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The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors of 2026
Bryan Rosenblatt, Shan-Lyn Ma, Ravi Mhatre, Ann DeWitt, and Brandon Reeves.Mr. Nelson design for BIBusiness Insider's Seed 100 spotlights the early-stage investors with the rare knack for finding tomorrow's tech giants before the rest of the market knows they exist.In the AI boom, the definition of "seed stage" has changed dramatically.Seed investing used to mean spotting Facebook in a dorm room or SpaceX before the rockets worked. Today, it can mean fighting for a stake in a startup before there is a product, revenue, or much of a company at all. As seed rounds swell from small checks into billion-dollar bets, the investors who get in first are taking on more risk — and chasing bigger rewards — than ever.The hottest AI startups are now raising seed rounds measured in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, with investors competing aggressively for access to top technical talent long before there is anything resembling a mature business.Mira Murati's Thinking Machines Lab, for example, landed a record-breaking $2 billion seed round last year. Advanced Machine Intelligence, cofounded by Yann LeCun, Meta's former chief AI scientist, announced a $1.03 a billion seed round in March.Overall, there are fewer deals happening below $5 million, while rounds above $10 million are increasing, according to Crunchbase data. The shift reflects how venture capital has become increasingly concentrated around a small number of perceived breakout opportunities, especially in AI and frontier technology, where investors fear missing the next generational company more than they fear losing money on failed startups.Now in its sixth year, the Seed 100 recognizes the sage dealmakers who provide the essential first push to startups that go on to become some of tech's greatest successes. This list is compiled using data analysis supplied by Termina, a software platform spun out of Tribe Capital. Read the full methodology behind the list.
1. Walter KortschakWalter KortschakFirestreak VenturesFounder, Firestreak VenturesSelect investments: Anthropic, OpenAI, Palantir, Polymarket, SpaceXCity: Aspen, Colorado, and LondonFor Kortschak, early-stage investing is fundamentally about "amplifying a founder's ambition." Now investing directly through his family office, he has built an enviable portfolio of companies driving the current technology boom, writing checks to OpenAI, Anthropic, and Lovable.Over the past year, his portfolio has seen AI-driven momentum, highlighted by his investment in the AI chipmaker Groq, which last year sold off its technology to Nvidia for $20 billion, as well as the explosive rise of the prediction market Polymarket, which was last valued at $9 billion.Kortschak brings over 40 years of venture experience to the founders he backs. He helped build the growth equity powerhouse Summit Partners and launch the data-driven seed fund SignalFire. Across his career, Kortschak has shepherded over 60 companies to profitable exits.2. Jesse RobbinsJesse RobbinsHeavybitGeneral partner, HeavybitSelect investments: Instacart, Figure AI, Shield AI, FastlyCity: San FranciscoRobbins has invested in more than 60 startups, mostly in startups reinventing developer tools and infrastructure. His personal and firm portfolio includes over 60 companies.He cofounded Chef, which became one of the most widely adopted open-source infrastructure platforms, used by Facebook, Google, Apple, and IBM, and was acquired for over $220 million.He also pioneered chaos engineering at Amazon as "Master of Disaster and cofounded the DevOps movement, which emphasizes collaboration, shared responsibility, and transparency between teams that historically worked in isolation."I look for founders who want to build the operating system for entire industries," Robbins told Business Insider. "This requires extraordinary taste, grit, drive, and a vision for the future."üç. Gaurav JainGaurav JainAfore CapitalFounder, Afore CapitalSelect investments: Gamma, Noon, Goldcast, Neo Financial, TaskletCity: San FranciscoJain has built a reputation as one of the most influential early-stage investors in venture capital: first at Founder Collective, and, since 2016, at Afore Capital, which often backs startups before they have a product, traction, or even a fully formed idea."We are truly backing the founding team," he told Business Insider. "We are looking for teams that iterate rapidly and are obsessed about creating value for their customers."Jain says his biggest accomplishment over the past year is returning meaningful amounts of capital to his limited partners, something increasingly rare these days."Acquisitions of Goldcast and Kubecost, along with secondaries in some of our breakouts, have allowed us to achieve top decile DPI," Jain said.dört. Ed SimEd SimBoldstart VenturesFounder and general partner, Boldstart VenturesSelect investments: Protect AI, Snyk, Keycard AI, Surf AI, Spectro ClouCity: MiamiNow a regular on the Seed 100 list, Ed Sim founded Boldstart Ventures in 2010 to invest in founders building cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, and physical AI companies. The firm has $1.1 billion in assets under management and backs founders at inception.Sim told Business Insider he is. most excited for Protect AI, an AI security company, which he invested in a year before ChatGPT was launched. It was acquired by Palo Alto Networks for over $700 million last year.He has an OpenClaw bot named Chewbarka, which he has trained on over seven years of writing from his newsletters, podcast appearances, and social media. He uses it to refine founder pitch decks and write social media posts in his voice.5. Bradley HorowitzBradley HorowitzCourtesy of Bradley HorowitzCofounder, Wisdom VenturesSelect investments: Slack, OpenAI, Applied Intuition, Miro, Ramp, Scale AICity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaAs vice president of product at Google for 15 years, Horowitz led teams that developed some of the company's most important offerings, such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google News.He left his role at Google in 2023 to invest full time, both as an angel investor and at Wisdom Ventures, which just closed its oversubscribed second fund. It is one of the few firms that can claim early investments in both OpenAI and Anthropic and is now focusing more on wellness. At this point, Horowitz could retire more than comfortably, but says he loves mentoring young entrepreneurs."I feel obligated to take what I've learned and help people who are smarter and younger and have more energy than I do, but maybe spare them some grief they would otherwise experience by dint of my experience," Horowitz said.6. Alex IskoldAlex Iskold2048 VenturesFounder and partner, 2048 VenturesSelect investments: GlossGenius, Aerodrome, Laminar, Mantl, BentoBox, Gorgias, HealthieCity: New YorkIskold. worked as a startup founder and software engineer for over 20 years before founding 2048 Ventures in 2018. The VC firm, which is based in New York and Boston, focuses on early-stage startups in vertical AI, deep tech, and health.Iskold named Laminar, a factory automation startup founded by brother-and-sister duo Annie and David Lu, as one of the fastest-growing firms in 2048's portfolio.7. Ravi MhatreRavi MhatreLightspeed Venture PartnersFounder and managing director, Lightspeed Venture PartnersSelect investments: Rubrik, Navan, Moveworks, Mistral AI, Skild AI, GranolaCity: San FranciscoMhatre founded Lightspeed in 1999, which has grown into a megafirm, having recently closed $9 billion in new funds to double down on AI.His notable seed deals include Rubrik, Navan, Moveworks, ThoughtSpot, Mistral AI, Unconventional AI, Goodfire AI, Skild AI, Sycamore, Dialogue AI, and Granola."The founders Lightspeed backs don't extrapolate from the present; they derive from first principles and arrive at futures others haven't thought to look for," Mhatre told Business Insider.8. Raymond TonsingRaymond TonsingChristophe WuFounder and managing partner, Caffeinated CapitalSelect investments: Airtable, Astral, Onebrief, Varda, Aven, Virta, Seneca, Loft, BrexCity: San Francisco and Aspen, ColoradoTonsing pivoted from real estate to tech investing and founded the early-stage VC firm Caffeinated Capital in 2009. Past startups he's backed include Appurify and WePay, which were acquired by Google and JPMorgan, respectively.The firm positions itself as a small, long-term partner that invests in seed and Series A rounds, doubling down on high-conviction bets as they scale. It has invested in companies like Affirm and Opendoor that later went public at multibillion-dollar valuations.Tonsing was also an early investor in Varda Space, which aims to develop pharmaceutical components in space, and serves on its board.9. Zach WeinbergZach WeinbergCourtesy of Zach WeinbergCofounder, Operator Partners; cofounder and CEO, Curie.BioSelect investments: Headway, Nourish, Plaid, Ramp, WhatnotCity: New YorkBuilding a software company is cheap. In biotech, however, early mistakes like picking the wrong target or hiring the wrong experts are vastly more expensive. Weinberg built Curio.Bio to be a "drug discovery copilot," giving founders both capital and access to top-tier drug discovery scientists and makers, so founders can hit the right milestones without the costly errors.Before rewriting the rules of biotech seed investing, Weinberg spent the first 15 years of his career as a highly successful entrepreneur. He sold his first company, the adtech startup Invite Media, to Google for $81 million in 2010. His second act, the oncology tech startup Flatiron Health, was acquired by Swiss healthcare giant Roche for $2 billion in 2018.10. Darian ShiraziDarian ShiraziGradient VenturesManaging partner, GradientSelect investments: Legora, Writer, Harmattan AI, Range, OuraCity: San FranciscoOne of Facebook's first 10 employees, Shirazi is a veteran Bay Area founder and investor. He's invested in a string of high-profile startups, including Oura, the Finnish health ring maker, which was last valued at $11 billion in 2025.He recalls. flying to Helsinki in 2019 to meet the team and ended up doing due diligence in a sauna, wearing nothing but towels in scorching heat. After the trip, he submitted a term sheet to lead one of the startup's first funding rounds, and he has worn an Oura ring ever since.Shirazi says he's doing much of his due diligence now with AI rather than hopping in Finnish saunas. He also finds the tech helpful for confirming references, and learning more about new concepts — especially in dense fields like deep tech.11. Roger ChenRoger ChenSilverton PartnersPartner, Silverton PartnersSelect investments: Apprentice, Billie, GroceryTV, Routefusion, Rx Redefined, Valid8 FinancialCity: AustinChen started his career as a product manager at Google before breaking into venture capital nearly a decade ago. In 2017, he joined Austin-based Silverton Partners, which invests in seed- and Series A-stage consumer and software companies.In a "full-circle moment,". an angel investment of Chen's — AI cloud startup Ganymede — was acquired by Silverton's portfolio company Apprentice, an agentic manufacturing platform. Chen told Business Insider that he connected the two companies prior to the acquisition.12. Jeremy YapJeremy YapCourtesy of Jeremy YapAngel investorSelect investments: Anam, Corti, Dust, Listen Labs, MiraiCity: San FranciscoSplit between San Francisco and Paris, Yap is an angel investor backing early-stage startups in North America and Europe. Prior to becoming a full-time angel investor, Yap worked at Merril Lynch for seven years, leaving the investment bank in 2012.His latest investments have an AI theme — such as Anam, a digital human startup, which raised a $9 million seed round led by Redpoint Ventures in 2025. Outside the AI umbrella, Yap has backed health tech companies like Maven Clinic and Oura, which was valued at $11 billion in 2025.13. Arjun SethiArjun SethiTribe CapitalCofounder and chairman, Tribe Capital; Co-CEO, KrakenSelect investments: Applied Intuition, Stackblitz, xAI, Gusto, KapitalCity: San FranciscoSethi is a prolific investor at Tribe Capital, who also joined crypto exchange Kraken as co-CEO in October 2024.His most memorable deal involved working with US and Mexican authorities to stabilize a failing bank in Mexico. After a lot of effort, the bank was able to conduct cross-border banking in both countries. The push paid off: annual revenue grew 10x to over $600 million and the bank, now known as Kapital, is one of Mexico's biggest unicorns by valuation.14. Ariel MaislosAriel MaislosCourtesy of Ariel MaislosAngel InvestorSelect investments: Vanti AI, Blink Ops, LinearB, Epsagon, FinoutCity: Tel AvivMaislos considers angel investing and helping entrepreneurs his hobby. The serial founder-turned-investor focuses on deep tech and consumer startups and has backed companies such as Vanti AI, Blink Ops, and Finout.Known for his expertise in data storage and cybersecurity, Maislos previously founded and led several successful startups, including Stratoscale, Anobit, and Cypago.15. Jordan NofJordan NofCourtesy of Jordan NofCofounder and managing partner, Tusk Venture PartnersSelect investments: Ro, Alma, Dub, Allocate, Sunday, Kodex, WheelCity: New YorkTusk Ventures Partners invests in highly regulated industries, such as fintech (Allocate), healthcare (Ro), and gaming (FanDuel). Nof founded the firm in 2015 after serving as a director at Blackstone's early-stage investing arm, Blackstone Innovations.He told Business Insider that last year the team worked closely with Alma on market expansion, regulatory issues, and growing its provider network, which helped position the mental healthcare platform for its pending acquisition by Spring Health.16. Mike DoddMike DoddCourtesy of Mike DoddGeneral partner, Silverton PartnersSelect investments: Ontic, Bennie, Living Security, Billie, ApprenticeCity: AustinDodd joined Silverton Partners, a firm that funds and mentors early-stage startups with a focus on "enduring companies," in 2016.Silverton backed Ontic, an Austin-based startup that provides AI software for corporate physical security, during its 2019 seed round. Dodd told Business Insider that Silverton continued to support Ontic during its more recent $230 million growth round by "bringing investors to the table and generating demand for the financing."17. Manu KumarManu KumarK9 VenturesChief firestarter, K9 VenturesSelect investments: Lyft, Twilio, Carta, Auth0, EverlawCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaA prolific investor who also co-founded cap table management firm Carta, Kuma invests out of K9 Ventures,. which is named that way because it aims to be a "startup's best friend."Kumar was an early backer of Forethought Technology, an AI customer service startup that was acquired by Zendesk last month. In 2018, Kumar suggested that the startup apply to TechCrunch's Disrupt conference, where startups battle each other to win over investors, and Forethought ended up winning.18. Shan-Lyn MaShan-Lyn MaZolaCofounder and co-CEO, ZolaSelect investments: Deliverr, Flow Commerce, Billie, Archive, Nara Organics, Vic.aiCity: New YorkCofounder of wedding planning company Zola, Shan-Lyn Ma started her career at Yahoo and is an active angel investor. She's backed several successful direct-to-consumer startups, like trendy razor brand Billie and infant milk formula brand Nara Organics."I've had the privilege of investing in many companies with compelling business models and growth trajectories, but it's less common for me to invest in a consumer product I've personally relied on," Ma told Business Insider.Nara Organics, however, became a product she used regularly while feeding her son, she said.Her e-commerce investments include Deliverr, acquired by Shopify in 2022 and then sold to Flexport in 2023, and Flow Commerce, sold to Global-e in 2021.19. Ali PartoviAli PartoviNeoFounder and CEO, NeoSelect investments: Kalshi, Cursor, Vanta, Bluesky, CobotCity: San FranciscoPartovi, an entrepreneur and angel investor, founded Neo in 2017. He has built it into a pipeline for identifying top founders before they start companies, often investing while they are still in school.The firm's savvy early bets on the AI startup Cursor, which SpaceX has the right to acquire for $60 billion, and the prediction marketplace Kalshi have yielded paper gains of over $1 billion."Early-stage investing is about three things: people, people, people," Partovi told Business Insider.20. Gokul RajaramGokul RajaramCourtesy of Gokul RajaramFounding partner, Marathon Management PartnerSelect investments: CloudWalk, Groq, Mercury, Pigment, Supabase, Vercel, WhatNotCity: San FranciscoRajaram founded Marathon Management Partners last year to continue his work as an early investor in tech startups. His investments include Brazilian payment network CloudWalk and AI chips maker Groq, which Nvidia acquired in December for $20 billion.Rajaram told Business Insider he also invested in Agentio, an AI-native platform. for creator advertising, a space close to his heart."I helped connect them with several customers and spent time with the founders helping them hone their platform and pricing strategy," Rajaram said. "They raised a strong round from Forerunner in late 2025."21. Steve LoughlinSteve LoughlinAccelPartner, AccelSelect investments: Monte Carlo Data, Airkit.ai, Poggio Labs, Centaur Labs, Productiv, StairwellCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaLoughlin was originally a founder of RelateIQ, a sales technology startup that was acquired by Salesforce in 2014 for $390 million. He joined Accel in 2016, where he helps lead the firm's seed practice."In looking at new investments for a seed, it's all about the founders," Loughlin told Business Insider. "Startups are never a straight line, so understanding why they are starting and learning about their history of execution is critical in partnering."22. Joe MontanaJoe MontanaLiquid 2 VenturesLiquid 2 VenturesSelect investments: GitLab, Rippling, Applied Intuition, Anduril, MercuryCity: San FranciscoAfter a Hall of Fame career as quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Montana cofounded HRJ Capital, a fund of funds, in 1999. After a few years of angel investing and learning from the "super angel" Ron Conway, Montana launched Liquid 2 Ventures in 2015,. which invests in industries as varied as enterprise software and defense tech.Montana told Business that, like football, venture capital is a long game. "At Liquid 2 Ventures, we're committed to being lifetime investors," he said. Many of the firm's most lucrative investments were bets on founders working on their second or third company."We look for. potential in founders and aim to be a partner to them throughout their lifetime," Montana said, "not just for one lifecycle."23. Julian CounihanJulian CounihanSchematic VenturesGeneral partner, Schematic VenturesSelect investments: Altana, Harbinger, Airspace Logistics, Infinitform, P-1 AI, FulcrumCity: San FranciscoCounihan is a general partner at Schematic Ventures, which invests in early-stage startups pushing the boundaries of supply chain, manufacturing, and software."I've spent the last ten years at Schematic building a deep network across industrial sectors through conferences, factory visits, distribution centers, and a lot of direct industry relationships. That network has become a real asset, but it can be hard to manage at scale," Counihan told Business Insider.The San Francisco resident said Schematic had begun using an internal AI platform to link emerging opportunities with the right people and. automate the data and organizational grind that used to occupy much of his time."That gives me more time to focus on investing and working with founders, while creating some of the leverage that larger funds get from bigger internal teams," Counihan added..24. Saam MotamediSaam MotamediGreylockGeneral partner, GreylockSelect investments: Abnormal AI, Upwind Security, Braintrust, Fable SecurityCity: San FranciscoAt Greylock, Motamedi focuses on enterprise software, data, and machine learning infrastructure, applied AI, application software, and cybersecurity. He focuses on founders pre-product and pre-revenue and prefers to be the first investor in a company."I take my work very seriously," he says on his official bio page. "If, looking back on my career, I see a handful of founders I've supported deeply — who've gone on to build market-defining companies from scratch — that will be something to be proud of."25. Tikhon BernstamTikhon BernstamCourtesy of Tikhon BernstamGeneral partner, Uncommon Capital; angel investorSelect investments: Razorpay, Embark Trucks, Lightning Labs, Forge, Linear, CruiseCity: San FranciscoBernstam knows what it takes to get a startup off the ground. He previously co-founded the digital document startup Scribd and Parse, which Facebook acquired in 2013 for around $85 million.Now an angel investor and General Partner at Uncommon Capital, Bernstam takes a hands-on role with the firm's portfolio of SaaS and consumer software companies, assisting with engineering and hiring culture.His investments include Fintech firm Razorpay, which Berstam said he invested in while it was in Ycombinator in 2015 at an $8 million valuation, and is now set to go public in India at a valuation of around $10 billion.26. Ryan HooverRyan HooverWeekend FundFounder and general partner, Weekend FundSelect investments: Pipe, MainStreet, Deel, Outset, PassportCity: San FranciscoHoover, who created the startup and product discovery site Product Hunt, founded Weekend Fund in 2017. The firm invests in consumer and B2B startups, writing checks of $100,000 to $300,000. As an investor, he's transformed his network of thousands of founders into a sourcing engine for finding and investing in the next big thing.Hoover's backed companies like HR platform Deel, which was valued at $17.üç billion in 2025 following a $300 million Series E.27. Ali TamasebAli TamasebWinni WintermeyerGeneral partner, DCVCSelect investments: Pano, Starkware, Odyssey AI, Chai Discovery, ElectronX, Reality Defender, San Francisco Compute CompanyCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaAs a general partner at DCVC, Tameseb is a self-described "people's capitalist." In addition to investing in early-stage startups in insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, and blockchain, the investor runs the Superfounders Club, a network of entrepreneurs and founders who he says have collectively generated over $100 billion in enterprise value.Tamaseb told Business Insider that two of the most memorable deals he worked on last year were Series A rounds in Electron Exchange and San Francisco Compute Company, two "phenomenal" companies working to meet the growing demand for energy, data centers, and compute amid the AI boom.28. Matt HarrisMatt HarrisBain Capital VenturesPartner, Bain Capital VenturesSelect investments: Moov, Corvus Insurance, Reserv, Aboon, Norm.aiCity: New YorkHarris rejoined Bain Capital Ventures in 2012 and focuses on financial technology. Of his recent investments, Harris said he's "had the most fun" helping incubate businesses early on that "would have historically been thought of as services companies," such as. the insurance claims platform Reserv."In the age of AI, there's an unprecedented opportunity to help build companies that actually do the work for customers," he told Business Insider.29. Ann Miura-KoAnn Miura-KoFloodgateCofounding partner, FloodgateSelect investments: Merlin Labs, Hebbia, Thinkful, Studio, EmotiveCity: Menlo Park, CaliforniaMiura-Ko has built a reputation. as one of the most influential early-stage investors in Silicon Valley by backing companies long before they become household names. As a cofounding partner at Floodgate, she has made prescient bets on category-defining startups like Lyft, Twitter, Twitch, and Okta. often spotting potential where others saw risk.A Stanford Ph.D. and longtime lecturer, Miura-Ko combines deep technical expertise with a founder-first mindset, helping entrepreneurs think through not just what to build, but why it matters. Her recent investments reflect that same forward-looking approach. AI startups like Hebbia, which raised $130 million in 2024, are part of her growing portfolio.30. Alex BardAlex BardRedpoint VenturesManaging director, Redpoint VenturesSelect investments: Attio, Hims, Owner, Qualified, Revel, ServalCity: San FranciscoA serial enterprise software founder, Bard invests in early-stage companies across categories like AI,. SaaS, and consumer.His previous companies were acquired by giants such as AOL and Salesforce, and he served as CEO of the email marketing company Campaign Monitor for about üç years. Bard joined Redpoint in 2017.Bard led Redpoint's investment in software startup Revel's 2026 Series B that valued the company over $1 billion."The company is building a real-time control and test. platform that functions as the operating system for complex hardware systems," Bard told BI, highlighting the company's traction with aerospace and energy companies like Impulse Space, K2, and Radiant Nuclear.31. Nat TurnerNat TurnerOperator PartnersGeneral partner, Operator Partners; CEO, CollectorsSelect investments: Tropic, Thoropass, Vise, Kindbody, David EnergyCity: New YorkAfter selling his first startup, Invite Media, to Google for $81 million, Turner went on to cofound Flatiron Health, which Roche acquired for $1.9 billion in 2018.Turner has been angel investing since 2010, backing founders with a mix of product instinct and company-building experience. In 2020, he formalized his investment approach by launching the venture firm Operator Partners alongside three friends, including his Invite Media cofounder Zach Weinberg.He. became the CEO of Collectors, an online collectibles marketplace and authentication platform, after leading an investor group in taking the company private in 2021.32. Lynne Chou O'KeefeLynne Chou O'KeefeDefine VenturesFounder and managing partner, Define VenturesSelect investments: Evermore Health, Cohere Health, 9amHealth, GXL, Liza Health, Marit, San LucaCity: San FranciscoSince founding Define Ventures in 2018, O'Keefe has set her sights on funding early-stage health startups that can have a real impact on the world.O'Keefe, who started her career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, told Business Insider that in the past year, Define has worked closely with portfolio company Evermore Health — which the VC firm has backed since its inception — by introducing several strategic customers and sourcing technical talent, including the medtech startup's CTO.33. Naval RavikantNaval RavikantCourtesy of Naval RavikantAngel investorSelect investments: Hebbia, Notion, Perplexity, Pipe, UberCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaRavikant didn't just want to write checks to startups; he wanted to build the digital town square where founders and investors could build and invest in the next generation of great companies. He is a cofounder of AngelList, a fundraising platform that fundamentally changed how founders connect with early-stage capital. Today, AngelList supports over $170 billion in assets.To be sure, Ravikant also knows how to pick 'em. He made early bets on Twitter, now X, and Uber, and has netted more recent breakouts such as the. search engine Perplexity, last valued at $20 billion, and Hebbia, a leading developer of software for financial and legal research.34. Adam ZoblerAdam ZoblerFoundamentalInvestor, IllocaSelect investments: SafeAI, 1build, PermitFlow, HoloBuilder, Mighty BuildingsCity: San FranciscoZobler was previously investing with the Berlin-based VC firm Foundamental, which specializes in backing early-stage startups in property technology, construction, 3D design, and supply-chain technologies. Zobler was also an investor at growth-stage firm G Squared.35. Jim ScheinmanJim ScheinmanKatie HanrahanFounder and managing partner, Maven VenturesSelect investments: SpaceX (via X.ai), Perplexity, bot.co, Zoom, Hello Heart, Fathom, Carrot, CruiseCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaScheinman is the founder and CEO of Maven Ventures, a VC fund that invests in consumer internet and mobile startups. Before Maven, Scheinman was a successful startup founder and executive, and he has achieved six unicorn exits across his career as a founder and investor. He's perhaps best known for naming Zoom while working as an advisor at the company.At Maven, Scheinman is heavily focused on consumer AI, with his VC firm investing in the likes of Perplexity and SpaceX through its stake in XAI.36. Emmett ShearEmmett ShearGetty ImagesCEO, SoftmaxSelect investments: Substack, Monumental Labs, Cruise, ForeVR Games, Biobot AnalyticsCity: San FranciscoShear is best. known as the Twitch co-founder who briefly served as OpenAI's CEO during the 2023 boardroom coup against Sam Altman. He's now the CEO of his own startup, Softmax, which focuses on building what he calls "organic alignment" — teaching AI systems to care about humans the way we do.As an investor, Shear has backed several AI startups with a variety of differing missions . For example, he's funded Monumental Labs, which is building AI-powered factories that make "magnificent" sculpture and stone architecture accessible to the masses. He was also a visiting partner at fabled San Francisco VC Y Combinator until 2025, according to his LinkedIn.37. Chi-Hua ChienChi-Hua ChienGoodwater CapitalCofounder, Goodwater CapitalSelect investments: Facebook, Spotify, Monzo, Stash, PhotomathCity: San FranciscoAs a cofounder of Goodwater Capital, which manages more than $dört billion in assets, Chien. invests in consumer startups with the potential to reach massive global audiences.He says there is a tendency for VCs to think they need to find new problems to solve. "We don't," he told Business Insider."All humans need 7 core utilities — housing, healthcare, food, financial services, transportation, education, and entertainment. Brilliant entrepreneurs leverage each new wave of technology to meet these needs with far better solutions. AI is fueling a new generation of consumer services that are more accessible, affordable, and personalized, expanding each of these markets to reach more and more people. This shift is creating one of the largest opportunities in decades to build and scale new consumer platforms."38. Avichal GargAvichal GargElectric CapitalCofounder and general partner, Electric CapitalSelect investments: Aven, Bitwise, Deel, Notion, Kraken, SFComputeCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaGarg held executive roles at Google and Facebook before pivoting into venture capital, founding Electric Capital in 2018. Since then, the California-based firm has grown into one of the world's largest investors in crypto and blockchain startups.He has also seen success as an angel investor and founder. He was cofounder and CEO of Spool, which was acquired by Facebook in 2012, and invested in Boom Supersonic, Notion, and Figma, which went public in 2025.Garg told Business Insider that some of the most interesting companies he had worked with recently included Etherealize, a startup that aims to move Wall Street institutions onto Ethereum, which he described as "a testament to how far crypto has come."39. Max LevchinMax LevchinGetty ImagesCEO, Affirm; general partner, SciFi VCSelect investments: Yelp, Crunchyroll, Stripe, Gusto, BrexCity: San FranciscoFor Levchin, building a formidable early-stage venture portfolio is a deeply collaborative effort. Operating as a general partner at SciFi VC, the firm he co-founded with his wife, Nellie Levchin, he readily credits her with uncovering many of the firm's most successful deals and personal angel investments.SciFi VC, which calls itself an "early. stage generalist firm" focusing on fintech, AI, and science, has backed generation-defining companies including Anduril, Stripe, and Uber.Part of the iconic "PayPal mafia," Levchin cofounded the buy-now-pay-later platform Affirm in 2012 and steered it through a highly successful 2021 IPO. He brings his deep and ongoing experience as a founder-operator to guide the next wave of entrepreneurs.40. Max MullenMax MullenInstacartCofounder, InstacartSelect investments: Checkr, Deel, Gumloop, Mercury, OwnerCity: San FranciscoMax Mullen, who cofounded the grocery delivery app Instacart, invests in a variety of tech sectors, including background screening startup Checkr,. payroll startup Deel, and AI agent startup Gumloop.Mullen invested in Gumloop's seed and Series A rounds, and he even helped the startup hire its first employee, add key angel investors, and navigate partnerships. Gumloop recently raised $50 million from Benchmark."It's a joy watching founders work so hard and get rewarded for their efforts," Mullen told Business Insider.41. Alex MooreAlex Moore8VCPartner, 8VCSelect investments: Saronic, Fieldguide, Invisible AI, Spartan RadarCity: AustinMoore has been involved in the defense tech boom from almost the very beginning. The Austin-based investor was employee No. 1 at Palantir, and now oversees defense investing at 8VC, which was founded by Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale.Moore co-founded startups Nodeprime and Backplane before joining 8VC, and sits on Palantir's board of directors. In an interview with Israeli publication Calcalist in November, he said that scaling defense startups required investors to be "both patient and patriotic.""If you want quick money, go into gaming or crypto; it's still much easier than defense," he said.42. Ann DeWittAnn DeWittEngine VenturesGeneral partner, Engine VenturesSelect investments: Terrestrial Bio, Cellino Bio, Matrisome, Bexorg, and Predicta BiosciencesCity: Cambridge, MassachusettsAt Engine Ventures, DeWitt helps start and build new biotech companies.She's worked closely on is Predicta Biosciences, which is developing a blood test to help doctors better treat blood cancers — without the need for painful bone marrow biopsies. She worked with the academic founders to bring in a CEO, raise $23.dört million, and get the company off the ground. She's still closely involved as it grows.DeWitt says she uses AI to prepare for board meetings, to meet new teams, and to do deep dives into new investment topics.43. Justin MateenJustin MateenCourtesy of Justin MateenFounding partner, Jam FundSelect investments: Deel, Hadrian, Kalshi, Slash, Varda, WhopCity: Los AngelesFor the Tindr cofounder, the deciding factor in whether or not to invest is often character. He looks for scrappy, ambitious founders who have serious domain expertise and an almost irrational drive to prove themselves to the world.That thesis paid off in what Mateen has likened to "hitting the lottery" twice. On the same day in 2019, he invested in two pre-launch companies that later became decacorns. One was Deel, the $17 billion human resources and payroll software startup that says it's gearing up to go public. The other was the prediction market Kalshi, which was last valued at $22 billion.44. Lachy GroomLachy GroomJosh FletcherFounder, LGF; Cofounder, Physical IntelligenceSelect investments: OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, Deel, Notion, Zepto, FigmaCity: San FranciscoGroom was an early Stripe employee who led the team responsible for virtual and physical cards. He cofounded AI startup Physical Intelligence in 2024, which builds robots that can understand and interact with the world.He told Business Insider that Physical Intelligence has now raised more than $2 billion in venture funding. Additionally, Groom is an angel investor through his own firm, LGF, and said he now manages nearly $2 billion in investment capital.45. Sam AltmanSam AltmanGetty ImagesCofounder and CEO, OpenAISelect investments: Cerebras, Helion, Reddit, Retro Biosciences, Stripe, UberCity: San FranciscoAltman is quietly deploying his personal wealth into some of the most audacious moonshots of our time. He's made dozens of investments in companies reshaping the future, with stakes in fields ranging from lab-grown meat and nuclear fusion to supersonic passenger planes.The OpenAI boss wrote in his personal blog that he tries to limit his bets to opportunities with the potential to become $10 billion companies, noting that "the small successes don't matter much, and the giant returns are where everything happens."To find those massive outliers, he looks for "scrappy and formidable" founders with an extreme bias for speed — even observing that he has almost never made money backing an entrepreneur who doesn't respond quickly to important emails.46. Mark FernandesMark FernandesSierra VenturesManaging Partner, Sierra VenturesSelect investments: Spectro Cloud, RedLock, Endor Labs, ArmorCodeCity: San Mateo, CaliforniaIn his nearly 25 years as a tech VC, Fernandes has backed companies that have been acquired by software giants, including Microsoft, Cisco, VMWare, Palo Alto Networks, and Telstra.Fernandes told Business Insider that he nabbed an investment with Blazel, a highly sought-after company building AI. agents for go-to-market workflows by telling the founder how Sierra could help accelerate early customer access and the firm's hands-on approach for building early teams.When it comes to using AI, he said that he uses Claude across the full investment workflow — from using it to find emerging sectors and founders to building agents that can speed up evaluation and diligence processes. He also uses AI to support portfolio companies with messaging and marketing strategy.47. Bill TrenchardBill TrenchardFirst Round CapitalPartner, First Round CapitalSelect investments: Uber, Looker, Verkada, Serval, Rillet, Omni Analytics, Together AI, FlexportCity: San FranciscoTrenchard is a serial entrepreneur who founded five companies over two. decades before joining First Round Capital in 2012.He said one noteworthy company is Serval, which uses AI agents for IT support, including resolving help desk requests and assisting with employee onboarding. First Round co-led Serval's seed in 2024, and the company grew revenue by more than yüzde 500 in the second half of 2025, Trenchard said, adding it also raised back-to-back rounds in 90 days.Trenchard told Business Insider that AI is important in his day-to-day work, using it to generate meeting briefings and follow-ups. He said he also uses First Round-backed Town Assistant to collect and consolidate team input.48. Keith RaboisKeith RaboisGetty ImagesManaging director, Khosla VenturesSelect investments: Doordash, Opendoor, AvenCity: MiamiRabois, a former founder and an executive at companies like PayPal, LinkedIn, and Block, now serves as managing director at Khosla Ventures, where he invests across sectors and stages.Rabois, who's served on the boards of Reddit and Yelp, made a pandemic move to Miami, where he became an outspoken booster of the city's startup ecosystem. He left Khosla for a stint at Founders Fund before returning in 2023, and told Business Insider that a notable seed investment he led last year was in the cybersecurity startup Runlayer.49. Brandon ReevesBrandon ReevesLux CapitalPartner, Lux CapitalSelect investments: Cognition, Erebor, Modal, Physical Intelligence, Together AI, Sakana AICity: New YorkReeves has overseen Lux's partnerships with early and growth-stage companies working in defense, AI, and manufacturing since 2017. He's likely to be busy, with the VC firm raising $1.5 billion for a fund focusing on national security and frontier science in January.Before working at Lux, Reeves worked on the investment desk at Capricorn Investment Group. During his nearly decade-long stint at the firm, he's invested in the likes of Anduril, Applied Intuition, and Erebor.50. Zane LackeyZane LackeyAndreessen HorowitzGeneral partner, Andreessen HorowitzSelect investments: Adaptive Security, Doppel, Keycard, North Pole Security, Promptfoo, SocketCity: New YorkAs a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Lackey focuses on DevOps, cybersecurity, and enterprise infrastructure startups. Lackey cofounded and scaled cybersecurity Signal Sciences, which lets him bring founder instincts into his investing.One of his most memorable deals and his first investment at A16z was Socket, a supply chain security platform. He led its Series A funding round in 2023 and has served on the board since.51. Larry LiuLarry LiuCeltic House Asia PartnersManaging Partner, Celtic House Asia PartnersSelect investments: Envenio, Applyboard, QuectelCity: TorontoLiu leads Celtic House Asia Partners' investments in business software and industrial startups.Before joining Celtic House, Liu founded GCI Capital, which focuses on early stage information, communication, and technology startups in Canada, the US, Israel, and China. He also cofounded the renewable energy company EffiSolar, which focuses on wind and solar energy plant development and financing.He has invested in startups like Applyboard, Quectel, and Envio, which Juul acquired in 2018.52. Bogomil BalkanskyBogomil BalkanskySequoia CapitalPartner, Sequoia CapitalSelect investments: Chainguard, Mutiny, Oasis, Pydantic, Scanner, Temporal, TraversalCity: San FranciscoSequoia wants to be in business with great companies at any stage. But it's up to early-stage investor Balkansky and his team to find the rare seeds capable of growing into redwoods.His sharp eye for enterprise software, developer tools, cybersecurity,. and cloud infrastructure has yielded breakouts like Chainguard, which helps customers secure their software supply chains and was valued last year at $üç.5 billion in a massive funding round. More recent bets include the threat-detection software startup Scanner, which raised $22 million in a Sequoia-led round.53. Eric MigicovskyEric MigicovskyY CombinatorFounder, Core DevicesSelect investments: Courier, Brilliant Labs, Naborly, Augmental, Mighty BuildingsCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaMigicovsky is the founder of Pebble Technology and its successor company, Core Devices, where he is working to bring back and improve the early Pebble smartwatch. Migicovsky is also the cofounder of chat app Beeper, which was acquired by Automattic in 2024.Migicovsky previously went. through Y Combinator as a founder with Pebble, and later served as a partner at the startup incubator. He enjoys advising early-stage startups, per his website, especially in hardware.54. Trevor McFedriesTrevor McFedriesLinkedInAngel investorSelect investments: Zora, Syndicate, Sound, Dispo, PresailCity: Los AngelesA founder, DJ, and investor, McFedries co-founded Brud. in 2016, the media company behind the Instagram virtual pop star Lil Miquela, which was acquired by Dapper Labs. He also cofounded social DAO Friends With Benefits in 2020.McFedries, who previously worked at Spotify, is also a musician and DJ and performed under the name Yung Skeeter, and produced and directed for musicians including Ke$ha, Azealia Banks, and Katy Perry.55. Kunal BahlKunal BahlTitan CapitalCofounder, Titan CapitalSelect investments: Ola, Urban Company, Mamaearth, OfBusiness, Unicommerce, Credgenics, Giva, ShadowfaxCity: DelhiBahl cofounded one of India's biggest startups, Snapdeal, which was once valued at $6.5 billion. Snapdeal's parent company, the SoftBank-backed Unicommerce, went public in 2024 and was the second-most-subscribed IPO of the year.Bahl backed Indian logistics startup Shadowfax in 2015, and the company is now India's second-largest e-commerce logistics company and just went public in January. "We have been in the trenches with the Shadowfax team since they started in 2015, and it's been one of the most rewarding journeys for us," Bahl said.56. Robert LeshnerRobert LeshnerSuperstateInvestor, Robot Ventures; CEO, SuperstateSelect investments: Syndicate, Blockfolio, Polymarket, Nansen, GoldfinchCity: New YorkLeshner is a serial. entrepreneur who is currently CEO of Superstate, a startup that connects financial assets like stocks with crypto markets. Leshner previously co-founded Compound Labs, another crypto startup focused on decentralized finance.Leshner has backed a slew of crypto-focused startups like Blockfolio, which helped people track their crypto portfolios and was bought by FTX in 2020. He's also backed white-hot prediction markets startup Polymarket, which is reportedly in talks to raise at a $15 billion valuation.57. Ramy AdeebRamy Adeeb1984 VenturesManaging partner, 1984 VenturesSelect investments: PostHog, Collaborative Robotics, BuildOps, Fay, DeepScribe, Postscript, HouseRX, ClineCity: New York and San FranciscoAdeeb began his investment career as a principal at Khosla Ventures before launching his own company, Snip.it, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2013.He founded 1984 Ventures in 2017, and said a startup that stood out recently was an open-source AI coding tool Cline, which has surpassed 5 million installs. 1984 led its seed, helped assemble the initial team, and sharpened its product before introducing founder Saoud Rizwan to Emergence Capital, which led its Series A funding round.58. Jon SobergJon SobergMS&AD VenturesCEO and managing partner, MS&AD VenturesSelect investments: HMBradley, Skyflow, Mercury, Flex, KapitalCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaMS&AD Ventures is backed by MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, one of the largest insurance conglomerates in the world. AS CEO and managing partner, Soberg spends most of his time working with portfolio companies.He recalls an insider at an AI company in his portfolio pushing for an "aggressive. pay-to-play round." Soberg told Business Insider he convinced everyone to do a "reasonable round that gave some incentives to early movers," and that this "helped catalyze a good round."59. Jeff FluhrJeff FluhrCraft VenturesVenture partner, Craft VenturesSelect investments: Allen Control Systems, Solace Health, Pickle, Arch, Hyfix, and AutopilotCity: San FranciscoA little more than 25 years ago, Fluhr dropped out of Stanford as an MBA student to cofound ticket resale platform StubHub. After staying on as CEO until the company was acquired in 2007 by eBay, he became an active angel investor.Fluhr. joined Craft Ventures in 2018 as a general partner and last year, transitioned to a new role as venture partner. Fluhr also scopes out deals for the firm.Beyond investing, Fluhr enjoys supporting early-stage founders, particularly by "helping sharpen how a company presents itself to customers and the market," he said. He pointed to Hyfix as an example of this, for which Fluhr led the chip company's website overhaul and rebrand.60. Yun-Fang JuanYun-Fang JuanBrighter CapitalGeneral partner, Brighter CapitalSelect investments: Infracost, Empowerly, Creatify, Chowdeck, ExpoCity: Cupertino, CaliforniaJuan's first brush with becoming a founder ended in failure. After joining Facebook as one of the site's first 150 employees, she left to found financial-planning startup Fundastic, which was acquired without any investment loss after struggling to find success.Juan has used that experience to help founders and build a career as a prolific seed investor. She launched her venture fund Brighter Capital in 2021 with savings and $500,000 crowdsourced from friends, and has invested in over. 200 startups since 2012 — including an early investment in Reddit, which went public in 2024 at a $6.dört billion valuation.61. Bryan RosenblattBryan RosenblattCourtesy of Bryan RosenblattManaging partner, SandlotSelect investments: General Intuition, Solace Health, Agentio, BillionToOne, ClickUpCity: New YorkAfter seven years at Craft Ventures, Rosenblatt is spinning out his own seed-stage firm, Sandlot — but he'll continue to act as a venture partner at Craft.Rosenblatt led Craft's investment in Agentio, an influencer marketing startup, in 2023 (which the firm co-led with AlleyCorp). At the time, the company was pre-product and pre-revenue, Rosenblatt said, and helped introduce the startup to its early customers. Agentio "scaled quickly," Rosenblatt added, raising a Series A funding round in 2024 and a $40 million Series B funding round that valued the company at $340 million. in 2025.Now a generalist early-stage investor, Rosenblatt began his career in media and then pivoted to social tech platforms, leading marketing at Twitter and the revenue team at Reddit.62. Salil DeshpandeSalil DeshpandeCourtesy of Salil DeshpandeGeneral partner, Uncorrelated VenturesSelect investments: Crusoe Energy, Astronomer, Bolt.new, PostHog, Fingerprint, ZeroHashCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaDeshpande manages $750 million across three funds, making him among the largest solo general partners by assets under management. Deshpande's strategy involves signing small-sized checks of a couple million dollars each to multiply his chances of finding decacorns.He. has invested in data center builder and operator Crusoe, last valued at $10 billion, and vibe coding platform Bolt.63. Rohit BansalRohit BansalTitan CapitalCofounder, Titan CapitalSelect investments: DealShare, Urban Company, Shadowfax Technologies Limited, Mamaearth, CityMallCity: Gurgaon, IndiaThrough Titan Capital, Bansal backs early-stage founders with both capital and hands-on mentorship, drawing on his experience as an operator to help guide companies through their formative stages. His investments tend to focus on e-commerce and marketplaces.He currently serves as chairman of FICCI's Startup Committee, where he works to strengthen ties between India's startup ecosystem and established businesses. Bansal holds a bachelor's and master's degree in computer engineering from IIT Delhi.64. Hemant TanejaHemant TanejaGeneral CatalystCEO, General CatalystSelect investments: Anduril, Anthropic, Applied Inuition, Polymarket, Snap, StripeCity: San FranciscoTaneja is building a portfolio that looks like a greatest hits list of the modern tech era. The billionaire venture capitalist holds stakes in the defense contractor Anduril, the prediction market Polymarket, and the AI model lab, Anthropic, the world's third-most-valuable private company.At General Catalyst, Taneja is pushing the firm beyond standard check-writing, operating it. instead as a "global investment and transformation company." General Catalyst has been buying old-line businesses like accounting firms, call centers, and hospital systems to make them vastly more efficient, while continuing to back the next generation of tech unicorns.65. Lucas VazLucas VazRavelinFounder and general partner, RavelinSelect investments: Eyebot, Apex, Hadrian, IntegrateCity: San FranciscoOriginally from Brazil, Vaz spent the last decade in venture capital and founded the firm Ravelin in 2023. He focuses on early-stage investments to back "exceptional founders building Critical Software." This includes startups that build vertical software or software solutions for "hard industries."He says that over yüzde 75 of his firm's portfolio companies have gone on to raise from a tier 1 firm after Ravelin's initial investment, and in most cases, they were directly involved in helping these startups build that relationship.Unlike many other VCs today, Vaz said that he is "not particularly interested in AI."66. William HockeyWilliam HockeyColumnCofounder and CEO, ColumnSelect investments: Tropic, Stytch, Moov, Thoropass, Jeeves Inc.City: San FranciscoAfter a brief stint in consulting at Bain, Hockey cofounded the payment infrastructure giant Plaid in 2012. He served as the company's president and chief technology officer for eight years before stepping away in 2019 to begin building Column. He is the cofounder and CEO of Column, the only nationally chartered bank built to enable developers and builders to create new financial. products.Today, he translates his fintech operational expertise into his angel investing, securing early stakes in companies like Moov, Stytch, Tropic, and Jeeves Inc.67. Satya PatelSatya PatelHomebrewCofounder and general partner, HomebrewSelect investments: Chime, Shield AI, Plaid, Albert Invent, Obvio, Slang AICity: San FranciscoBefore cofounding Homebrew in 2013, Patel held roles at Twitter, Battery Ventures, and Google. The firm, which Patel cofounded with Hunter Walk, typically writes checks ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 across seed, Series A, and Series B rounds.While at Homebrew, Patel has made early bets on fintech Chime, which went public in 2025, and on Plaid, which is now valued at $8 billion. Patel also backed defense tech startup Shield AI, which was valued at $12.7 billion this year.Patel also cofounded Screendoor, a fund that invests in the next generation of VCs.68. Raviraj JainRaviraj JainLightspeed Venture PartnersPartner, Lightspeed Venture PartnersSelect investments: Skild AI, FalconX, Nirvana, Wintermute, DexterityCity: San FranciscoOnce a management consultant for Deloitte, Jain has emerged as a prolific Bay Area early-stage investor. He's obsessed with robots and led some of the earliest funding rounds at Skild AI, one of the hottest robotics startups in Silicon. Valley — it notched a $14 billion valuation in a round this January.To decide where to invest next, Jain debates the matter with Claude. He also uses the chatbot to analyze his portfolio companies' performance and compare them against each other. For taking notes and summarizing work, he prefers AI notetaker Granola.69. Ling WongLing WongHighburyFounder, CEO, and managing partner, Highbury GroupSelect investments: Devoted Health, Guardant Health, Stripe, Orca BioCity: SeattleWong, the inventor of the first inhaled tuberculosis vaccine, is an entrepreneur and science-focused investor backing companies across healthcare and biotechnology. After earning her PhD from Harvard, she worked at the Gates Foundation, managing a $1.5 billion investment portfolio, before founding Highbury Group in 2013.Wong also served as a senior advisor to Lightspeed Venture Partners between 2019 and 2023.As an investor, she's been involved in several multibillion-dollar exits, including Anacor Pharmaceuticals (which was acquired by Pfizer), and the public companies Guardant Health and Singular Genomics.70. Matthew McIlwainMatthew McIlwainMadronaManaging director, MadronaSelect investments: Smartsheet, Apptio, Axiom Math, Read.ai, Turi, OctoAICity: SeattleMcIlwain has become the face of Seattle's venture scene, but invests in companies far beyond the Pacific Northwest.He is the managing director of Madrona Venture Group, an early investor in Amazon and Snowflake. McIlwain focuses on applied machine learning and cloud computing startups. He invested in Axiom Math's seed round, which was recently valued at $1.6 billion.McIlwain says he looks for a strong "founder-market fit triangle" where founders must have a deep desire to solve a specific problem, must have a s solution that is 10x better, and must be unlocking a problem that needs to be solved now.71. Micah RosenbloomMicah RosenbloomJulian WalterGeneral partner, Founder CollectiveSelect investments: Clair, Lovevery, Ownwell, Verkada, Socure, Talos, WindmillCity: New YorkRosenbloom has built a reputation as one of venture's more founder-aligned seed investors, often taking positions that run counter to the industry's usual incentives. At Founder Collective, the partners have embraced an approach designed to reduce pressure on entrepreneurs, including giving up pro rata rights and encouraging founders to raise as little as they need.That philosophy has not come at the expense of returns. Rosenbloom has backed a wide range of startups across sectors, with early bets on Socure, a leader in digital identity verification, and Verkada, a security company that last year surpassed $1 billion in annualized bookings.72. Michael ArringtonMichael ArringtonGetty ImagesGeneral partner, Arrington CapitalSelect investments: Ripple, Limitless, Perplexity, Space & Time, SuperState, Alfred Pay, Pocket Money, RillaCity: MiamiIn 2018, Michael Arrington cofounded Arrington Capital, a hedge fund that focuses on cryptocurrency. Prior to Arrington Capital, Arrington founded TechCrunch, CrunchBase, and Crunchfund, where he was an early investor in companies like Uber, Airtable, Pinterest, and Cloudflare.Arrington was an early investor and early adopter of SuperState. His hedge fund still uses its product today. He also helped them work with Invesco, which joined its Series B financing and became the investment manager of its fund. In addition, Arrington Capital was an Evernorth SPAC sponsor.Previously, Arrington worked as an attorney at the firms O'Melveny & Myers and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.73. Scott BanisterScott BanisterLong Journey VenturesVenture partner, Long Journey VenturesSelect investments: DeepMind, PayPal, Postmates, SpaceX, UberCity: Half Moon Bay, CaliforniaBefore you were hailing an Uber, ordering dinner on Postmates, or sending money through PayPal, Banister was already quietly funding them.Investing as a venture partner at Long Journey Ventures — a firm cofounded by his wife, Cyan — Banister specifically targets early-stage frontier companies. He looks to support founders building breakthrough technologies, armed with a "healthy disregard for the status quo."Banister brings deep operating experience to the table. He was a cofounder of the spam-blocker company IronPort, which ultimately sold to Cisco for $830 million in 2007.74. Zachary AaronsZachary AaronsMetaPropCofounder and general partner, MetapropSelect investments: Obie, Urbint, BuildOps, MaybernCity: New YorkAarons began investing in early-stage real estate tech companies nearly 15 years ago, and co-founded VC firm Metaprop in 2015. His career has seen him balance investing with entrepreneurship, with Aarons' founding travel app Travelgoat in 2007 and personally leading over 300 walking tours of New York.He may have started out pounding the pavement, but Aarons told Business Insider AI was increasingly shaping Metaprop's focus. The New York-based firm, which has invested in over 150 companies since its inception, partnered with Primary Ventures last year to co-incubate LightTable, which leverages computer vision and AI to check real estate documents and has scaled to millions of dollars in annual revenue.75. Michael NovogratzMichael NovogratzFIIFounder and CEO, Galaxy DigitalSelect investments: Rain, RedotPay, Mesh, FireblockRain, RedotPay, Mesh, FireblocksCity: New YorkNovogratz, who founded crypto firm Galaxy Digital, was formerly the president of Fortress Investment Group and spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs.For Novogratz, winning a spot in a highly competitive seed round isn't just about capital—it's about deploying the full weight of Galaxy Digital's platform to add value to founders.One of Michael's most memorable investments includes stablecoin platform Rain, which raised three rounds last year. Galaxy told Business Insider it participated in all three of the unicorn's "extremely competitive" funding rounds.76. Dan GoldmanDan GoldmanClean Energy VenturesCofounder and managing partner, Clean Energy VenturesSelect investments: DG Matrix, Nth Cycle, LineVision, OXCCU, Carbon Upcycling TechnologiesCity: BostonGoldman has spent the last 25 years working in clean energy, and co-founded Clean Energy Ventures in 2017 with the mission of fighting climate change through innovation and canny investments.The Boston-based fund now invests in clean-tech companies developing everything from sustainable aviation fuel to carbon-oxygen batteries. Before his stint in venture capital, Goldman worked at consulting company Arthur D. Little and in private equity.77. Patrick YangPatrick YangAmity VenturesFounding partner, Amity VenturesSelect investments: Arketa, CaptivateIQ, Sully.ai, TillyCity: San FranciscoYang cofounded Amity Ventures in 2016 to become a board partner to "obsessive, high agency founders." He's invested in companies such as booking software maker Arketa and AI medical scribing company Sully.ai. One of Yang's AI investments Evisort, was acquired by software giant Workday in 2024 for over $300 million.Prior to Amity, Yang was a vice president at Highland Capital Partners, which manages over $8 billion in assets. He started his career at Morgan Stanley's Menlo Park tech investment banking group.78. Lars Fjeldsoe-NielsenLars Fjeldsoe-NielsenBalderton CapitalGeneral partner, Owl Ventures; founding partner, 2xNSelect investments: Monarch Money, Quantinuum, Yassir, Albedo, Colossal Biosciences, MontaCity: LondonFjeldsoe-Nielsen grew up across Africa after his family fled the Angolan Civil War as refugees. He is still active in the continent's tech ecosystem. For example, he invested in the African super app Yassir and provides the executive team with hiring, strategic, and governance advice. He introduced CEO Nourredine Tayebi to OpenTable, which became a follow-on investor and brought in Bond Capital to lead a $150 million round.As a general partner at Owl Ventures, he backs education technology startups. He led the firm's expansion across Europe, Africa, and other global markets. He also cofounded 2xN, an early-stage fund that focuses on deeptech and quantum innovation. He has invested in startups like Quantinuum, Oxford Ionics, QSimulate, and Sparrow Quantum.Previously, Fjeldsoe-Nielsen spent a decade in Silicon Valley and led mobile efforts at Uber and Dropbox, helping both companies scale.79. Dylan FieldDylan FieldGetty ImagesCEO, FigmaSelect investments: Owner, Baseten, Linear, The Browser Company, OpenSeaCity: San FranciscoField cofounded Figma, a design tool. beloved by the tech industry, in 2012 after dropping out of Brown University and becoming a Thiel Fellow at 20. Fast-forward 13 years, and Field joined the ranks of other college dropouts to bring their tech company public. Figma was one of the hottest IPOs of 2025.As an investor, he's backing early-stage companies across hardware, AI, and health tech. The Browser Company, which Field invested in during its 2020 seed round, was acquired by SaaS company Atlassian in 2025.80. Sarra ZayaniSarra ZayaniCourtesy of Sarra ZayaniInvestor, HedosophiaSelect investments: TalentHack, Savvy Wealth, Veracity, TaxBit, CannCity: ParisZayani joined Hedosophia in 2023 after four years at Global Founders Capital. Prior to that, Sarra was a VC investor at Greycroft, where she worked on investments such as Wondery. Zayani started her career in venture capital at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.81. Mark GoldbergMark GoldbergChemistryManaging partner, ChemistrySelect investments: Datacurve, Noon, Pave, Persona, Plaid, Yuzu HealthCity: San FranciscoGoldberg is a high-conviction investor with a knack for spotting breakout software and fintech companies before they go mainstream.After nearly a decade at Index Ventures, in 2024, he teamed up with longtime friends Kristina Shen and Ethan Kurzweil to launch Chemistry. The firm's $350 million debut fund is built around making a concentrated number of bets at the seed and Series A stages. Those bets have included the meeting notetaker app Granola, which saw its valuation jump from $250 million to $1.5 billion in March, and Decagon, the customer-support. startup last valued at $dört.5 billion.Goldberg also brings firsthand operating experience from Dropbox, where he was one of the company's earliest business hires during its hypergrowth phase.82. Olaf Carlson-WeeOlaf Carlson-WeeGetty ImagesFounder, Polychain CapitalSelect investments: Polymarket, Anoma, Yellow Card, Vesper EnergyCity: San FranciscoCarlson-Wee founded Polychain Capital after becoming Coinbase's first employee and has since built one of the leading crypto investment firms. The fund has backed hundreds of startups across blockchain infrastructure and decentralized finance. Those include prediction market Polymarket, which is reportedly in talks to raise at a $15 billion valuation.83. Bucky MooreBucky MooreLightspeed Venture PartnersPartner, Lightspeed Venture PartnersSelect investments: Labelbox, Browserbase, Modal, Windsurf, AlliumCity: San FranciscoMoore backs early-stage startups working on AI, infrastructure, and cybersecurity, with a focus on highly technical founders.He started his career at Cisco, where he worked on acquisitions and investments and got his first exposure to founders. That experience led him to venture capital, and he eventually joined Lightspeed after years of co-investing with the firm.Today,. he focuses on founders who can turn complex technology into simple, useful products — and build strong teams around them. His approach is shaped in part by watching his father run a small medical practice, which gave him an early appreciation for resilience and ownership.84. Michael SuttonMichael SuttonRuntime VenturesCofounder and general partner, Runtime VenturesSelect investments: Orca Security, Sublime Security, Huntress, Todyl, Vulcan CyberCity: Arlington, VirginiaRuntime Ventures, which was cofounded by Sutton in 2023, backs early-stage cybersecurity startups with capital, support, and mentorship.Sutton told Business Insider that one of his favorite deals he worked on was his first — the cybersecurity company GreyNoise. "I'm most drawn to founders that are so obsessed with a problem that they can't sleep at night," he said, adding that he saw this in GreyNoise's founder, Andrew Morris, during the first introduction.His firm uses its record of memos for pitches it hears as training data to build "AI skills" to help with new deals. "While we're not ready to let our AI Overlords take over entirely, it's incredibly helpful to have AI take an initial pass and prioritize incoming deal flow to identify those opportunities that we're most likely to get excited about and highlight key details that we need to flesh out in the pitch meetings," he told Business Insider.85. Itamar NovickItamar NovickRecursive VenturesFounder and general partner, Recursive VenturesSelect investments: Deel, Life360, Placer AI, Honeybook, May Mobility, Abra, Tile, Automatic, SafeGraphCity: San FranciscoNovick, a founding team member of location-sharing app Life360, launched Recursive Ventures in 2014 as a solo. capitalist investing in pre-seed and seed AI startups.Recursive has invested in more than 100 companies to date, and Novick told Business Insider that a recent deal of note was Terragrit, which uses AI to model and simulate physical spaces. He said the team made introductions that resulted in an oversubscribed round.86. David UlevitchDavid UlevitchAndreessen HorowitzGeneral partner, Andreessen HorowitzSelect investments: Anduril, Flock Safety, Skydio, Superhuman, VitallyCity: New YorkUlevitch is on a mission to back founders who are making things "better, faster, safer, smarter." As a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, he co-leads the firm's American Dynamism practice alongside Katherine Boyle. He focuses his investments on companies advancing American interests, targeting critical sectors from national security to aerospace to housing.A serial. founder himself, he previously launched EveryDNS, growing it into effectively the internet's largest free phonebook before selling it in 2010. He also founded the cloud-security service OpenDNS, which Cisco acquired for $635 million in 2015. He later served as the head of Cisco Security, managing a massive $2.dört billion business and a 5,000-person team.87. Yuval AriavYuval AriavOmer HacohenManaging partner, SymbolSelect investments: NextSilicon, FundGuard, Jiga, Breeze, NilusCity: Tel AvivAriav founded and ran Fundbox, a business-to-business payments company, for a decade before joining Symbol, a Tel Aviv-based first check VC firm. He has invested in AI-native manufacturing company Jiga and processing chip maker NextSilicon, where he was first asked to join as cofounder."I got involved when it was still just an idea, long before the company was formed," he told Business Insider about NextSilicon. "Although I had just started my VC role and couldn't step away from that commitment, we spent days together at a whiteboard shaping the product vision, technical architecture, go-to-market approach, and overall narrative."88. Geoff HarrisGeoff HarrisFlying Fish PartnersCofounder and managing partner, Flying Fish VenturesSelect investments: Clarity, Digs, Reclaim, Sella, Tingono, PicniCity: SeattleHarris worked at Microsoft for 15 years, holding engineering and executive roles, including leading speech recognition and natural language processing. for products like Xbox and Cortana.Harris was also an angel investor with a portfolio of more than 40 companies before cofounding Flying Fish, an early-stage firm focused on AI-native companies and bolstering the startup ecosystem in the Pacific Northwest.89. Jackson MosesJackson MosesSilent VenturesFounder and managing partner, Silent VenturesSelect investments: Saronic, Castelion, Hadrian, Gallatin AI, FurientisCity: DallasMoses launched Silent Ventures in 2022 to invest in defense, aerospace, and national security startups. His portfolio includes companies like Saronic and Hadrian, part of a new wave of industrial and defense tech. He emphasizes founder-market fit."90% of early-stage investing is about assessing the human variable," he told Business Insider. "Capable founding teams don't attack small markets with inferior products, but people do make or break companies."90. Wesley ChanWesley ChanFPV VenturesCofounder and managing partner, FPV VenturesSelect investments: Canva, Plaid, Zipline, Gusto, Flexport, Robinhood, Ring.comCity: San Francisco and Jackson Hole, WyomingChan was among the first checks into Plaid, Robinhood, Gusto, and Flexport, and in 2019, he had a massive exit with Blackstone's $750 million acquisition of Vungle, where he was an early investor. After successful stints at GV and Felicis Ventures, where he led several dozen deals, Chan raised a $450 million debut fund in 2022 alongside Pegah Ebrahimi to back mission-driven founders. In 2025, the firm raised a second, $525 million fund.Chan led the Series A and Series C rounds for design giant. Canva, which is now valued at $50 billion, and has served on the company's board of directors for more than a decade.91. Michael VaughanMichael VaughanVera EquityCofounder and general partner, Vera Equity; CEO, IG North AmericaSelect investments: SimpleClosure, Clair, Orum.ioCity: PhiladelphiaMichael Vaughan is the CEO of financial services firm IG North America and previously served as COO of Venmo for 8 years. As Stripe's COO, he led the company through its Series A fundraising round to its acquisitions by Braintree and PayPal.He also cofounded Ver Equity, which focuses on early-stage fintech startups, and has served as an operating partner at the growth equity investment firm Stripes.He has advised or invested in more than 100 companies, according to his LinkedIn profile.92. Henry McNamaraHenry McNamaraGreat Oaks Venture CapitalPartner, Great Oaks Venture CapitalSelect investments: EquipmentShare, Maven Clinic, Speechify, Hungryroot, Triumph Arcade, Human Interest, Allara, ViseCity: New York and West Palm Beach, FloridaMcNamara invests in early-stage companies across fintech, health tech, and. consumer sectors.Part of the thrill of seed-stage investing comes from meeting founders "early in their journey," McNamara said — so early, in fact, that they may not even be fully incorporated or committed to the business full time. Helping startups from the get-go and providing "validation for them and their ideas" leads to memorable investments and impact on founders, McNamara said.McNamara joined Great Oaks in 2013 as an analyst and invests personally through his own fund, Whalebone Ventures.93. Taylor GreeneTaylor GreeneDaphne YoureePartner, Twelve BelowSelect investments: Truehold, Guideline, Accrue, Goodwin Company, Crexi, Ultra Pouches, Dispatch.io, Sora SchoolsCity: New YorkGreene started his investing career at Lerer Hippaeu before joining Collaborative Fund, where he served as a general partner.At Twelve Below, he said some of the most rewarding work has been helping early-stage companies sharpen their storytelling for follow-on rounds through practice pitches and pitch deck reviews — with over a dozen companies going on to raise Series A and B rounds in the past year.94. Zal BilimoriaZal BilimoriaCourtesy of Zal BilimoriaFounding partner, Refactor CapitalSelect investments: Solugen, Astranis, Biorender, Hexium, Epana, YourChoiceCity: Burlingame, CaliforniaA former Google and Netflix employee,. Bilimoria has built his one-man firm, Refactor Capital, around early-stage bets in hard tech, with an interest in startups tackling big physical-world problems. He's backed six unicorns and recently raised his fifth fund, capping it at $50 million.Bilimoria said one of his most memorable deals was co-leading a seed round for Hexium, a high-tech startup that uses lasers to supercharge nuclear energy. He helped catalyze a follow-on round last year and says the team has continued to hit milestone after milestone.95. Soma SomasegarSoma SomasegarMadronaManaging director, MadronaSelect investments: Snowflake, Statsig, UiPath, Temporal, PulumiCity: SeattleSomasegar spent nearly three decades at Microsoft before making the jump to venture. enterprise software investor. He's made early bets on now-public software companies UiPath and Snowflake.One of his closest recent partnerships has been with Statsig, a developer platform he first backed at seed and continued funding through every round.As acquisition interest picked up, Somasegar worked alongside the company's CEO to weigh whether to sell or stay independent. The decision wasn't straightforward, but the company ultimately chose to sell to OpenAI.96. Elad GilElad GilCourtesy of Elad GilFounder and CEO, Gil CapitalSelect investments: Perplexity, Harvey, Anduril, Stripe, Airbnb, Coinbase, SquareCity: San FranciscoWith a track record of backing category-defining tech juggernauts, Elad Gil's investment momentum is driven by standouts such as AI search engine Perplexity and the legal-tech platform Harvey.Gil's edge as an investor comes from his hands-on operational background at Color Genomics and Twitter, which lets him advise founders through the lens of someone who has built and led large companies.97. Temple FennellTemple FennellGetty ImagesCofounder and managing director, Clean Energy VenturesSelect investments: Aqua Membranes, SunDensity, Leading Edge Equipment TechnologiesCity: Cambridge, MassachusettsFennell is the. cofounder and managing partner of Clean Energy Ventures, which invests in breakthrough energy technologies that aim to reduce multi-gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions. He serves on the boards of Rebound Technologies, Aqua Membranes, SunDensity and Leading Edge Equipment Technologies.He has more than 20 years of. experience as a founder and investor deploying capital for CEV and his single-family office, Keller Enterprises, which actively invests in renewable energy.98. Lip-Bu TanLip-Bu TanIntelCEO, IntelSelect investments: SignalRank, Galileo, Together AI, Contextual AI, ExostellarCity: San Jose, CaliforniaLip-Bu Tan became the CEO of Intel last year after having served on its board. Intel's stock has been up over yüzde 280 in the past year.Intel isn't his first stint as CEO - he previously served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems for over a decade. As Cadence's CEO, he drove a cultural change to focus more on customers and helped the company more than double its revenue, according to his company bio.Not only that, but he's also an active seed investor and board member. He serves on the board of various companies like Artera.ai, Greenstone Biosciences, Rivos Inc., Credo, SambaNova, and Schneider Electric. He's a founding managing partner of VC firms like Walden Catalyst Ventures and Celesta Capital, as well as the chairman of the firm Walden International.99. Dalton CaldwellDalton CaldwellY CombinatorCofounder and partner, Standard Capital; partner emeritus, Y CombinatorSelect investments: Conta Simples, Campfire, Novig, Tractian, BerbixCity: San FranciscoDuring his tenure as a Y Combinator partner, Dalton worked on 25 classes and advised over 1,000 companies, including more than 35 unicorns, such as DoorDash, Flexport, Brex, and Deel.Caldwell is also an entrepreneur; he was the co-founder and CEO of Imeem, which was acquired by MySpace in 2009. In 2025, Caldwell and fellow YC partner Paul Bucheit founded Standard Capital, a $425 million fund that leads Series A rounds for AI startups.100. Aileen LeeAileen LeeCourtesy of Aileen LeeFounder and managing partner, Cowboy VenturesSelect investments: Guild, Drata, Mutiny, Basata, Eisen, Standard KernelCity: Palo Alto, CaliforniaIt's been over a decade since Lee coined the term "unicorn" to describe startups worth over $1 billion. She left Kleiner Perkins in 2012 to start her own firm, Cowboy Ventures, to invest in pre-seed to later-stage startups. Since then, a few of Lee's notable exits include Dollar Shave Club, which sold to Unilever for $1 billion in 2019, and Trendyol, which Alibaba acquired for almost $750 million in 2018."We look for founders who are 'learning animals,' who have an incredible propensity to gather, synthesize, and grow with new information, and who love to think through possibilities, combined with an incredible velocity of execution," Lee told Business Insider.
CreditsEditorial Leena Rao, Melia Russell, Ben Bergman, Sydney Bradley, Tom Carter, Rosalie Chan, Shubhangi Goel, Robert Scammell, Geoff Weiss Design Bryan Erickson, Isabel Fernández Pujol, Tyler Le, Rebeca Zisser Development Monsicha Srisuantang, Randy Yeip
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