance of digital cameras in mobile platforms. | $1M | Series A | Sep 08, 2003 |  |
| Siimpel Corporation | Siimpel Corporation has been in the business of innovation since its original founding in 2000 as SiWave. With a heritage from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a background in high-precision navigation grade MEMS sensors, the company has maintained a leadership in technology. In its short history, Siimpel Corporation created the smallesthigh port count optical switches in the world, packaged MEMS components for NASA's Mars rovers, developed the world's first MEMS horizon sensor, developed the highest precision laser ranging system, and created the world's smallest stages using MEMS technology. A recipient of the ATP (advanced technology program) award from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), Siimpel is proud of its history of ground breaking innovation. Since 2004, Siimpel has been applying the high precision MEMS platform technology to enable the drastic reduction in size of high performance digital cameras. Siimpel's innovative products set new standards for the size and performance of digital cameras in mobile platforms. | $6M | Series A | Feb 22, 2002 |  |
| Ping Networks | PING is a family-owned company that provides its clients with various products and services related to golf. Its product portfolio is comprised of golf clubs and golf gear. PING was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. | $2M | Series A | Aug 03, 2000 |  |

7 of 7 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [DFJ Portage Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dfj-portage-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Qualcomm](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/qualcomm) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Micron Technology](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/micron-technology) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Scale Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/scale-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Threshold](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/threshold) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Sway Ventures

VC Fund · San Francisco, United States

Sway Ventures is a US-based venture capital firm investing in early to mid-stage technology companies. We invest in high performing teams, building revolutionary technology, creating the next enterprise or consumer category. With a focus on strategic capitalization, business development support, and engineered exits, we provide great teams with thesupport they need to change the future. Learn more at www.swayvc.com

5 contacts available at Sway Ventures.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Albert Vazquez-Agusti | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/albert-vazquez |
| Andrew Bair | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/andrew-bair |
| Arnaud van der Wyck | Partner, Strategic Capital and Market Development | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/arnaud-van-der-wyck |
| Brian Nugent | Founding General Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brian-nugent-2 |
| Darius Sankey | Advisor, Investing | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/darius-sankey |

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## FAQ

### What does Darius Sankey invest in?

Darius Sankey invests primarily in Computer, Hardware and Software startups, most often at Series A and Series B stage. Most of the 7 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Darius Sankey last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Darius Sankey closed in Nov 2008. Shizune tracks 7 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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