/Investor DB

5x5 Collective

Funding platform

Seed · 3 people tracked

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Investment thesis

5x5 positions itself as a platform at the intersection of art, technology, and innovation. Its stated mission is to create an ecosystem where art and entrepreneurship converge, fostering innovation and creative expression that pushes boundaries and delivers meaningful impact. Its vision is to become a leading platform where artists, entrepreneurs, and innovators come together to shape the future of creative technology and cultural expression. The firm emphasizes values of innovation, collaboration, and positive impact in art and technology.

Source: firm website, verified Oct 5, 2026.

Stage
Seed
Tracked investments
1

Team · 3 people

from the firm's website & public directories
jon

Co-founder of 5x5 Studio and 5x5 Collective; an engineer focused on the full lifecycle of his craft, from pixels to people.

Nikhil

Co-founder of 5x5 Studio and 5x5 Collective; a generalist who builds software, composes music, cooks and ferments food, and approaches unfamiliar fields as learnable.

Nikhil Kumarin

Nikhil Kumar is an investor with 5x5 Collective, which backs founders across sectors ranging from biodesigned beverages and stablecoin payments to food production and data tooling. He previously led growth and product development for NFTs and infrastructure at the Solana Foundation, served as a forward deployed engineer at Palantir, taught high school through Teach for America, was an early product and partnerships team member at Coursera, and worked as the opening chef at Pondicheri NY.

What they invest in

from 1 of 1 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×1Data & Infrastructure ×1Developer Tools ×1Enterprise Software ×1

HQs:United States×1

Investments · 1 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path
Darkgradedarkgrade.comSeed

Darkgrade develops a protocol enabling large language models to directly interface with image sensors, allowing cameras to understand visual information.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareDenver, US

Kevin Schaich(CEO)inNisola Shobayo(CTO)in

Co-investorsTranspose Platform ManagementY CombinatorCoughdrop CapitalDTX VCForward Deployed VCGood AI Capital+3 more

Frequently asked questions

What stage does 5x5 Collective invest at?
5x5 Collective invests at the Seed stage.
What sectors does 5x5 Collective focus on?
5x5 Collective focuses on Creator Economy, Enterprise Software.

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