When Matt Erickson and I shook hands after completing an hour-plus sprint around the Betasso mountain bike trail up Boulder Canyon, it felt like we were finishing a ride five-years in the making. We had just agreed on the principal economic terms of a $500 million minority growth financing of Vero—a high-growth, fiber-based digital infrastructure business led by one of the industry’s most talented management teams.
A Relationship Built on the Trail
The pursuit began in the eerily quiet fall of 2020, on another mountain bike ride—this time through the mountains of Crested Butte. Matt showed me one of his favorite trails while we were both working remotely. At the time, we had just missed leading the Series A at Vero; our funds are growth-stage vehicles, and that round was really a venture-stage investment. In hindsight, we really should have stretched to win it. We didn’t, but I stayed close to Matt and the team over the next few years, tracking their strong execution and accelerating growth.
We bid to lead a financing in 2023 and came remarkably close—until the banks recognized Vero’s value and provided significantly more debt capital than anticipated, making our equity unnecessary. Again, we stayed close to the team and hoped for another opportunity. In 2024, we led a structured preferred financing and I joined the board, thrilled to begin our formal partnership. That board seat gave us a front-row view of the operational excellence and massive growth tailwinds propelling the business forward.
In the spring of 2025, following a board meeting, I approached Matt about leading a minority financing to provide growth capital and partial liquidity to long-time shareholders. The board had recommended a majority recapitalization process led by an investment bank. Matt and the team were clearly torn about selling too much too soon given their trajectory. Our flexible approach allowed us to thread the needle—partnering with the team in a structure that was a genuine win for all stakeholders.
A Trusted Team with a Proven Track Record
This investment is the latest chapter in a story that goes back more than two decades. I first met Matt over 20 years ago when he left Level 3 to acquire ICG alongside Dan Caruso. Dan, Matt, and their team then went on to found Zayo, one of the largest fiber providers in the country. Delta-v (and my prior firm, Centennial Ventures) participated in the Series A, B, and C rounds, working closely with the Zayo team through their 2014 IPO. Zayo was a highly successful investment for Centennial and a standout in Delta-v's second fund.
After the Zayo chapter, Matt and team did what great operators do: they built something new. Beginning in 2017, using their own capital, they founded Vero with a focus on dark fiber infrastructure. The decision to sell dark fiber was ahead of its time and unlocked tremendous value. The team identified massive secular growth trends—cloud computing and artificial intelligence—early, and positioned Vero to build critical fiber infrastructure for leading hyperscalers in markets hungry for connectivity. Their guiding principle: go where others aren’t building.
A Large and Growing Market Opportunity
Global demand for bandwidth continues to grow rapidly and shows no signs of abating. As data center investment accelerates to support AI workloads and cloud computing, the need for complementary fiber infrastructure has never been greater. Vero’s Fiber Networks segment (“VFN”) builds custom dark fiber networks for K–12 schools, local governments, hyperscalers, and mobile network operators—primarily in smaller towns across the western United States that larger providers have overlooked. The AI data center boom of recent years has only increased the demand for Vero’s fiber networks from its hyperscaler partners.
In 2022, Vero expanded its vision by leveraging that existing infrastructure to bring fiber connectivity directly to homes and small businesses in underserved western markets. The Vero Broadband segment (“VB”) delivers high-speed internet to retail customers at a reasonable monthly price point—filling a genuine gap in communities that have long lacked competitive broadband options. Through a disciplined M&A strategy, Vero has acquired multiple companies and expanded its footprint across numerous states, accelerating its growth trajectory significantly.
Our Investment and Syndicate
We were thrilled to bring our long-time partner Hamilton Lane into both of our Vero investments, and our friends at Braemont are a welcome addition to the equity syndicate. More than anything, the round size — which exceeded what the flagship Delta-v fund could support on its own — is a testament to the Vero team and the quality of the business they've built.
We are proud to announce Delta-v’s investment in Vero as lead investor in this $500 million minority growth financing, alongside Hamilton Lane and Braemont Capital. Vero has a proven track record of responsible capital deployment and consistent execution. With this new capital, we are excited to support Vero’s continued expansion into underserved markets—and to partner once again with Matt Erickson, Greg Friedman, and the rest of the exceptional Vero team.
The trail ahead looks very promising.
The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or investment products. Certain statements may be forward-looking in nature and are subject to risks and uncertainties; actual results may differ materially. References to customer experiences are anecdotal and should not be construed as endorsements or investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
