Telluride · Pre-Seed–Seed · 5 people tracked
Investment thesis
1517 backs founders others overlook — dropouts, renegade students, uncredentialed makers, and deep tech scientists — prioritizing the 'who' over the 'what.' It invests at the earliest stages, from the R&D/idea phase through seed, across software, hardware with a data play, deep tech/sci-fi tech, and biotech. First checks range from $50,000 at idea stage to $1,000,000 for deep tech seed rounds, with an average $400,000 pre-seed check, and it will lead pre-seed rounds up to $1M and follow on as companies grow. Beyond capital, 1517 offers micro-grants through its Medici Program and cultivates a worldwide community with events, workshops, and office hours.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 17 of 22 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×6Hardware ×6SaaS ×5Deep Tech ×4Consumer ×3Enterprise Software ×3Advanced Manufacturing ×2Cleantech ×2
HQs:United States×12Canada×1
Investments · 22 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12025 · 12 dated
Amber produces wireless, solar-powered automation kits for grain bin monitoring and fan control that replace traditional cable systems.
AgTechHardwareIoTChicago, US
Lucas Frye(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Joseph Varikooty(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardCyril Ebersweiler(Incoming Series Seed Director.)in
Co-investorsGen CapitalHAXIllinois VenturesSOSV
Amper is a production monitoring and intelligence platform that uses IoT sensors to automatically track machines, operators, and jobs in real time and integrates with ERP and MES systems.
Advanced ManufacturingIoTSaaS
Co-investorsConvergeCorazon CapitalLewis & Clark VenturesSterling RoadAdvancit CapitalFoundry+4 more
Atom Computing develops large-scale quantum computers using optically-trapped neutral atoms for on-premises deployment.
Deep TechHardwareQuantum ComputingBerkeley, US
Ben Bloom(Founder & CEO)in
BoardDror Berman(Director)inEthan Batraski(Director)in
Co-investorsAbstract VenturesBerkeley FrontierBlue Ivy VenturesBoxGroupCantos VenturesCaruso Ventures+15 more
Aura is a wellness app used by over 7 million people to support emotional wellbeing and sleep, with an offering for teams that provides partnership and bulk discount arrangements for employers.
ConsumerDigital HealthMental HealthWellness & Fitness
Steve Lee(Founder)inDaniel Lee(Founder)in
Co-investorsAllied Venture PartnersCowboy VenturesFarvatn VenturePrototype CapitalReach CapitalStand Together Ventures Lab+5 more
Deepgram builds foundational voice AI technology that enables speech-to-text, audio intelligence, text-to-speech, and voice agent APIs for businesses to create natural voice interactions.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Scott Stephenson(CEO and Co-founder)Dave Wilner(Director)Adam Sypniewski(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardZach DeWitt(Director)inElizabeth de Saint-Aignan(Director)
Co-investorsAlkeon InnovationB CapitalBascom VenturesCompoundConnetic VenturesGaia Ventures+14 more
FOSSA provides audit-grade open source license compliance software that scans codebases with full-text analysis to detect licenses, enforce policies, and automatically generate attribution documents.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsLegalTechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Kevin Wang(Founder)in
Co-investorsCanvas VenturesMetaplanetModern TechnicalNorwest Venture PartnersBain Capital VenturesCostanoa Ventures+2 more
Fountain provides an applicant tracking system designed specifically for hiring hourly workers at scale.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR TechMarketplacesSaaSSan Francisco, US
Co-investorsB Capital GroupB4 CapitalBling CapitalCommerce VenturesCrosslink CapitalDCM Ventures+14 more
The site is a Vietnamese-language affiliate/review portal that ranks and rates online lottery ("lô đề") betting operators, offering comparisons of payout ratios, licensing, payment methods, and security.
ConsumerHealthtechMedia & EntertainmentMedical DevicesKitchener, CA
Moufeed Kaddoura(Founder/CEO)inEric Blondeel(Founder/| CTO)in
Co-investorsFifty YearsMetaplanetUpslope VenturesY CombinatorBoxOne VenturesGarage Capital+1 more
Lambda provides GPU cloud infrastructure for AI training and inference, offering single-tenant clusters, on-demand instances, and managed AI supercomputers built on NVIDIA GPUs (GB300 NVL72, HGX B300/B200, H200/H100).
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureSan Francisco, US
Benhamin Nelson(Executive Officer)Austen Allred(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJessica Verrilli(Director)John Danner(Director)
Co-investorsAir Street CapitalAlpha Square GroupAlumni VenturesB Capital GroupB4 CapitalBasecamp Fund+16 more
The Longevity Fund is a venture capital firm founded in 2011 to back founder-led biotech companies developing drugs for longevity and age-related diseases.
BiotechLongevity
Laura Deming(Founder)Alex Colville(General Partner)
Co-investorsage1
Loom is a screen recording and video messaging platform that enables users to record, edit, and share video messages with built-in AI capabilities for documentation and collaboration.
ConsumerCreator EconomyFuture of WorkMedia & EntertainmentSaaSSan Francisco, US
Nicolas Bös(Founder)Daniel Wagner(Founder/Technical)inPhilipp Wein(Founder/Design Lead)inJoe Thomas(Founder)inVinay Hiremath(Founder)inShahed K.(Founder)in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzCoatue ManagementICONIQKleiner PerkinsLong Journey VenturesPoint Nine+3 more
MicroVision develops solid-state lidar sensors and perception software for object detection, mapping, and autonomous navigation.
HardwareMobility & TransportationRoboticsDetroit, US
Glen DeVos(CEO)inDrew Markham(General Counsel & Secretary, Senior Vice President People Operations)inGreg Scharenbroch(Vice President of Global Engineering)inFabio Laura(Vice President, Product Engineering & Operations)in
Co-investorsCanvas VenturesG2 Venture PartnersInvariantes FundLe Mercier’s CapitalOctave Ventures LlcSQN Venture Partners, LLC+1 more
Nelumbo develops PFAS-free surface coatings for anti-ice and water repellency, including IceNein for heat exchangers in refrigeration and HVAC systems to reduce ice formation and improve energy efficiency, and Mineral for durable water-repellent textiles.
CleantechDeep TechNew MaterialsHayward, US
Liam Berryman(Cofounder)
Co-investorsBerkeley CatalystHarmonix FundPrime Movers LabSafar PartnersUTEC
nTop (nTopology) makes parametric engineering design software that lets teams generate, explore, and validate complex geometry with manufacturing constraints and embedded FEA/CFD simulation built into the workflow.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareSaaSNew York, US
Gregory Schroy(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Bradley Rothenberg(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Co-investorsCanaan PartnersCrunchFundNotation CapitalPathbreaker VenturesRoot Ventures Manager, LlcTuesday Capital+3 more
Ritesh Agarwal(Founder & CEO)
Co-investorsLightspeed Venture PartnersManta Ray VenturesSoftBank Group
Positron builds purpose-built hardware and inference accelerator silicon for running Transformer-based generative AI models, offering inference appliances that map HuggingFace Transformers models onto the hardware and expose an OpenAI API-compliant endpoint.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareSemiconductorsLovelock, US
Thomas Sohmers(Executive Officer, Director)inBarrett Woodside(Founder)Edward Kmett(Founder)inMitesh Agrawal(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardRobert Reid(Director)
Co-investorsAsimov VenturesBanyan VenturesCaucasus VenturesIneffable VenturesInvariantes FundNZVC+9 more
Presso builds AI-powered robotic machines for on-demand, low-carbon express garment care, offering a wet-cleaning alternative to traditional dry-cleaning for professional laundry and garment care operators.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechHardwareRoboticsAtlanta, US
Nishant Jain(Co-Founder & CEO)Thibault Corens(Co-Founder & CTO)Jon Gershman(Chief Commercial Officer)
Co-investorsPathbreaker VenturesUncork CapitalVSC VenturesAME Cloud VenturesSOSV
Zeno develops nuclear batteries that convert heat from decaying radioisotopes into electricity for extended-duration applications in space and deep-sea environments where conventional power sources are inadequate.
Deep TechDefense TechEnergyHardwareSpace Tech
Tyler Bernstein(Founder & CEO)in
Co-investors7percent VenturesAIN VenturesBalerion Space VenturesBeyond Earth VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)Evolution VC Partners+9 more
Exits · 1
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioFigmaNYSE: FIG
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesLambda · idcnova.com · Aug 14, 2026
Aura · altss.com · Aug 11, 2026
Loom · africaainews.com · Jul 17, 2026
Deepgram · techfundingnews.com · Jul 17, 2026
Fountain · kpcnews.com · Jul 17, 2026
Positron AI · siliconvalleyinvestclub.com · Jul 10, 2026
Fossa · spacenews.com · Jun 26, 2026
Atom Computing · siliconangle.com · Jun 17, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has 1517 made?
- 1517 has 5 tracked investments.
- What stage does 1517 invest at?
- 1517 invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is 1517's typical check size?
- 1517 typically writes checks of $50K – $1M.
- What sectors does 1517 focus on?
- 1517 focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Deep Tech, Hardware, SaaS, Space Tech.
- Where is 1517 located?
- 1517 is headquartered in Telluride, US.
- Does 1517 lead rounds?
- Yes, 1517 leads investment rounds.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamS2E9: From Peter Thiel’s Fellowship to 1517 Fund — The VC Who Funds Rebels (Michael Gibson)
Startups Decoded · Michael Gibson
Danielle Strachman - Co-Founder & GP at 1517 | Relentless #39
Relentless · Danielle Strachman
Michael Gibson & Danielle Strachman — The 1517 Rebellion | Episode 279
Infinite Loops · Michael Gibson
Venture Capital Investing in College Dropouts & Sci-Fi Scientists | Zak Slayback, 1517 Fund
Purpose Driven Capital · Zak Slayback
Why Smart Investors Prioritize Character over Applications for Success | Michael Gibson, 1517 Fund
Alexander McCobin · Michael Gibson
Interview with Danielle Strachman @ 1517 Fund - O’ChakDe #venturecapitalist #entrepreneur #1517fund
Sachin Syal's "The O'ChakDe Show" · Danielle
Co-investors · 14
Alumni Ventures (AV) is a venture capital firm that co-invests alongside lead VCs in startups, backing founders with capital and access to a large investor and operator community.
Uncork Capital (formerly SoftTech VC) is a seed-stage venture firm that invests early in founders, with a focus on AI-native companies building leverage and scale.
SOSV is a deep tech venture capital firm that makes first-check pre-seed investments and follow-on rounds in startups focused on human and planetary health, providing lab space and hands-on support at its US locations.
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare sectors from early stages through growth.
FJ Labs is an early-stage investment firm specializing in marketplaces and network-effect businesses, taking an angel-style co-investment approach alongside institutional venture funds worldwide.
Uber is a technology company operating multisided platforms that connect consumers with ride services, transit, delivery of food and groceries, and freight shipping across more than 70 countries and 15,000+ cities.
Caffeinated Capital is a venture firm based in San Francisco and New York that leads seed and Series A rounds and continues investing throughout the life of technology companies.
Hustle Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests quickly in startups, offering capital along with educational programs and mentorship. It also runs an angel investing community that lets members invest alongside the fund.
Coinbase Ventures is the venture investment arm of Coinbase that backs early-stage founders building across the crypto and Web3 ecosystem.
LOI Venture is a seed-stage venture fund co-founded by Hootsuite Founder Ryan Holmes and Angel Investor Manny Padda focused on backing founders under 30 usually building tech products attending the LOI Program.
Camber Creek is a venture capital firm focused on real estate technology (proptech), partnering closely with founders and leveraging its network of real estate industry limited partners to support portfolio companies.
Derive Ventures is an early-stage venture fund focused on the travel, hospitality, experiences, and real estate sectors, aiming to connect technology and travel by backing entrepreneurs.
▶2 more co-investors
Firms observed investing alongside 1517, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with 1517's recorded portfolio.
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