Connect Ventures
Connect Ventures focuses on backing exceptional founders building outlier product companies. The firm emphasizes a product-centric approach, prioritizing companies with strong developer experience and a deep understanding of their users' needs. They aim to be more than just investors, positioning themselves as long-term partners who understand the intricacies of building product-led businesses. They seek founders building solutions to problems they personally experience, leading to innovative products that resonate with a wider audience. Connect Ventures looks for companies where they can establish a high level of trust and alignment with the founders, acting as a sounding board and accountability partner throughout their journey. The firm's investment strategy is to lead or co-lead pre-seed and seed rounds, providing crucial early-stage funding and support. They understand the importance of product development and community-led growth, particularly in areas like marketplaces, market networks, and networked SaaS. The partners have experience as founders themselves, providing firsthand understanding of the challenges and opportunities that startups face. The firm actively supports their portfolio companies with fundraising strategies and leadership development. Connect Ventures places high importance on the founder's journey and their ability to create impactful products. The quotes from portfolio founders highlight Connect's understanding of product, commitment through thick and thin, and willingness to be hands-on when needed. Their investment decisions are driven by a belief in the power of product to drive growth and category domination, and they actively experiment with new frameworks like Minimum Viable Category Design to help their portfolio companies succeed.
Counterview Capital
Counterview Capital is a New York-based venture capital firm that focuses on pre-seed and seed stage technology companies. They aim to partner with creative and unconventional thinkers who are building innovative products intended to change the world. The firm has a "counter view" towards venture capital, and they seek founders who similarly challenge the status quo.
DHS Venture Partners
DHS Venture Partners is a venture capital firm comprised of Stockholm School of Economics alumni, including founders, investors, operators, and angels. They focus on supporting the next generation of great entrepreneurs by co-investing in early-stage companies. Their investment strategy centers around backing founders with innovative ideas that have the potential to scale into lasting businesses. DHS Venture Partners frequently acts as the first investor in their portfolio companies, providing ongoing support throughout their growth journeys. The firm's unique approach combines the expertise, proximity, and deep domain insight of an angel investor with the network, resources, and strength of an experienced community. With 25 selected venture partners and an active alumni group, DHS Venture Partners provides founders with access to a broad range of skills and connections. This collaborative model allows them to offer comprehensive support and guidance, increasing the chances of success for their portfolio companies. Based on portfolio data, DHS Venture Partners concentrates on pre-seed and seed stage investments. Their investment strategy is particularly focused on companies located in Sweden. By investing early and providing significant value-add through their network and expertise, DHS Venture Partners aims to build long-term relationships with founders and contribute to the growth of a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Daring Capital
Daring Capital invests in extraordinary underrepresented founders building companies that make the world a better place. They focus on mission-led startups often overlooked by traditional investors due to lack of track record or access to wealthy networks. The firm emphasizes transparency, agility, and founder-centric support to drive impact and profitability.
Delphinus Venture Capital
Delphinus Venture Capital is an evergreen fund investing in research-based businesses from pre-seed through Series B, focusing on sectors like Food, Health, Defence, and Energy. They prioritize transparency, long-term partnership, and founder-centric support with a lean structure to move quickly and respect founders' time.
Demium Capital
We invest in talent. We invest in the earliest stages of a startup –pre-seed and seed stages–, when the co-founding team has already validated their business plan.
Deuce Capital
Deuce Capital invests in pre-seed and seed stage HealthTech businesses based in the United Kingdom. They bring operator experience and network to mentor founders, and help them turn their visions into scalable, impactful businesses.
Draper Venture Partners
Draper Associates is a global venture capital firm that invests in world-shaping companies. They back bold founders with transformative ideas, technologies, and industries that will define the next century. The firm invests early, from pre-seed to Series A, across all sectors and geographies, focusing particularly on frontier industries. They combine deep technical expertise with extensive operational experience to help founders navigate the challenges of scaling breakthrough technologies. Draper Associates provides strategic guidance, network access, and conviction derived from four decades of experience backing category-defining companies. They aim to turn science fiction into reality, one bold investment at a time, supporting entrepreneurs shaping tomorrow's economy.
Entree Capital
Entrée Capital is a venture capital firm managing $1.5 billion across multiple funds with offices in Tel Aviv, London, and New York. Their investment philosophy centers around partnering with exceptional founders to build impactful companies addressing significant challenges. They focus on early-stage investments (pre-seed, seed, and Series A) across Israel, the UK, Europe, and the United States. The firm aims to back founders who are building the impossible, particularly in areas such as AI, Deep-Tech, Crypto, and innovative B2B solutions. Entrée Capital is adapting to the changing landscape of the software industry, acknowledging the shift from Systems of Record (SOR) to Systems of Context, where AI-driven solutions that understand the nuances of business goals and historical data are becoming increasingly valuable. The firm is focused on investing in AI-native companies that can leverage data to improve their products iteratively and deliver significant value to users. The firm's investment strategy also includes a contrarian approach, focusing on verticals that others might overlook due to smaller software budgets. They believe that AI can unlock significant opportunities in these industries, driving complete resets and unlocking P&L potential. They are keenly observing AI agents, decentralized platforms, and web3 security. They seek companies that can bridge the gap between organizing and completing work, with autonomous agents that own the context of the user. Entrée Capital emphasizes the importance of founder DNA and is committed to supporting entrepreneurs from the earliest stages. The firm aims to build enduring companies by providing unwavering support and resources to exceptional founders. The firm also understands the importance of leveraging the AI revolution and is focused on backing companies that are at the forefront of this transformative technology.
Entrée Capital
Entrée Capital is a venture capital firm managing $1.5 billion across several funds, with offices in Tel Aviv, London, and New York. They focus on partnering with exceptional founders to build innovative companies addressing meaningful challenges. Their investment strategy targets early-stage investments, specifically pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds, across Israel, the UK, Europe, and the US. The firm seeks companies in AI, Deep-Tech & Quantum Computing, Software, Data & B2B Productivity, Crypto infrastructure and security, and "Weird Is Wonderful" frontier innovation. Entrée Capital aims to invest in companies that are building the impossible and disrupting traditional industries. The firm emphasizes a founder-centric approach, standing with entrepreneurs from day zero and supporting them throughout their journey. They prioritize companies demonstrating strong product-market fit, data-driven decision-making, and the potential for significant impact. The firm believes that AI is a foundational transformation of the global economy and focuses on AI-native founders building vertical agents, infrastructure, and category-defining software. They also recognize the convergence of physics, compute, software, and national-security innovation. Entrée Capital is particularly interested in verticals often overlooked due to smaller software budgets but ripe for disruption through AI-driven solutions. They are proactive about engaging with potential portfolio companies, showcasing examples of direct outreach and early engagement that led to customer adoption and, eventually, investment. They appear to value companies that create systems of context, move beyond simply organizing work, and embrace autonomous agents capable of completing tasks, differentiating themselves from systems of record.
Female Founders Fund
Founders Forum Group is a global community and group of businesses empowering entrepreneurs at every stage of their journeys. They champion entrepreneurial innovation and prioritize the needs of founders through networking & events, education, professional services, investment, and philanthropy. The group's vision is to create an environment for collaboration among founders, investors, CEOs, and leaders to discuss the future of tech-enabled industries, new technologies, and evolving business models. The organization convenes invitation-only forums in various locations to unite successful founders, thought leaders, and investors to address significant questions. They aim to be key drivers of the startup ecosystem, enabling connections, deal-making, and supporting entrepreneurs through various stages of their company lifecycle, from pre-seed to post-exit.
Fiedler Capital
Fiedler Capital is a pre-seed VC firm focused on funding breakout companies on the peripheries of Europe. They aim to be the first check investor for overlooked founders from these ecosystems. They back founders who are defying the odds and building significant companies.
Fifty Years
Fifty Years is a pre-seed and seed-focused VC firm that invests in founders using technology to solve significant global challenges. Their investment strategy centers around backing scientists, engineers, and hackers who are building massive businesses while addressing critical issues such as the climate crisis, disease, connectivity, and malnutrition. The firm's ethos is deeply rooted in supporting founders; they see themselves as founders and are backed by a network of successful founders of billion-dollar tech companies who provide mentorship and guidance to their portfolio companies. They aim to be more than just investors; they want to provide a cheat code for starting a deep tech startup.
Final Frontier
Final Frontier is a Nordic VC fund focused on backing visionary founders building critical space and defence tech to help Europe regain control of its future. They believe Europe has the potential to lead again in these sectors, and their investments reflect this ambition. They aim to support startups across the space and defence technology value chain, from satellite systems and propulsion to drones, cybersecurity, and autonomous platforms. The fund focuses on pre-seed and seed stage companies, preferring teams with working prototypes ready for real-world deployment. They are particularly interested in companies that contribute to European sovereignty and address critical needs in the space and defence sectors. Their long-term strategy involves scaling up fund sizes over time to continue supporting companies as they grow.
Flori Ventures
Flori Ventures is a seed-stage fund investing in entrepreneurs building the future financial system and climate crisis solutions. They aim to back founders and leaders who tap into financial and climate innovation to solve real-world problems at scale. The firm believes in supporting founders from pre-seed to pre-series A stages. They have backed 80+ startups with $30M+ to help founders solve impactful problems in big markets.
Founders Forum Group
Founders Forum Group (FFG) operates as a global community and a group of businesses aimed at empowering entrepreneurs across all stages of their journey. Their core strategy revolves around building and leveraging a peer-to-peer network of inspiring founders, pioneering investors, inventive CEOs, and impactful leaders. FFG facilitates connections, knowledge sharing, and deal-making through invitation-only forums held in iconic locations worldwide, addressing critical questions facing the tech industry. They are not solely an investment firm but provide investment opportunities, educational programs, professional services, and philanthropic initiatives. They aim to be key drivers of the startup ecosystem and provide opportunities for making friends, doing deals, and celebrating life, according to testimonials on their website. The group focuses on creating an environment where founders can openly discuss challenges and build relationships that can lead to business transactions. They support entrepreneurs from pre-seed to post-exit, evidenced by the range of services and businesses within the Founders Forum Group ecosystem, including venture studios, seed programs, and accelerator programs through Founders Factory. Their geographical footprint spans across Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA). They also highlight specific locations such as London, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Paris, and Hong Kong. FFG also operates London Tech Week through a joint venture and spearheaded the relaunch of Tech Nation. They operate multiple sub-businesses and events and support entrepreneurs with a variety of needs. Their approach combines networking events, early-stage investment (through Founders Factory and firstminute capital), and community building to create a comprehensive platform for entrepreneurial success. The quotes from founders in various stages and industries emphasize the impact of the network on their journey and how it acts as a place where business relationships and deals are fostered. They aim to be more than just investors, as they also prioritize building relationships and supporting the personal and professional growth of their members.
Freedom Fund VC
Freedom Fund VC is a U.S.-based venture capital firm that focuses on investing in audacious founders who are developing transformational, field-proven solutions. Their investment thesis centers around enhancing resilience, strengthening security, and ultimately saving lives in a world facing increasing volatility. They look for companies whose innovations can address critical challenges and contribute to a safer and more secure future.
Garage Capital
Garage Capital is a venture capital firm built by founders, for founders, with a focus on helping best-in-class Canadian and YC startups jump from garage to growth. The firm appears to invest broadly, with a particular emphasis on companies pushing boundaries and tackling ambitious problems, as evidenced by their "Moonshots" portfolio. The firm's website prominently displays a large portfolio across a multitude of verticals. The investment philosophy appears to prioritize supporting founders early in their journey, providing them with the resources and network necessary to scale their businesses. The "built by founders, for founders" motto suggests a commitment to understanding the unique challenges faced by early-stage companies and providing tailored support.
Giancarlo Vergine
I invest in pre-seed and seed startups with an impacting innovation and a technology soul. SaaS, Foodtech, Healthtech, Impact and DeepTech
Global Founders Capital (GFC)
Global Founders Capital (GFC) is a global early-stage investor that empowers gifted entrepreneurs. They focus on backing founders who start category-defining ventures. Their strategy involves supporting founders throughout the lifecycle, from day zero through all stages of growth. GFC provides a platform to help founders scale their businesses operationally, offering support at every stage from pre-seed and seed to IPO. They invest globally across all geographies.
Graduate Entrepreneur
Graduate Ventures is a venture capital firm based in the Netherlands that partners with founders from day zero, from the first idea to scalable growth. They focus on backing ambitious founders who are turning breakthrough ideas into globally scalable companies. The firm combines early-stage capital with hands-on support and a powerful alumni network to accelerate the entrepreneurial journey. They aim to unlock the full potential of founders by providing not only funding but also access to experienced entrepreneurs, experts, and peers, fostering a collaborative environment for growth and shared insights. Their investment strategy centers on providing Pre-Seed and Seed stage funding to startups in the Netherlands. Beyond capital, Graduate Ventures emphasizes the value of its extensive network, comprising over 200 alumni. This network facilitates connections, knowledge sharing, and access to trusted discussions on critical topics like talent acquisition, funding strategies, and go-to-market approaches. The firm actively connects portfolio companies with high-profile individuals and ensures consistent access to the right resources and relationships, driving their businesses forward. Graduate Ventures' approach is community-driven, leveraging a unique combination of alumni, students, and professionals to support the fund's operations. Alumni serve as the backbone, bringing capital, knowledge, and network to the next generation of founders. The firm also involves a student investment team to provide a fresh perspective and support pre-seed fund operations. The firm highlights its experienced professionals with startup and investing expertise who manage the organization and seed fund.
Greylock Israel Partners
Greylock Partners focuses on partnering with founders at the earliest stages, with over 80% of their investments being the first check into a company at the Pre-Seed, Seed, or Series A stage. They emphasize building partnerships with founders from the very beginning, often even before a formal idea or business plan is fully realized. They are particularly focused on AI-first companies and prioritize selective partnerships, deep engagement, and a commitment to excellence. Greylock's investment approach is centered on identifying opportunities where software can reshape existing industries and create entirely new ones. They achieve this through a deeply focused strategy concentrated on key domains. They provide bespoke support to founders through the Greylock Edge program, a 3-month company-building initiative that helps pre-idea, pre-seed, and seed-stage founders refine their foundational decisions from inception to product-market fit, including flexible financing options. They focus on founders and companies that are disrupting or creating markets. The firm also demonstrates a long-term perspective, often investing in companies that go on to become industry leaders. They emphasize the importance of a strong partnership between the firm and the founders, aiming to be more than just a source of capital.
HAX
HAX is a hands-on venture capital firm that focuses on pre-seed startups solving hard problems with hard tech. They operate at the intersection of science and engineering, addressing real-world, industrial-scale problems that require more than just software. HAX seeks founders tackling significant physical challenges in areas such as plasma, critical minerals, climate infrastructure, chemistry, robotics, and advanced manufacturing. They provide more than just capital, building an entire engineering organization around the startups they invest. HAX offers a six-month residency at their 35,000 square-foot facility in Newark, NJ, providing access to space, tools, and technical expertise to help founders turn research into prototypes and prototypes into real products. Complementing the Newark operation are design, engineering and manufacturing experts in Pune and Shenzhen. They believe in investing not just in startups, but in the infrastructure, expertise, and ecosystems that support them. HAX also developed the HAX Plasma Forge in Princeton, NJ, to give founders access to world-class plasma physics expertise, supporting innovations in manufacturing, materials, semiconductors, and energy. As part of SOSV, the world’s most active pre-seed deep-tech venture capital firm, HAX leverages SOSV's global network and resources. Their approach is to provide hands-on support for hard-tech founders through rapid prototyping, de-risking technology, and achieving traction. HAX aims to bridge the gap with experience and infrastructure, bringing together engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs to support early-stage hard tech startups. HAX supports early stage startups working on hard tech. They have brought together the people, resources, and investment capital with the goal of enabling the next generation of hard tech startups. HAX startups include Verdex Technologies, 3DK Tech, ACiiST Smart Networks Ltd., and Aeromutable.
HAX (SOSV)
HAX, a part of SOSV, is a venture capital firm focused on pre-seed startups solving challenging real-world problems with hard technology. The firm emphasizes bridging the gap between scientific research and industrial-scale application, providing hands-on support for founders working at the intersection of science and engineering. HAX aims to tackle significant physical challenges in areas like plasma, critical minerals, climate infrastructure, chemistry, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, recognizing that these areas demand more than just software solutions. Their strategy involves de-risking technologies through rapid prototyping, access to specialized resources, and technical expertise, and assisting founders in achieving market traction. HAX offers more than just capital; they build an entire engineering organization around their portfolio companies. This support includes a six-month residency at their 35,000 square-foot facility in Newark, NJ, providing access to tools, space, and technical depth necessary for turning research into prototypes and prototypes into viable products. Complementing the Newark operation are HAX's design, engineering, and manufacturing experts located in Pune and Shenzhen, offering a global reach for their support infrastructure. The firm's unique approach involves a hands-on approach, addressing the specific needs of hard tech startups, differentiating it from traditional venture capital firms. HAX's focus extends to building ecosystems that support deep tech innovation. An example of this is the development of the HAX Plasma Forge in Princeton, NJ, in partnership with the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. This initiative aims to provide founders with access to world-class plasma physics expertise, facilitating advancements in manufacturing, materials, semiconductors, and energy. By creating dedicated infrastructure and access to experts, HAX aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of plasma-based technologies and other hard tech ventures. HAX seems to invest in companies that have a focus on the future of industry and global challenges such as decarbonization and energy transition. They look for female founders and companies based in specific locations that they are working to build up as hubs.