Athena Capital Adds Serena Dayal and Avi Golan as Partners

Athena Capital has made a significant move in the venture capital space, announcing the hiring of two corporate venturers with extensive experience to serve as investment partners. Serena Dayal and Avi Golan will exclusively seek out growth-stage tech deals in AI, cybersecurity, software, and healthcare. The depth of their operational experience and capital market insight reinforces Athena's weight as an investor in companies that are preparing for an IPO or exit.

These two appointments reflect how Athena is establishing itself as a partner to technology founders at important inflection points, while also responding to an evolving investment landscape by leveraging the deep experience of corporate and capital investor perspectives.

A Closer Look at the New Hires

Athena Capital has announced the appointment of Serena Dayal and Avi Golan as its latest investment partners. They both bring decades of strategic investing and operating experience.

Serena Dayal has nearly 20 years of capital markets, mergers & acquisition, and investing experience. Previously, she was a partner at SoftBank Vision Fund where she led late-stage tech deals and was on portfolio company boards to support growth strategies. Serena previously invested at Fortress Investment Group and spent over a decade in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division. She has a BA in Economics from Princeton University.

Avi Golan comes with more than 30 years of tech leadership. His roles have included being the CEO of Sygnia and leading Oosto through the exit to Metropolis.ai—both in the SoftBank portfolio. Beyond his experience at Sygnia and Oosto, he has held senior roles at SoftBank Vision Fund, Google, Intuit, and Air New Zealand. He also advises on global growth strategies, and serves on the boards of private companies.

Dayal added that the timing was ideal: "This is a one-of-a-kind inflection point in the market...I’m thrilled to join the team at Athena Capital..."

Golan mentioned he was drawn to Athena's long-term capital and operating culture: "I was drawn to this team's combination of deep operating experience and long-term capital....."

Why These Appointments Matter

Bringing on Dayal and Golan is more than just adding two people—this is a strategic move for Athena. Dayal and Golan bring several benefits:

• Unique skill set: Both have extremely rare operational leadership and investing experience.
• Focus: Their areas of focus—cybersecurity, AI, software, healthcare—represent the highest growth value and require a high degree of innovation.
• Late-stage knowledge: Athena focuses its investing on companies in the later stage before an IPO or strategic exit. These new partners will be able to support companies during their scaling, fundraising and public market readiness.

This is a signal that Athena is adding to its late-stage investing playbook with value-added partners who have experience in both scaling businesses as well as the elements required when transitioning to exit events.

Comparing Athena’s New Hires with Typical VC Partners