Contrary
Venture capitalActively deployingSan Francisco · Seed–Growth · 12 people tracked
Also known as Contrary Breakout · CONTRARY LEGACY LLC · CONTRARY LLC · Contrary Modern
Investment thesis
Contrary positions itself as a talent- and research-driven investment firm, focusing on identifying exceptional entrepreneurs and backing a small number of companies they build. The firm invests across stages, from seed to scale, and produces its own research arm, Contrary Research, to inform its investment decisions.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 12 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 32 of 45 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×16Enterprise Software ×14SaaS ×12Fintech ×9Consumer ×4Data & Infrastructure ×4Deep Tech ×4EdTech ×3
HQs:United States×15India×1
Investments · 45 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathTeamshares acquires small businesses from retiring owners and facilitates employee stock ownership, creating a permanent home for businesses while providing retiring owners with a reliable exit and employees with ownership opportunities.
B2B MarketplacesBrooklyn, US
Michael Brown(Founder & CEO)Kevin Shiiba(Executive Officer, Director)Alex Eu(Executive Officer, Director)
DualEntry is an AI-native enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform designed to replace legacy accounting systems for mid-market to enterprise businesses.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSNew York, US
Santiago Nestares(Co-founder & CEO)inBenedict Dohmen(Co-founder)in
Armada develops edge computing and AI solutions for industrial applications.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeep Tech
AtoB provides fleet fuel cards that consolidate fuel, vehicle maintenance, repairs, tolls, and operational expenses for businesses operating private fleets, OTR carriers, or single-vehicle operations.
FintechLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSSan Francisco, US
Vignan Velivela(Founder and CEO)in
Base Power provides residential battery systems and retail electric provider services to customers in Texas.
CleantechEnergyHardwareTexas, US
Zach Dell(Founder & CEO)Justin Lopas(Founder)in
Los Angeles, US
Fikret Cem Sinirlioglu(Director)Aishwarya Iyer(Executive Officer, Director)
Check provides embedded payroll infrastructure and APIs that enable software platforms and businesses to build and offer native payroll products to their customers.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Andrew Brown(CEO)
A financial technology platform that enables fractional home ownership through partnerships with payment processors and banking services.
B2B MarketplacesFintechFuture of WorkPropTechSan Francisco, US
Hallow is a mobile app that offers guided contemplative and meditative prayer techniques rooted in Catholic tradition.
ConsumerWellness & Fitness
Alex Jones(CEO)
Knoetic provides an AI-powered platform for Chief People Officers, combining a curated community of people leaders with AI agents that automate HR workflows and provide personalized insights from anonymized patterns of 3,000+ CPOs.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR Tech
Maev produces raw, fresh dog food made with human-grade USDA protein and formulated by PhD veterinary nutritionists.
ConsumerFoodTechHealthtech
Modern Intelligence develops artificial intelligence products for defense applications.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechSan Jose, US
Joseph Cieslik(Executive Officer, Director)Tristan Tager(Director)John Dulin(CEO)
Moment provides an AI operating system for investment management, serving large wealth management firms and their financial advisors to manage assets and client relationships.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintech
Orchard builds hardware and software systems that collect and process farm data to enable autonomous decision-making for fruit and specialty crop growers.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningHardware
Pave provides compensation and equity data to help employees understand and compare their pay.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechHR TechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Matt Schulman(Founder)inAaron Hultgren(Executive Officer, Director)John Geiken(Executive Officer, Director)Oren Bass(Executive Officer, Director)Alexander Turkot(Director)Salim Lahoud(Director)
Power builds a patient-friendly platform to discover and enroll in clinical trials, serving patients seeking access to research studies and researchers seeking to improve patient recruitment.
Digital HealthHealthtech
Recurrency builds an ERP platform for distributors that automates functions like sales recommendations, pricing, and demand forecasting, integrating with existing legacy systems for rapid deployment.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSales TechSan Francisco, US
Sam Oshay(Founder)in
Replit is a platform for software development that aims to make app creation accessible to non-programmers through intuitive tools and AI agents.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCreator EconomyDeveloper ToolsEdTechEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Haya Abdalla(Founder)inAmjad Masad(Founder)inHaya Odeh(Co-Founder, Design)Luis Héctor Chávez(CTO)
Secureframe provides a compliance automation platform that helps enterprises maintain security and compliance posture with common controls mapping across multiple frameworks.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Shrav Mehta(Cofounder)
Stytch provides an identity and authentication platform for applications and AI agents, offering authentication, authorization, security, and fraud protection features.
CybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
Tava Health provides a platform connecting patients to mental health therapists with scheduling and practice management tools for providers.
Enterprise SoftwareHealthtechMental Health
Ilana Stern(Director)Kapil Desai(Director)Jason Ockey(Executive Officer, Director)Spencer Gardner(Director)Sarah Kim(Director)Dallen Allred(Executive Officer, Director)
Valar Atomics is developing and scaling high-temperature gas nuclear reactors for grid-independent applications including hydrogen production, data center power, and clean hydrocarbon fuel production.
CleantechDeep TechEnergySan Rafael, US
Isaiah Taylor(Founder & CEO)in
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Contrary invest at?
- Contrary invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth stages.
- What is Contrary's typical check size?
- Contrary typically writes checks of $2M.
- What sectors does Contrary focus on?
- Contrary focuses on Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Contrary located?
- Contrary is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Contrary lead rounds?
- Contrary typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
From the blog
visit blog ↗Contrary announced its 2026 Venture Partner class and made significant investments in two enterprise infrastructure companies: Base Power, which addresses decentralized energy grid challenges through residential batteries and software, and DualEntry, an AI-native ERP platform designed to modernize legacy business systems. AI summary
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamKyle Harrison, GP at Contrary on Techno-Optimism, Talent Vortexes, & Writing “Investing 101”
Sourcery · Kyle Harrison
Eric Tarczynski, Founder & Managing Partner of Contrary: Favorite Books, Lessons Learned as an In...
Outliers with Daniel Scrivner · Eric Tarczynski
159 Eric Tarczynski, Founder & Managing Partner of Contrary | 20 Minute Playbook
Outliers with Daniel Scrivner · Eric Tarczynski
158 Contrary: Using Software and Scouts to Invest in People | Eric Tarczynski
Outliers with Daniel Scrivner · Eric Tarczynski
Eric Tarczynski - Contrary Capital
Will Jarvis · Eric Tarczynski · youtube.com
E47 Your fund size is your strategy with Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary
Sand Hill Road · Kyle Harrison
Images
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