633 pre-seed AI investors
We list 633 pre-seed AI investors as of November 2026: 408 have an SEC filing on file and 225 were checked on the firm's own website or an official register, and the list was last checked on 9 Nov 2026. The states with the most are California (166), New York (59) and Massachusetts (31).
Top 5 pre-seed AI investors, ranked by recent fund activity
Among firms with a published profile and a dated fund or deal in the last 24 months. The rule: Activity score out of 100: recency of the latest fund filing or dated deal (35: full marks within 3 months, then stepping down at 6, 12 and 24 months), share of the observed portfolio in this sector (25; half of that when the sector is stated only), stage focus (15: all of it when pre-seed is the only stage the firm states, split evenly when it states more), size of the fund on file on a log scale (15) and completeness of the public record (10). Stage focus is our research, not an SEC figure. It is a measure of activity and fit, not of quality or returns. The same rule orders the whole list; it is repeated in the method box.
Quiet Capital
Type: VC firm · HQ: San Francisco, CA · Stages: Pre-seed · Focus: AI, SaaS, Fintech, Consumer · Latest activity: New fund, Nov 2026 · Fund size on file: $500M (SEC Form D, 2021)
Latest fund filing dated Nov 2026; $500M fund on file (SEC Form D, 2021); states AI as a focus; backs pre-seed; 3 named decision-makers on file.
Transpose Platform
Type: VC firm · HQ: Houston, TX · Stages: Pre-seed · Focus: AI, Biotech, Generalist · Latest activity: New fund, Sep 2026 · Fund size on file: $500M (SEC Form D, 2026)
Latest fund filing dated Sep 2026; $500M fund on file (SEC Form D, 2026); states AI as a focus; backs pre-seed; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Protagonist
Type: VC firm · HQ: Bay Harbor Islands, FL · Stages: Pre-seed · Focus: AI, Industrial Tech, Energy, Semiconductor · Latest activity: New fund, Aug 2026 · Fund size on file: $150M (SEC Form D, 2026)
Latest fund filing dated Aug 2026; $150M fund on file (SEC Form D, 2026); states AI as a focus; backs pre-seed; 8 named decision-makers on file.
Avid Ventures
Type: VC firm · HQ: New York, NY · Stages: Pre-seed · Focus: AI, Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS · Latest activity: Portfolio news, Oct 2026 · Fund size on file: $75M (SEC Form D, 2021)
Portfolio news dated Oct 2026; $75M fund on file (SEC Form D, 2021); states AI as a focus; backs pre-seed; 2 named decision-makers on file.
Tectonic Ventures
Type: VC firm · HQ: Newton, MA · Stages: Pre-seed · Focus: AI, B2B, SaaS · Latest activity: New fund, Aug 2026 · Fund size on file: $87M (SEC Form D, 2021)
Latest fund filing dated Aug 2026; $87M fund on file (SEC Form D, 2021); states AI as a focus; backs pre-seed; 2 named decision-makers on file.
First 25 of 633 pre-seed AI investors
| Investor | Type | HQ | Stagesour research | Focusour research | Latest fund or deal | Fund sizeas filed or stated | Checked | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quiet Capital | VC firm | San Francisco, CA | Pre-seed | AI, SaaS, Fintech, Consumer | New fund, Nov 2026 | $500M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 4 Nov 2026 | 3 names · Unlock |
| Transpose Platform | VC firm | Houston, TX | Pre-seed | AI, Biotech, Generalist | New fund, Sep 2026 | $500M (SEC Form D, 2026) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Protagonist | VC firm | Bay Harbor Islands, FL | Pre-seed | AI, Industrial Tech, Energy, Semiconductor | New fund, Aug 2026 | $150M (SEC Form D, 2026) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock |
| Avid Ventures | VC firm | New York, NY | Pre-seed | AI, Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | $75M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 5 Nov 2026 | 2 names, firm email · Unlock |
| Tectonic Ventures | VC firm | Newton, MA | Pre-seed | AI, B2B, SaaS | New fund, Aug 2026 | $87M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 4 Nov 2026 | 2 names · Unlock |
| Meridian Street | VC firm | New York, NY | Pre-seed | AI, Healthtech, Fintech, Logistics | New fund, Aug 2026 | $85M (SEC Form D, 2026) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| 1517 Fund | VC firm | Telluride, CO | Pre-seed | AI, Edtech, Deep Tech, SaaS | New fund, Sep 2026 | $43M (SEC Form D, 2025) | 4 Nov 2026 | 2 names, firm email · Unlock |
| Incisive VC | VC firm | Seattle, WA | Pre-seed | AI, Media, B2B, SaaS | New fund, Sep 2026 | $25M (SEC Form D, 2026) | 4 Nov 2026 | 1 name · Unlock |
| Redbud VC | VC firm | Columbia, MO | Pre-seed | AI, Healthtech, Agritech, Climate Tech | New fund, Sep 2026 | $25M (SEC Form D, 2025) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Paradigm | VC firm | San Francisco, CA | Pre-seed | AI, Crypto and Web3, Robotics, Fintech | New deal, Jul 2026 | $1.1B (SEC Form D, 2021) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock |
| South Park Commons | Accelerator | San Francisco, CA | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Developer Tools, Edtech, SaaS | New fund, Oct 2026 | $500M (SEC Form D, 2025) | 4 Nov 2026 | 4 names · Unlock |
| True Ventures | VC firm | Palo Alto, CA | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Fintech, Deep Tech, Consumer | New fund, Sep 2026 | $800M (SEC Form D, 2022) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Breed | VC firm | Coral Gables, FL | Pre-seed | AI, Crypto and Web3, Fintech, Developer Tools | New fund, Sep 2026 | $14M (SEC Form D, 2024) | 4 Nov 2026 | 1 name, firm email · Unlock |
| UVC Partners | VC firm | Garching, Germany | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | AI, Deep Tech, Climate Tech, Mobility | New deal, Sep 2026 | €800M (own site) | 7 Nov 2026 | 4 names, firm email · Unlock |
| LYVA Labs | Government or university fund | Liverpool, United Kingdom | Pre-seed | AI, Healthtech, Biotech, Climate Tech | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | £7M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock |
| Initialized | VC firm | San Francisco, CA | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Generalist, Fintech, Defense Tech | New fund, Sep 2026 | $520M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Wave Ventures | VC firm | Helsinki, Finland | Pre-seed | AI, Generalist, Climate Tech | Portfolio news, Oct 2026 | €10M (own site) | 7 Nov 2026 | 4 names · Unlock |
| Electric Capital | VC firm | Palo Alto, CA | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | AI, Crypto and Web3, Fintech, Healthtech | New fund, Sep 2026 | $532M (SEC Form D, 2021) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock |
| New Vista Capital | VC firm | Washington, DC | Pre-seed | AI, Defense Tech, Space, Industrial Tech | New fund, Oct 2026 | $20M (SEC Form D, 2025) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Pear Ventures | VC firm | Menlo Park, CA | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Fintech, Healthtech, Consumer | New fund, Oct 2026 | $410M (SEC Form D, 2022) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| New Stack | VC firm | Chicago, IL | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Fintech, Healthtech, Industrial Tech | New fund, Sep 2026 | $125M (SEC Form D, 2024) | 4 Nov 2026 | 3 names · Unlock |
| Kindred Ventures | VC firm | San Francisco, CA | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Crypto and Web3, Fintech, Healthtech | New fund, Sep 2026 | $230M (SEC Form D, 2025) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Fuel Ventures | SEIS/EIS fund | London, United Kingdom | Pre-seed, Seed, Series A | AI, Fintech, SaaS, Marketplace | New deal, Oct 2026 | £280M (own site) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names · Unlock |
| Graduate Ventures | VC firm | Netherlands | Pre-seed, Seed | AI, Deep Tech, Healthtech, Climate Tech | New fund, Oct 2026 | €125M (own site) | 7 Nov 2026 | 3 names, firm email · Unlock |
| Glasswing Ventures | VC firm | Boston, MA | Pre-seed | AI, Future of Work, Cybersecurity, Logistics | New deal, Jun 2026 | $203M (SEC Form D, 2024) | 4 Nov 2026 | 8 names, firm email · Unlock |
You are seeing 25 of 633. The full list adds 608 more investors and 2,914 named decision-makers.
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How these 633 break down
By region
| Region | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 403 | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 112 | 18% |
| Europe | 114 | 18% |
By US state
| US state | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| California | 166 | 26% |
| New York | 59 | 9% |
| Massachusetts | 31 | 5% |
| Florida | 21 | 3% |
| Texas | 20 | 3% |
| Illinois | 13 | 2% |
| Washington | 10 | 2% |
| Colorado | 7 | 1% |
| Connecticut | 7 | 1% |
| Pennsylvania | 6 | 1% |
By European country
| European country | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 19 | 3% |
| France | 17 | 3% |
| Spain | 10 | 2% |
| Netherlands | 8 | 1% |
| Finland | 7 | 1% |
| Sweden | 7 | 1% |
| Austria | 5 | 1% |
| Luxembourg | 5 | 1% |
By type
| Type | On this list | Share |
|---|---|---|
| VC firm | 563 | 89% |
| Accelerator | 23 | 4% |
| SEIS/EIS fund | 15 | 2% |
| Angel network | 15 | 2% |
| Government or university fund | 11 | 2% |
| Fund manager | 3 | 0% |
Method and limits
- Source
- 408 of the 633 rows carry an SEC filing (Form D or Form ADV). All 633 have a website we checked. Filing date and fund size are SEC data where a filing exists. Stage, sector and check size are our research.
- Inclusion rule
- Organizations that back startups. Individuals, buyout funds and firms we found to be inactive are left out. Sector: the firm states AI as a focus on its own site, or we observed it in the firm's portfolio. Stage: the firm states that it invests at pre-seed.
- Order
- Firms with a published profile come first. Activity score out of 100: recency of the latest fund filing or dated deal (35: full marks within 3 months, then stepping down at 6, 12 and 24 months), share of the observed portfolio in this sector (25; half of that when the sector is stated only), stage focus (15: all of it when pre-seed is the only stage the firm states, split evenly when it states more), size of the fund on file on a log scale (15) and completeness of the public record (10). Stage focus is our research, not an SEC figure. It is a measure of activity and fit, not of quality or returns.
- Last refreshed
- November 2026. Rows on this list were checked between 4 Nov 2026 and 9 Nov 2026.
- Fill rates
- Of 633 rows: stage 633, sector 633, fund size 428, website 633. In the paid file: named decision-makers on 595 rows, firm email on 262, LinkedIn page on 409, check size on 180.
- Corrections
- Email [email protected] or use the update form. We act within 5 working days.
Questions
How many pre-seed AI investors are there?
We list 633 as of November 2026. 331 of the 633 have a fund filing or a dated deal in the last 12 months.
Which pre-seed AI investors raised a new fund in the last 12 months?
204 of the 633 have a fund filing dated in the last 12 months. The most recent on this list are Quiet Capital (Nov 2026), LightX Capital (Nov 2026) and 25Madison Ventures (Oct 2026).
What is the typical fund size of pre-seed AI investors?
The median fund size on file for this list is $50M, across the 329 firms with a size on an SEC Form D. The fund on file is each firm's main fund, which is not always its newest. The other 304 do not disclose a size there.
How do I contact pre-seed AI investors?
The paid file holds 2,914 named decision-makers across 595 of these 633 and a firm email for 262. We publish the address a firm lists itself, never a personal email. Each free row links to a profile with the firm's website.
Where does the data on pre-seed AI investors come from?
408 of the 633 rows have an SEC filing on file (Form D or Form ADV) and 225 were checked on the firm's own website or an official register. Filing date and fund size come from the filing. Stage, sector and check size are our research. Rows on this list were last checked on 9 Nov 2026 at the latest. The whole file is re-verified twice a year.
Broader lists
Narrower lists
Related lists
Seed AI investors (1,082)Pre-seed SaaS investors (562)Series A AI investors (500)Pre-seed healthtech investors (408)Pre-seed fintech investors (323)Pre-seed deep tech investors (316)Growth-stage AI investors (295)Pre-seed climate tech investors (230)Series B AI investors (204)Pre-seed consumer investors (162)Pre-seed B2B investors (155)Pre-seed biotech investors (148)Pre-seed hardware investors (131)Pre-seed medtech investors (129)Pre-seed energy investors (126)Pre-seed industrial tech investors (124)Pre-seed robotics investors (94)Pre-seed cybersecurity investors (90)
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