Tribe Capital
also invests · investor profileSan Francisco, US · 7 known investors
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Tribe Capital is a sector- and stage-agnostic venture capital firm that invests in seed to growth-stage technology companies, focusing on identifying and amplifying early product-market fit. Founded by former Social Capital operators, the firm manages over $2.2B in assets.
Also known as Tribe Capital Management, LLC
Founders & leadership
Investors · 7
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Tribe Capital is a venture capital firm headquartered in Palo Alto, California, founded in 2018 by Arjun Sethi, Jonathan Hsu and Ted Maidenberg. The firm positions its investment selection around a quantitative, data-driven underwriting approach, stating that its data allows it to systematically partner with companies. It launched its first flagship venture fund in 2020 on the basis of that quantitative underwriting method, and added a dedicated crypto practice in 2021 applying the same approach to crypto investing.
The firm's activity spans co-investment and direct fund investing. In 2019 it launched "Firstlook," a co-investment program built on what it describes as a bottom-up view of product-market fit. In 2024 it incubated Termina, an AI-powered quantitative underwriting framework developed in-house and made available to its portfolio companies and partners. Tribe Capital also publishes research and "N-of-1" case studies on company building, including pieces on Carta and Shiprocket, and essays on topics such as navigating the venture capital "funding desert."
Its disclosed portfolio covers software, fintech, crypto, healthcare, defense, space and AI across multiple geographies, including OpenAI, SpaceX, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Kraken, Carta, Airtable, Docker, Front, Mercury, Apollo.io, Picsart, Nium, World Labs, Foundation, Saildrone, Kepler Communications, Shiprocket, BlackBuck, Khatabook, Chipper Cash, Incode, Kapital and Employment Hero.
Founding story
Tribe Capital was founded in 2018 in Palo Alto, California by Arjun Sethi, Jonathan Hsu and Ted Maidenberg.
Business model
Tribe Capital operates as a venture capital investment manager, deploying capital through flagship venture funds, a crypto practice and the Firstlook co-investment program, and making its Termina underwriting engine available to portfolio companies and partners.
Traction
The firm reported reaching $1B in assets under management in 2022 and $2B in assets under management in 2025, and lists a portfolio of more than 70 companies on its site.
Latest developments
The firm incubated its Termina AI-powered underwriting framework in 2024 and reported $2B in assets under management in 2025. It continues to publish research and case studies, including analyses of Carta's role in private markets and Shiprocket's Indian e-commerce logistics business.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Tribe Capital is a multi-stage, multi-sector venture investor with holdings in widely known technology companies including OpenAI, SpaceX, Anduril, Kraken, Carta, Airtable and Docker, and exposure to public listings such as BlackBuck (NSE) and Momentus (Nasdaq).
Tribe Capital describes its edge as systematic, data-driven and quantitative underwriting of companies rather than purely qualitative selection, supported by its proprietary Termina AI and data science engine.
Technology
The firm has built an AI and data science engine for investment underwriting, formalized as Termina, a homegrown quantitative underwriting framework incubated in 2024 and offered to its companies and partners. Its co-investment program, Firstlook, is described as built on a bottom-up view of product-market fit.
Go-to-market
Startups and growth-stage technology companies across software, fintech, crypto, healthcare, defense, space and AI, as well as limited partners and co-investment partners.
Geography
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with portfolio companies in the United States, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia.
History
Founded in 2018 in Palo Alto, the firm launched its Firstlook co-investment program in 2019 and its first flagship venture fund in 2020, both framed around its data-driven, quantitative underwriting approach. A crypto investing practice followed in 2021, and the firm reported reaching $1B in assets under management in 2022. In 2024 it incubated Termina, its in-house AI-powered quantitative underwriting framework, and in 2025 reported $2B in assets under management.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Tribe Capital went on to found or lead other companies.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsThe firm incubated Termina, its homegrown AI-powered quantitative underwriting framework, made available to portfolio companies and partners.
Tribe Capital developed a crypto investing practice applying its data-driven, quantitative approach to crypto.
The firm launched its first flagship venture fund, supported by its data-driven, quantitative underwriting approach.
Tribe Capital launched Firstlook, a co-investment program built on its bottom-up view of product-market fit.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Tribe Capitaltribecap.co · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Tribe Capital do?
- Palo Alto-based venture capital firm using a data-science and AI underwriting engine to select and back startups.
- Who founded Tribe Capital?
- Tribe Capital was founded by Arjun Sethi, Jonathan Hsu, Ted Maidenberg, Alex Chee, Jake Ellowitz, Brendan Moore.
- Who are Tribe Capital's investors?
- Tribe Capital's investors include Evolution VC Partners, Kensington Capital Partners Limited, Nimble Partners, SmartGateVC, Yildiz Ventures, Yolo Investments, Tribe Capital.
- Where is Tribe Capital headquartered?
- Tribe Capital is headquartered in San Francisco, US.