# John Babcock

> John Babcock is a Series D investor at Rustic Canyon Partners backing CleanTech and Automotive. See 1 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Rustic Canyon Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rustic-canyon-partners)
- Location: Los Angeles, United States
- Total investments: 1
- Last investment: Nov 2012
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbabcock
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/john_babcock

John Babcock is a Series D investor at Rustic Canyon Partners in Los Angeles focused on CleanTech and Automotive. John Babcock has been a partner at Rustic Canyon since the firm’s formation in 1999. During that time, he has backed great entrepreneurs in the software, hardware, Internet and Cleantech areas. Before Rustic Canyon, John was an executive at the Los Angeles Times, working in both the print and online businesses. Previously, he founded The DeltaGroup. John began his career as a software programmer.Most mornings, John can be found running or mountain biking in the Santa Monica Mountains. He serves as a trustee of the Polytechnic School and lives in Pasadena with his wife, Laura, and their two children.Education: John earned his BA from Duke University and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CleanTech | 1 | 100% |
| Automotive | 1 | 100% |
| Clean Energy | 1 | 100% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Transonic Combustion | Founded in 2006, Transonic Combustion's TSCi™ fuel injection systems provide global automotive manufacturers with high efficiency fuel delivery technology for their modern engine platforms. The company is backed by Venrock, Khosla Ventures, Rustic Canyon, and Saints Capital. Transonic Combustion is headquartered in Camarillo, Calif. | $32M | Series D | Nov 08, 2012 |  |

1 of 1 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Khosla Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/khosla-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Saints Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/saints-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Venrock](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/venrock) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Rustic Canyon Partners

VC Fund · Santa Monica, United States

Rustic Canyon Partners is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in exceptional entrepreneurs building transformational companies.The firm typically invests in Internet, digital media, energy and efficiency, consumer web, clean technology, wireless, computer storage and peripherals, security software, and outsourcing sectors.

5 contacts available at Rustic Canyon Partners.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ben T Smith | EIR | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ben-smith-iv |
| David Travers | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/david-travers |
| Gabrielle Sulzberger | General Partner and Investment Manager | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gabrielle-sulzberger |
| John Babcock | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/john-babcock |
| Nate Redmond | Managing Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/nate-redmond |

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## FAQ

### What does John Babcock invest in?

John Babcock invests primarily in CleanTech, Automotive and Clean Energy startups, most often at Series D stage. Most of the 1 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 John Babcock last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for John Babcock closed in Nov 2012. Shizune tracks 1 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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