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Adverb Ventures

Venture capitalActively deployingoperating company · company profile

San Francisco · Pre-Seed–Series A · 9 people tracked

Also known as ADVERB VENTURES MANAGEMENT, LLC

Find your way into Adverb Ventures

3,252 people in our graph share verified history with the Adverb Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Mischa Vaughnunlockedknows Jessica Verrilli · together at Twitter (overlapped)
×4knows the team · via Stanford University
knows the team · via IBM Research
knows the team · via Robinhood
×5knows the team · via GV (Google Ventures)
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Investment thesis

Adverb Ventures focuses on a company's earliest stages, writing checks between $500k and $5M. The firm invests in and advises founders who bring unique insight about a market, an audience, or a problem space and who have the drive to fully realize their vision at the largest possible scale.

Source: firm website, verified Sep 15, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Series A
Check
$500K – $5M
HQ
San Francisco, CA, US
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2023
Last 12 months
5 investments
AUM
$75M
VC funds
2
Tracked investments
33
Unicorns
1

Team · 9 people

from the firm's website & curated & public directories
Jackie Dao· Chief Financial Officer
Jana Messerschmidt· Investing Advisor𝕏
Rebecca Miller· Community and Events Advisor

Founder mafia

3 people who came through Adverb Ventures went on to found or lead other companies.

What they invest in

from 28 of 33 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning ×19SaaS ×7Consumer ×6Creator Economy ×4Developer Tools ×4Enterprise Software ×4Biotech ×3Deep Tech ×3

HQs:United States×15

Who they back

founder profiles across 15 portfolio companies
40%
solo founders
6 of 15 mapped founding teams
48%
repeat founders
of 25 founders with career history

Founding team size:solo founder×62 founders×73 founders×2

Where their founders studiedfrom 24 founders with education data

Stanford University ×3Stanford University Graduate School of Business ×3Harvard University ×2The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University ×2UCLA ×2

What their founders studiedfrom 23 founders with field-of-study data

Computer Science ×8Engineering ×4Economics ×3Business & Management ×2Finance & Accounting ×2

Where their founders worked beforefrom 25 founders with career history

Brex ×2Facebook ×2Tesla ×2Uber ×2Untapped ×2

Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program

Y Combinator ×5

2 founders hold a PhD · 3 hold an MBA (of 24 with degree data)

Investments · 33 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 22025 · 32024 · 12020 · 12016 · 18 dated

Accendwithaccend.comin𝕏Mar 2016

Accend is an AI platform for financial institutions to automate business underwriting, onboarding, and risk assessment.

AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaSSilicon Valley, US

Pranjal Daga(Founder)inYutong Pei(Founder)inJoseph Zhou(Founder)inMario F. Spinella(Executive Officer)inJeffrey Scott Szorik(Executive Officer)

Co-investorsY Combinator

Alpaca Healthalpacahealth.ioin

Alpaca Health connects families of children with developmental differences to a network of independent ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy providers for in-home, school, or virtual sessions.

Digital HealthHealthtech

Bao Van(Founder)in

Co-investorsJ-ImpactTau Ventures

Behancebehance.netin𝕏Mar 2024 · $4.4M

Behance is a portfolio and community platform for creative professionals to showcase their work, discover clients, and grow their careers.

B2B MarketplacesCreator EconomyImpact & Social GoodMedia & Entertainment

Scott Belsky(Founder)inMatias Coreain

Co-investors500 GlobalHawke VenturesUnion Square Ventures (USV)ChemistryPace Capital

Bezibezi.comin𝕏Jul 2026

Bezi is an AI agent that operates within Unity to assist game developers with code generation, scene building, debugging, and automation tasks.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareGamingOakland, US

Cecilia Uhr(Co-founder and Chief Product Officer / Founding Designer)inJulian Park(Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer)inDenys Bastov(Co-founder and technical/security leader)in

BoardChetan Puttagunta(Director)inSusan Liu(Director / investor representative)in

Co-investorsBessemer Venture PartnersDesigner FundUncork Capital2.12 Angels8VCAirAngels+15 more

Bioqore AIbioqore.aiin

Bioqore builds Voyager, an AI-powered closed-loop bioprocess intelligence platform that combines predictive modeling with micro-scale laboratory experiments to recommend and validate optimal process conditions for producing preclinical- and clinic-ready therapeutic candidates.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep Tech

Joshua Hinckley(CEO)inBrendan Dang(COO)in

Co-investorsFifty YearsMaC Venture Capital

Cambiocambio.aiinJan 2026

Cambio provides a platform for sustainability compliance, reporting, and retrofit planning across commercial real estate portfolios.

AI & Machine LearningClimate TechEnterprise SoftwareFintechPropTechSan Francisco, US

Leia de Guzman(Founder)inStephanie Grayson(Founder)inKevin Hartley(Sole Manager of the Issuer)inLeon(Head of Engineering)in

Co-investorsMaverick VenturesThe MBA FundY CombinatorBuildersDVCGoodwater Capital+2 more

Casagetcasa.comin𝕏

Casa provides homeowners with a dedicated team that manages home maintenance and repairs, handling vendor coordination and home care decisions aligned with the homeowner's interests rather than vendor profits.

B2B MarketplacesConsumerPropTechSan Francisco, US

Michael York(Co-founder & CEO)in

Co-investorsForerunner VenturesMaven VenturesTrue VenturesAvon Ventures

Cove Collaborative AIcove.ai

Palo Alto, US

Andy Szybalski(Founder)Mike Chu(Founder)Stephen Chau(Founder)

Co-investorsHomebrew

Foundation Farmsfoundation-farms.com

Foundation Farms operates a members-only private farm collection accessible by invitation.

AgTechConsumer

Foundational Industriesfoundational.industries

Foundational is building a network of AI-native, autonomous factories to reshore manufacturing of critical supply chains, aiming to let companies produce high-quality products domestically at competitive cost.

Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningRobotics

Co-investorsBoxGroup

GoodDaygooddaysoftware.comin𝕏

GoodDay Software builds an ERP platform for commerce and retail brands, aimed at helping merchants operate more efficiently and profitably.

Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail TechSaaSAustin, US

John Gully(Founder)inDave Wardell(Founder)in

Co-investorsFirstMark CapitalLong Journey VenturesRidge VenturesSeguin Ventures

Granolagranola.aiin𝕏

Granola is an AI notepad app that transcribes meetings from computer audio (without joining as a bot), enhances user notes, and generates action items and follow-ups.

AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkSaaSDover, US

Sam Stephenson(Co-founder)inChristopher Pedregal(Co-founder)in

Co-investorsBetaworksfirstminute capitalIndex VenturesKleiner PerkinsLightspeed Venture PartnersNFDG+1 more

Hypernaturalhypernatural.aiDec 2025

Hypernatural is an AI video editor that lets brands and storytellers generate, storyboard, and edit full-length videos from scripts, visuals, and audio.

AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentElm Grove, US

Chris Kolbe(Executive Officer, Director)in

Co-investorsAIX VenturesUnderscore VCCharacterCharacter VC

Knownknown.com𝕏Oct 2025

Known is a dating and relationship app built around understanding the user first rather than emphasizing profile swipes and likes.

ConsumerSocialSan Francisco, US

Asher Allen(Director)inCeleste Amadon(Executive Officer, Director)

Co-investorsForerunner Ventures

Le Walklewalk.appSep 2025 · $4.1M

LeWalk provides personalized audio-guided experiences for travelers exploring destinations, matching them with expert guides and creators who deliver contextual storytelling through a mobile app.

ConsumerCreator EconomyTravel & Hospitality

Aaron Sekhriin

Co-investorsPoint72 VenturesLerer HippeauOrigins

Linumlinum.aiin𝕏

Linum builds generative video models for animation that provide creative controls like consistent characters, camera movement, and motion control.

AI & Machine LearningConsumerCreator EconomyDeep TechSan Francisco, US

Sahil Chopra(Founder)inManu Chopra(Founder)in

Co-investorsY CombinatorAmino Capital

Macroscopeprasso.aiin𝕏

Prasso provides an engineering intelligence platform that automatically tracks changes across an engineering organization, offers AI-based code review, and includes an agent that answers questions and performs actions.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaS

Co-investorsLightspeed Venture PartnersGV (Google Ventures)Thrive Capital

Meckamecka.aiin𝕏

Mecka builds a data and integration layer for robotics, providing annotation, context, QA, motion understanding, and evaluation workflows that turn real-world activity into training data for robot learning.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureRobotics

Josh Gao(Founder)inDuy Nguyen(Founder)in

Co-investorsCade VenturesForerunner VenturesFramework Ventures

Mozimozi.appin𝕏

Mozi is a private social network mobile app for sharing plans and locations with friends, showing when contacts are in the same city or their schedules overlap.

ConsumerSocial

Molly DeWolf Swenson(Founder)in

Co-investorsBBG VenturesObvious VenturesProgression

Onckooncko.comin

Oncko develops machine learning and experimental platforms to discover optimized multi-drug cancer treatment combinations by screening against resistance mechanisms.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep Tech

Atray Dixit(Co-founder, CEO)inBill Grossman(Co-founder, Strategic Advisor)in

Co-investorsIllumina VenturesTenmile

Outsetoutset.aiin𝕏

Outset is an AI-powered research platform that combines conversational AI, behavioral intelligence, and emotional analysis to conduct moderated research interviews and synthesize consumer insights at scale across multiple languages and countries.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSan Francisco, US

Aaron Cannon(Founder)inMichael Hess(Founder)in

Co-investors8VCRadical VenturesRitual CapitalY CombinatorRebel FundWEEKEND

Particleparticle.ioin𝕏

Particle provides an IoT platform with built-in security spanning hardware devices and cloud, including per-device private keys, encrypted messaging, access controls, and a Device Cloud with ISO-certified hosting.

Cloud ComputingCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsHardwareIoT

Zach Supalla(Founder)inZachary Crockett(CTO)in

Co-investorsBonfire VenturesCounterpart VenturesEnergy Impact PartnersGraph VenturesGreen Meadow VenturesHeavybit+3 more

Particleparticle.news

Particle is a news application.

AI & Machine LearningMedia & EntertainmentSan Rafael, US

Marcel Molina(Founder)in

Co-investorsKindred VenturesLightspeed Venture PartnersAlibaba GroupCanvas VenturesFlow TradersHashkey Capital+6 more

Piramidalpiramidal.aiin

Piramidal bridges in-vivo and in-silico intelligence for neuroscience research and clinical applications.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesNew York City, US

Dimitris Fotis Sakellariou(Founder)inKris Pahuja(Founder)in

Co-investorsY CombinatorLIONHEART VENTURESfutureland venturesGeek VenturesRitual CapitalVirta Ventures

Player2player2.gamein𝕏

Player2 is an AI interface for games and mods, giving players access to free AI models plus daily credits for frontier models.

AI & Machine LearningGaming

Spirlspirl.comin𝕏

Defakto provides an identity security platform for non-human actors such as workloads, CI/CD jobs, APIs, machines, and AI agents, issuing short-lived, verifiable identities instead of secrets, API keys, or standing access.

CybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software

Co-investorsBloomberg Beta

Untolduntoldapp.com

Untold is a voice-first journaling app that lets users speak or type their thoughts, then asks optional guiding questions and responds with personalized insights, themes, and patterns over time.

AI & Machine LearningMental HealthWellness & Fitness

Co-investorsVisible Ventures

Valetvalet.dev𝕏

Valet provides AI agents that work with teams inside Slack to perform research, follow-ups, syncing, and reporting across a company's tools.

AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkSaaS

Co-investorsBetter Tomorrow Ventures

Workmateworkmate.comin𝕏

Workmate builds an AI executive assistant that handles administrative and busy work tasks for businesses and individuals.

AI & Machine LearningFuture of WorkSaaS

Co-investorsAC Ventures

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Lambda Inc.GaiaVerita

Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Adverb Ventures made?
Adverb Ventures has 33 tracked investments, including 5 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Adverb Ventures invest at?
Adverb Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is Adverb Ventures's typical check size?
Adverb Ventures typically writes checks of $500K – $5M.
What sectors does Adverb Ventures focus on?
Adverb Ventures focuses on E-commerce, Media & Entertainment, SaaS.
Where is Adverb Ventures located?
Adverb Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
Does Adverb Ventures lead rounds?
Adverb Ventures has led 3 of the 6 rounds where its role is on record.
Who does Adverb Ventures co-invest with?
Adverb Ventures most often shares deals with Y Combinator, Forerunner Ventures, Ritual Capital, among 39 tracked co-investors.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Hypergrowth 101 with April Underwood from Adverb Ventures | Next Gen Builders, Ep. 16

Amplitude · April Underwood

Images

Adverb Ventures photoAdverb Ventures photoAdverb Ventures photoAdverb Ventures photoAdverb Ventures photoAdverb Ventures photo

Co-investors · 58

Long Journey Ventures

Long Journey Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that backs unconventional, 'magically weird' founders and ideas, positioning itself as a hands-on, community-oriented partner to its companies.

Both backed · 2
$100K – $1M
8VC

8VC is a venture capital firm investing across logistics, life sciences, healthcare, IT infrastructure, and government/defense, guided by its Smart Enterprise thesis focused on data integration and platform network effects.

Both backed · 2
$100K – $50M
Andreessen Horowitz

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, known for pioneering the platform model with a large team of operators supporting founders across stages.

Both backed · 1
$500K – $50M
General Catalyst

General Catalyst is a venture capital firm operating as a partnership focused on company building and accelerating the growth of the businesses it backs.

Both backed · 1
$30M
GV (Google Ventures)

GV (Google Ventures) is a venture capital firm that has invested in artificial intelligence and machine learning since its early days, building a global portfolio of more than 100 AI companies across infrastructure, life sciences, and applications.

Both backed · 1
$250K – $50M
Craft Ventures

Craft Ventures is a venture capital firm run by a team of former founders, operators, and investors who partner closely with founders to help build and scale technology companies.

Both backed · 1
$50K – $50M
Benchmark

Benchmark is a venture capital firm with offices in San Francisco and Woodside that invests in early-stage startups.

Both backed · 1
$100K – $30M
First Round Capital

First Round Capital is an early-stage venture firm that backs companies at their earliest moments, often before they are named, across enterprise, AI, consumer, healthcare, fintech and hardware sectors.

Both backed · 1
$1M – $7M
Spark Capital

Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders, known for early investments including leading Twitter's Series B in 2008.

Both backed · 1
$500K – $25M
Sound Ventures

Sound Ventures is a venture capital firm that seeks to invest in the technology sector.

Both backed · 1
Arcade
Obvious Ventures

Obvious is a venture capital firm focused on supporting founders building solutions to humanity's largest challenges across planetary health, human health, and economic health.

Both backed · 1
$250K – $6M
Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs founders across sectors, emphasizing investing in companies before they gain wider recognition.

Both backed · 1
$500K – $2M
46 more co-investors

WEEKENDHomebrewFuel CapitalSequoia CapitalFounders FundAccelGreylock PartnersTechstarsRedpoint VenturesSV AngelUnknown VenturesCoatue ManagementKrakenQuiet CapitalACME CapitalHCVCAME Cloud VenturesSciFi VCSignalFireKapor CapitalCota CapitalBond Capital ManagementSouth Park CommonsStride VCSoma Capital01 AdvisorsParadigmSherpalo VenturesGustoPear VCFootworkCapitalGLOI VentureMoxxie VenturesTeamworthy VenturesM12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)Marcy Venture PartnersSilverton PartnersRubicon Venture CapitalThe Alchemy FundUnstoppable DomainsIncite.orgWndrCoRed Sea VenturesGreen Bay VenturesSpringdale Ventures

Firms observed investing alongside Adverb Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Adverb Ventures's recorded portfolio.

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