Meet Our AI Partners
Meet Our AI Partners
In this week’s newsletter, we introduce the specialist AI venture firms that Fifth Era is partnering with. You can access these funds through our latest AI investment strategy by requesting more information at IR@fifthera.com.
Last week's newsletter discussed the emergence of an Autonomous Digital Economy and the convergence of AI, Internet and Blockchain technology that is enabling it. We expect this transformation of our current digital (and non digital) economy is rapidly becoming the defining value creation event of the twenty-first century.
The managers featured in this newsletter combine decades of experience as investors, entrepreneurs, AI researchers and engineers. Collectively, they review thousands of AI startups each year while investing in only a select few with the potential to define the next generation of technology leaders.
OUR AI INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Our latest AI investment strategy gives investors access to a diversified portfolio of specialist venture capital firms investing exclusively in artificial intelligence. Our managers span North America and Europe and collectively invest across AI infrastructure, foundation models, enterprise software, vertical AI applications, robotics, scientific AI, cybersecurity and emerging AI-native business models.
By investing with us limited partners gain exposure to hundreds of early-stage AI companies through a single professionally managed vehicle while benefiting from the expertise, networks and technical insight of some of the world's definitive AI-focused venture investors. The benefits include:
Access to specialist AI venture capital firms.
Diversification across multiple AI investment strategies.
Exposure to hundreds of early-stage AI companies.
Investment across North America and Europe.
Experienced managers with deep technical and operating backgrounds.
Focus on long-term value creation through early-stage investing.
Today we focus on the first 8 commitments we have made to pure-play AI venture funds and the teams that lead them.
OUR AI PARTNERSHIPS
To date we have committed to 8 leading AI venture funds with a combined partner group of more than 30 experienced AI investment professionals. They are:
AIX Ventures
Factorial Capital
Gradient Ventures
Halcyon
Leonis Capital
Lionheart Ventures
Merantix Capital
Zero Shot
Each is introduced in turn.
1. AIX Ventures
"AIX is a new kind of venture firm where leaders in AI push the field forward together. As active practitioners ourselves, we invest in early-stage companies and founders who are developing and advancing the technology alongside us."
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Investment Stage: Pre-Seed and Seed
Primary Focus: Foundation Models • AI Infrastructure • Enterprise AI • Applied AI
Founded by leading AI researchers, entrepreneurs and investors, AIX Ventures focuses exclusively on early-stage artificial intelligence companies. The firm believes the next generation of iconic technology companies will be created by technical founders working at the frontier of machine learning, large language models and intelligent software. Its network spans academia, Silicon Valley and many of the world's leading AI laboratories.
Partners:
Nick Crance — Partner. Nick Crance focuses on identifying exceptional technical founders at the earliest stages of company formation. His work emphasizes companies where advances in artificial intelligence create fundamentally new products rather than incremental improvements to existing software. Working closely with entrepreneurs throughout company formation, he helps founders refine strategy, recruit early teams and prepare businesses for long-term venture-scale growth.
Anthony Goldbloom — Investment Partner. Anthony Goldbloom is best known as the founder of Kaggle, the world's leading machine learning competition platform, acquired by Google in 2017. Through Kaggle he helped build one of the largest global communities of AI researchers and data scientists. At AIX Ventures he brings extensive experience evaluating machine learning talent and supports founders building AI-native companies across enterprise software, infrastructure and applied artificial intelligence.
Christopher Manning — General Partner. Professor Christopher Manning is Director Emeritus of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and one of the world's leading researchers in natural language processing. His academic work has shaped modern language models and deep learning research. At AIX Ventures he evaluates highly technical investment opportunities while helping founders translate breakthrough research into scalable commercial businesses.
Jason McBride — Partner. Jason McBride works closely with founders developing AI-native software businesses from inception through early commercialization. His investment approach emphasizes technical differentiation, product-market fit and long-term competitive advantage. By combining venture investing with founder support, he helps entrepreneurs navigate product development, recruiting and fundraising during the earliest stages of company building.
Krish Ramadurai — Partner. Krish Ramadurai focuses on early-stage investments across artificial intelligence infrastructure, developer platforms and enterprise applications. His work spans sourcing, investment diligence and portfolio support, helping founders transform innovative technical ideas into scalable businesses. His experience complements AIX Ventures' broader strategy of investing alongside entrepreneurs creating foundational AI technologies.
Richard Socher — Co-Founder & Managing Partner. Richard Socher is one of the world's best-known artificial intelligence entrepreneurs and researchers. Founder and CEO of You.com and formerly Chief Scientist at Salesforce, his work has helped advance natural language processing, deep learning and enterprise AI. At AIX Ventures he combines world-class research credentials with operating experience to identify founders building category-defining AI companies.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
Anthropic
Harvey
Hebbia
Hugging Face
Perplexity
Runway
Twelve Labs
Weights & Biases
This is a subset of AIX Ventures' portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
2. Factorial Capital
"Factorial is a new kind of venture firm purpose-built for the AI era. Our investment partners are technical practitioners and we invest in founders who code building in infrastructure, B2B and consumer – at the frontier of what's newly technically possible."
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Investment Stage: Seed
Primary Focus: Enterprise AI • AI Infrastructure • AI Applications • Developer Tools
Factorial Capital was established specifically for the generative AI era. Rather than approaching artificial intelligence as simply another software category, the firm focuses exclusively on founders building businesses made possible by recent advances in foundation models, developer tooling and intelligent automation. Its investment philosophy combines technical diligence with extensive founder support throughout the earliest phases of company development.
Partners:
Matt Hartman — Founder & Managing Partner. Matt Hartman founded Factorial Capital after nearly a decade as a partner at Betaworks, where he invested in pioneering technology companies including Hugging Face and Anchor. His experience spans early-stage investing, company formation and founder mentorship across artificial intelligence and developer platforms. Through Factorial he seeks entrepreneurs creating entirely new categories of AI-native software rather than incremental extensions of existing enterprise applications.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
Causal Labs
Hugging Face
LM Arena
Mainframe
Medbill AI
Oboe
This is a subset of Factorial Capital's portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
3. Gradient Ventures
"Gradient is the first and original AI-focused seed fund. We back founders building the next generation of AI companies. We're small, founder-centric, and technical to our core. We’re not just investors, but builders, mentors, and champions who work side-by-side with our founders through every challenge and triumph. We're bold about what we back, championing disruptive ideas with the potential to redefine industries, and we earn founders' trust by being transparent and in it for the long-haul."
Headquarters: Palo Alto, California
Investment Stage: Seed
Primary Focus: Foundation Models • Enterprise AI • Developer Tools • Machine Learning Infrastructure
Founded in 2017, Gradient Ventures has established itself as one of the most recognized venture firms dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence with deep access into the Google ecosystem in particular. The firm invests at the earliest stages of company formation, supporting founders building foundational AI technologies, developer platforms and enterprise applications. Beyond capital, Gradient provides entrepreneurs with deep technical guidance, access to experienced operators and an extensive network of AI researchers, engineers and industry leaders. Its investment philosophy emphasizes long-term partnerships with founders developing durable technological advantages through artificial intelligence.
Partners:
Andrew Brackin — Partner. Andrew Brackin focuses on identifying and supporting founders building AI-native companies from the earliest stages of development. His work spans sourcing, technical diligence and strategic guidance, helping entrepreneurs refine product strategy, recruit leadership teams and navigate early fundraising. His investment approach emphasizes businesses where artificial intelligence creates sustainable competitive advantages through proprietary technology, differentiated data assets or fundamentally new software architectures.
Zach Bratun-Glennon — General Partner. Zach Bratun-Glennon works with founders developing artificial intelligence companies across enterprise software, infrastructure and developer platforms. He combines deep venture investing experience with a practical understanding of how emerging AI technologies evolve into scalable businesses. His investment philosophy emphasizes disciplined technical evaluation, founder partnership and long-term company building, helping entrepreneurs transform innovative AI capabilities into enduring market leaders.
Clayton Petty — Partner. Clayton Petty works closely with entrepreneurs building AI-first software companies, providing guidance across company formation, product development and commercialization. His experience spans investment sourcing, technical diligence and founder support, with particular emphasis on businesses where advances in machine learning fundamentally reshape enterprise workflows. He helps founders navigate the transition from breakthrough technology to scalable commercial execution.
Vig Sachidananda — Partner. Vig Sachidananda focuses on early-stage investments across artificial intelligence infrastructure, intelligent applications and enterprise software. He evaluates opportunities through the intersection of technical innovation, commercial potential and founder capability, helping identify companies positioned to become category leaders. His work contributes to Gradient's disciplined investment process while providing portfolio companies with strategic guidance during their earliest phases of growth.
Darian Shirazi — General Partner. Darian Shirazi has helped establish Gradient Ventures as one of the leading specialist AI investment firms in Silicon Valley. A former entrepreneur and experienced venture investor, he works closely with technical founders developing machine learning infrastructure, enterprise AI and developer tools. His operating experience enables him to support entrepreneurs beyond financing, helping companies build products, recruit talent and scale effectively while maintaining strong technical foundations.
Denise Teng — Partner. Denise Teng partners with founders building AI-native businesses across enterprise software, developer infrastructure and emerging machine learning applications. She contributes to investment sourcing, technical evaluation and portfolio development, supporting entrepreneurs throughout company formation and early commercialization. Her work reflects Gradient's belief that successful AI investing requires close collaboration with founders from the earliest stages of company development.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
BenchSci
CentML
Labelbox
Lambda
Oura
Prepared
Reclaim.ai
Writer
This is a subset of Gradient Ventures' portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
4. Halcyon
"Halcyon backs exceptional founders building in AI safety, biosecurity and critical cybersecurity. We make grants, incubate new projects, invest in companies, and support high-impact career transitions."
Headquarters: London
Investment Stage: Seed
Primary Focus: AI Safety • AI Security • Biosecurity • Frontier Technologies
Halcyon occupies a distinctive position within the artificial intelligence investment ecosystem. Rather than focusing exclusively on commercial AI applications, the firm supports founders developing technologies that improve the safe deployment, governance and resilience of increasingly capable AI systems. Its investment strategy reflects the belief that AI safety, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure will become essential components of the future AI economy. Through venture investment, grants and company formation, Halcyon works alongside exceptional technical founders addressing some of the most important challenges created by rapidly advancing artificial intelligence.
Partners:
Mike McCormick — Founder. Mike McCormick founded Halcyon to support entrepreneurs and researchers working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and global resilience. His vision extends beyond traditional venture investing by combining capital, incubation and founder development to accelerate organizations addressing high-impact technical challenges. Through Halcyon, he has helped create an ecosystem where exceptional technical talent can build companies and institutions focused on making advanced AI systems safer, more secure and more beneficial to society.
Nick Rausenbusch — Partner. Nick Rausenbusch works closely with founders developing technologies in AI safety, alignment research, cybersecurity and biosecurity. His experience spans organization building, technical program development and founder support, helping entrepreneurs transform cutting-edge research into scalable organizations capable of addressing emerging risks associated with advanced artificial intelligence. His work complements Halcyon's broader mission of strengthening the infrastructure required for the responsible development and deployment of frontier AI systems.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company
Confident Security
Goodfire
Gray Swan
Lucid Computing
Softmax
This is a subset of Halcyon's portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
5. Leonis Capital
"Our mission is to turn groundbreaking AI research into transformative investments, fueling the next generation of AI-first startups."
Headquarters: London and San Francisco
Investment Stage: Pre-Seed and Seed
Primary Focus: AI Infrastructure • Enterprise AI • Foundation Models • Intelligent Automation
Leonis Capital was established with the conviction that artificial intelligence represents a fundamental shift in computing rather than simply another software category. The firm invests in highly technical founders building companies around breakthrough advances in machine learning, autonomous systems and AI infrastructure. By combining rigorous technical diligence with an international perspective spanning North America and Europe, Leonis seeks to partner with entrepreneurs capable of creating enduring market leaders in the emerging AI economy.
Partners:
Jenny Xiao — Partner. Jenny Xiao combines academic AI research with practical experience at the frontier of artificial intelligence. Before joining Leonis Capital, she conducted AI research at OpenAI while completing doctoral studies at Columbia University focused on artificial intelligence and economics. Her background enables her to evaluate emerging technologies from both a scientific and commercial perspective, helping Leonis identify founders translating breakthrough research into scalable businesses. She focuses particularly on foundation models, reasoning systems and AI infrastructure that can underpin the next generation of intelligent applications.
Jay Zhao — Partner. Jay Zhao brings more than two decades of venture investing experience across enterprise software, fintech and emerging technologies. Prior to Leonis Capital, he held senior investment roles at Granite Ventures, Walden International and T Fund, supporting numerous successful technology companies. At Leonis he combines institutional venture discipline with a research-driven approach to artificial intelligence, helping founders navigate company formation, fundraising and long-term strategic development while identifying businesses capable of becoming category leaders.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
MaintainX
Motion
This is a subset of Leonis Capital's portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
6. Lionheart Ventures
"Lionheart Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on the wise development of transformative technologies. Our main areas of investment focus are artificial intelligence and frontier mental health technologies. We believe these sectors are uniquely poised to help bring about a better future for humanity. We invest in exceptional, ethical founders who are developing transformative technologies that have the potential to impact humanity on a meaningful scale, while generating attractive returns for our investors."
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Investment Stage: Seed
Primary Focus: Artificial Intelligence • Frontier Technologies • Neurotechnology • Human Performance
Lionheart Ventures invests in entrepreneurs developing technologies capable of creating profound long-term societal impact. The firm's investment strategy extends beyond commercial success, emphasizing artificial intelligence, neurotechnology and emerging scientific breakthroughs that improve human capability and well-being. By combining technical expertise with founder experience and a long-term perspective, Lionheart supports companies addressing some of the most significant opportunities created by advances in intelligent systems.
Partners:
Shelby Clark — Partner. Shelby Clark is best known as the founder of Turo, the pioneering peer-to-peer vehicle sharing marketplace. Following his entrepreneurial success, he became an active investor focused on technologies capable of improving human well-being at global scale. At Lionheart Ventures he combines founder experience with long-term strategic thinking, supporting entrepreneurs building artificial intelligence and frontier technology companies that seek both commercial success and meaningful societal impact.
Brandon Goldman — Partner. Brandon Goldman brings a rare combination of software engineering, venture investing and entrepreneurial experience to Lionheart Ventures. Having worked across artificial intelligence, blockchain infrastructure and emerging software platforms, he evaluates highly technical founders building next-generation AI businesses. His engineering background enables rigorous technical diligence while his operating experience helps founders navigate product development, commercialization and long-term company building.
Jurgen Herre — Partner. Jurgen Herre contributes extensive international operating and leadership experience spanning technology, infrastructure and institutional business development. His background managing large organizations and cross-border operations complements Lionheart's investment activities by helping founders develop scalable organizational capabilities. He works closely with portfolio companies as they transition from early-stage technical innovation into globally significant businesses.
David Langer — Founder & Managing Partner. David Langer is a serial technology entrepreneur and the Founder and Managing Partner of Lionheart Ventures. Prior to founding the firm, he built and successfully exited venture-backed technology companies while becoming an active angel investor across emerging technologies. His investment philosophy emphasizes supporting founders developing transformative technologies with the potential to reshape industries while improving long-term human outcomes. He combines founder empathy with disciplined venture investing to help entrepreneurs build enduring companies.
Dr. Tim Mullen — Partner. Dr. Tim Mullen is an internationally recognized neuroscientist, entrepreneur and technology innovator whose work spans brain-computer interfaces, artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. Having founded multiple venture-backed companies while leading research programs supported by organizations including DARPA, NASA and the National Institutes of Health, he brings exceptional scientific depth to Lionheart Ventures. His expertise strengthens the firm's ability to evaluate highly technical opportunities at the convergence of AI, neuroscience and advanced computing.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
Anthropic
Breathwrk
Calm
Causative Labs
Cognigenics
Fathom Radiant
Lucid Computing
This is a subset of Lionheart Ventures' portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
7. Merantix Capital
"Merantix Capital is a Berlin-based venture capital firm and a unit of Merantix, a group of companies and initiatives driving AI forward in Europe. We leverage our platform to attract and foster interactions between ideas, talent, industry, and policy. We combine our venture-building DNA, deep AI investing expertise, and our expansive community."
Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
Investment Stage: Pre-Seed and Seed
Primary Focus: Enterprise AI • Industrial AI • Healthcare AI • Foundation Technologies
Merantix Capital has established itself as one of Europe's premier artificial intelligence investment firms by combining venture capital with company creation, technical research and industrial partnerships. The firm works closely with entrepreneurs developing AI-native businesses across healthcare, manufacturing, enterprise software and industrial automation. Its extensive European network provides founders with access to customers, talent and research institutions while supporting the commercialization of world-class AI innovation.
Partners:
Nicole Büttner — Founding Partner. Nicole Büttner combines entrepreneurial leadership with extensive experience helping enterprises adopt artificial intelligence at scale. As Founder and CEO of Merantix Momentum, she has worked with leading organizations implementing AI across complex industries. At Merantix Capital she helps identify founders building enterprise-focused AI companies while supporting portfolio businesses as they scale from technical innovation into commercially successful organizations.
Adrian Locher — Co-Founder & General Partner. Adrian Locher is a serial entrepreneur, venture investor and one of Europe's leading advocates for artificial intelligence entrepreneurship. Through Merantix he has helped establish, invest in and support numerous AI companies spanning healthcare, enterprise software and industrial automation. His experience creating companies from inception gives founders practical guidance across fundraising, product development and organizational scaling while reinforcing Merantix's company-building philosophy.
Rockman Law — Investor. Rockman Law focuses on investments spanning enterprise software, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and financial technology. His entrepreneurial background provides valuable insight into evaluating technical founders solving complex enterprise challenges through AI. At Merantix Capital he supports investment sourcing, technical diligence and portfolio development while helping identify businesses capable of becoming global leaders from a European foundation.
Dr. Rasmus Rothe — Co-Founder & General Partner. Dr. Rasmus Rothe holds a doctorate in computer vision and deep learning and is widely recognized as one of Europe's leading AI entrepreneurs. As a founding board member of the German AI Association and Co-Founder of Merantix, he has played an important role in connecting academic research with commercial innovation. His technical expertise enables Merantix Capital to identify exceptional founders developing breakthrough AI technologies with global market potential.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
Briink
Cambrium
Kausa
Lengoo
Sia
Synthara
Vara
VisionAI
This is a subset of Merantix Capital's portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
8. Zero Shot
"We are technologists who helped build, launch, and scale OpenAI’s ChatGPT, API, and Code Interpreter. We are backing the next generation of founders shaping the future of AI."
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Investment Stage: Pre-Seed and Seed
Primary Focus: Foundation Models • AI Applications • Robotics • Intelligent Agents
Zero Shot was founded by former OpenAI leaders and experienced technology operators who helped shape many of the world's most influential generative AI products. Their firsthand experience developing, deploying and commercializing frontier AI systems provides founders with practical guidance extending well beyond capital. The firm's investment strategy focuses on entrepreneurs building AI-native businesses capable of defining entirely new categories of software and intelligent automation.
Partners:
Shawn Jain — Founding Partner. Shawn Jain combines frontier AI engineering with entrepreneurial experience, having worked as both an OpenAI researcher and founder of an AI startup. His background enables him to evaluate highly technical investment opportunities while helping founders navigate product architecture, engineering strategy and commercialization. At Zero Shot he focuses on identifying companies capable of translating breakthrough AI capabilities into scalable businesses.
Kelly Kovacs — Founding Partner. Kelly Kovacs contributes extensive venture capital and company-building experience developed through leadership roles in growth-stage investing. Her expertise complements Zero Shot's deeply technical founding team by helping portfolio companies scale organizationally, recruit executive talent and prepare for future fundraising. She brings a disciplined venture perspective to firms operating at the frontier of artificial intelligence.
Andrew Mayne — Founding Partner. Andrew Mayne became widely recognized as OpenAI's first prompt engineer while helping pioneer practical applications of large language models. Combining technical creativity with extensive experience communicating emerging AI capabilities, he helps founders design products that translate frontier model performance into compelling user experiences. His perspective bridges cutting-edge AI research with practical commercial deployment.
Evan Morikawa — Founding Partner. Evan Morikawa previously led Applied Engineering at OpenAI during the development and deployment of several landmark AI products, including ChatGPT and DALL·E. His experience scaling production AI systems gives him exceptional insight into the technical and operational challenges facing AI-native startups. At Zero Shot he works closely with founders building the next generation of intelligent software and robotics companies.
Brett Rounsaville — Founding Partner. Brett Rounsaville combines product leadership, operational expertise and AI commercialization experience across technology and media organizations. His background helps founders transform innovative technical capabilities into scalable businesses with sustainable customer adoption. At Zero Shot he supports portfolio companies through product strategy, organizational development and commercial execution.
Selected Portfolio Companies:
Foundry Robotics
Stealth Company
Worktrace AI
This is a subset of Zero Shot's portfolio, selected on a non-performance basis. It is not representative of the performance of the portfolio as a whole.
IMPLICATIONS FOR INVESTORS
In our view, artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the defining investment themes of our generation. Yet identifying the companies most likely to create enduring value requires far more than recognizing the importance of AI itself. It requires access to exceptional founders at the earliest stages of company formation and partnership with investors possessing the technical expertise, industry networks and experience to evaluate breakthrough technologies before they become widely recognized.
The eight specialist venture firms featured in this report represent precisely that capability. Collectively, they span Silicon Valley, Europe and many of the world's leading AI ecosystems. Their partners include accomplished entrepreneurs, distinguished researchers, former leaders from the AI teams at organizations such as Google, OpenAI, Salesforce, and other leading enterprise software companies, as well as experienced venture investors who have spent decades supporting technology founders through every stage of company growth. With more than 30 partners in total, our investment strategy benefits from the combined expertise and investment activity of these AI leaders.
Through our Fifth Era AI investment strategy, investors gain diversified exposure through a single professionally managed vehicle. Rather than relying on one investment philosophy or one geographic market, we provide access to a carefully curated portfolio of specialist AI managers, each bringing unique expertise across foundation models, enterprise AI, infrastructure, robotics, industrial AI, healthcare, AI safety and frontier technologies.
For investors seeking long-term participation in the continued evolution of artificial intelligence, our objective is straightforward: provide access to experienced managers, innovative founders, and compelling opportunities across the AI ecosystem.
Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you want to discuss our AI investment strategy and how you can participate in it, by contacting our team at IR@fifthera.com.
The Fifth Era Partner Team
AI Partnerships includes all investments made as of July 2026. Portfolio and team data is as of July 2026 and is subject to change.
About Fifth Era
We are entering a period of unprecedented innovation we call the Fifth Era, and every industry and business will be dramatically impacted. We focus on investing into these new innovations. Fifth Era specializes in investment strategies which construct portfolios of hard-to-access funds and direct investments through our investment strategies - AI Access and Blockchain Coinvestors. Fifth Era's investment strategies are now in their 12th year and to date we have invested in a combined portfolio of 1,500+ companies and projects including 80+ unicorns. In the US we are a SEC registered investment advisor, in the UK a FCA appointed representative and our funds are registered in Switzerland. Visit us at www.FifthEra.com to learn more.
SEC Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
“Focused on Innovation”