Fundraising Fox
San Francisco · Pre-Seed–Seed · 4 people tracked
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Investment thesis
Cortical Ventures backs AI founders as operators who have built multi-billion dollar AI companies and deployed AI into production at scale. The firm partners early, leading at pre-seed and seed without waiting for other investors. It focuses on three areas: Physical AI (embedding intelligence into the physical world through robotic dexterity, skills learning and data collection), the AI Production Gap (applications and infrastructure bridging demos and production deployments, including AI pipelines, agentic infrastructure and vertical AI-first workflows), and AI for Good (using AI to improve health, safety and human connection, including AI-driven human engagement and defense tech).
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 4 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Founder mafia
2 people who came through Cortical Ventures went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 17 of 26 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×16Developer Tools ×5SaaS ×5Deep Tech ×3Enterprise Software ×3Hardware ×3Robotics ×3Cloud Computing ×2
HQs:United States×10
Who they back
founder profiles across 13 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×72 founders×23 founders×4
What their founders studiedfrom 12 founders with field-of-study data
Engineering ×6Business & Management ×3Humanities ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 12 founders with career history
DataRobot ×2
Investments · 26 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 32024 · 22023 · 62022 · 213 dated
Weaviate is a fully remote company with globally distributed teams that works on open-source technology.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools
Bob van Luijt(Founder)Etienne Dilocker(Founder)Micha Verhagen(Founder)
Co-investorsBattery VenturesIndex VenturesNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Zetta Venture PartnersING VenturesDeep Acre+1 more
AICrete develops AI-based software, including AICreteOS, for concrete mix design and production, helping ready-mix and precast concrete producers optimize mixes and reduce CO2 emissions.
AI & Machine LearningConstruction TechNew MaterialsSaaS
Parham(Founder & CEO)in
Co-investorsClear VenturesCRH VenturesPulse FundVoLo Earth Ventures
Airwave is an AI-powered wearable solution in the form of ANSI-rated safety glasses equipped with a camera, microphone, and speakers that automatically captures hands-free documentation and generates field reports without manual data entry.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHardware
Pankaj Prasad(Founder)in
Co-investorsDeep AcreHigh AlphaLegacy Capital VenturesOperator StackPage One Ventures
AngelQ is an AI-powered educational app designed for children that transforms screen time into personalized learning through voice-activated Q&A, age-appropriate content, and parental controls.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerDigital HealthEdTech
Tim Estes(CEO and Founder)inJosh(Co-founder)Dr. K(President and Cofounder)
Co-investorsAtland VenturesCity LightMagnify Ventures
Claryo builds Spatial Generative AI that creates a photo-realistic, spatially accurate digital twin of a warehouse from phone or drone scans, letting operators design configurations, monitor inventory and safety compliance, and plan labor and automation.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Mohamed Amer(Founder)inDylan Bourgeois(Director)
BoardIgor Taber(Director)in
Co-investorsnoaPage One VenturesThe Hive
dataroomHQ is a virtual dataroom platform that lets startups upload documents and automatically generate investor-ready assets such as data decks, financial analysis, investment memos, and ARR schedules, with secure role-based sharing and watermarks.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaSOld Bridge, US
Jeff Schwartz(Founder)in
Co-investorsBling CapitalGaruda VenturesOceans Ventures
E2B provides open-source, secure cloud sandboxes (built on Firecracker microVMs) where AI agents and LLMs can run untrusted, AI-generated code, use terminals and browsers, handle files, and access the internet.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper Tools
Vasek Mlejnsky(Founder)inTomas Valenta(Founder)inVáclav Mlejnský(Founder)
Co-investorsDecibel PartnersDeep AcreKAYAOperator CollectiveSunflower Capital Management FundUntapped Capital+1 more
Fal provides fast inference for generative AI models, particularly for image and video generation tasks like SDXL and Whisper.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCreator EconomyDeveloper ToolsSan Francisco, US
Gorkem Yurtseven(Founder)inBurkay Gur(Founder)inBerkay Gur(Founder)
BoardSteve Jang(Director)inJennifer Li(Director)inGlenn Solomon(Director)in
Co-investors500 Emerging EuropeAlkeon InnovationAndreessen HorowitzBessemer Venture Partnerse2vcFirst Round Capital+17 more
Foundation Industries provides low-volume, high-mix manufacturing services to hardware companies in the United States, enabling faster prototyping and domestic production of complex components.
Advanced ManufacturingSan Francisco, US
Jakob Knudsen(CEO)inAlessio TonioloVedic PatelJoseph Metzler Concepcion(COO)
Co-investorsY CombinatorAndreessen HorowitzBain Capital VenturesBlast.ClubGeorgia Tech FoundationHumba Ventures+7 more
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hOS is a technology startup developing AI-driven technologies for people.
AI & Machine LearningDeep Tech
Jeremy Achin(Founder)inNick Bundzinski(Founder)in
Co-investorsNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)
HyperWrite is an AI writing assistant delivered as a Chrome extension and web app, offering predictive autocomplete, web search, citations, and hundreds of tools to create, edit, and refine text.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsFuture of WorkSaaSMelville, US
Matt Shumer(Founder)inJason Kuperberg(Founder)inJosh BickettinMiles Feldstein(Director)
Co-investorsChapter OneFoundersMadrona Venture GroupNew York Venture PartnersActive CapitalIncisive Ventures
Stream processing cloud that lets developers turn data into real-time action at scale.
Co-investorsCusp Capital468 CapitalESSENCE VCEssence Venture Capital
Membrane is a self-hosted integration platform that enables organizations to deploy data integration services on their own infrastructure across any cloud provider or on-premises environment.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Co-investorsCrew Capital
Kyber Labs builds a bimanual robotic manipulation platform and novel low-cost, mechanically compliant robotic hands designed for embodied AI, targeting assembly and manufacturing tasks in unstructured environments.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareRoboticsBrooklyn, US
Tyler Habowski(Founder)in
Co-investorsEarthrise Ventures
Neo Cybernetica is a stealth-mode company developing cybernetics technology that combines advances in neuroscience, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, simulation, and robotics.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechRoboticsSalem, US
Jeremy Achin(Founder)in
Co-investorsNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Open Field Capital
Los Altos, US
Gurudeep Kamat(Director)Siddhant Trivedi(Director)Chirag Shah(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsAviso VenturesFoundation Capital
Spear de-anonymizes website visitors to identify companies and decision-makers in real time, enabling sales teams to engage prospects at peak intent.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSales Tech
Dor Vardi(CEO & Co-Founder)inYotam Nahum(CTO & Co-Founder)inGadi Vardi(COO & Co-Founder)in
Co-investorsFusion VCGoAhead Ventures
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
2nd Set AI2NdsetAlphaZAngelQMembranePredator AIRupert AI
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesE2B · finsmes.com · Jul 28, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Cortical Ventures made?
- Cortical Ventures has 26 tracked investments, including 3 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Cortical Ventures invest at?
- Cortical Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Cortical Ventures's typical check size?
- Cortical Ventures typically writes checks of $500K – $2M.
- What sectors does Cortical Ventures focus on?
- Cortical Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Healthtech, Robotics, SaaS.
- Where is Cortical Ventures located?
- Cortical Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Cortical Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, Cortical Ventures leads investment rounds.
- Who does Cortical Ventures co-invest with?
- Cortical Ventures most often shares deals with Deep Acre, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Page One Ventures, among 50 tracked co-investors.
Co-investors · 13
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.
Village Global is an early-stage venture capital firm that leads pre-seed and seed rounds globally and across sectors, backed by a network of prominent tech founders and operators who serve as LPs.
Page One Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm.
Global Founders Capital (GFC) is the global venture capital platform of Rocket Internet, investing early and across sectors in fast-growing technology companies.
Active Capital is a venture firm that makes pre-seed investments in technical founders building AI-native software, infrastructure, and products for business use cases.
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General Catalyst is a venture capital firm operating as a partnership focused on company building and accelerating the growth of the businesses it backs.
Accel is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional teams, positioning itself as a first partner to founders globally.
Dell Technologies Capital (DTC) is the corporate venture arm of Dell, backing early-stage enterprise technology companies building category-defining businesses.
Tenaya Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs building enduring companies, focusing on growth-stage investments.
Summit Partners is a growth equity investment firm that partners with management teams across technology, healthcare & life sciences, and growth products & services sectors to build long-term value.
Thomvest is a group of investment companies investing on behalf of Peter J. Thomson and his family, backing entrepreneurs to build industry-defining companies. Its portfolio spans fintech, proptech, cybersecurity and related sectors.
Acton Capital is an early-growth-stage venture investor with over 25 years of industry experience, partnering with a small number of founder-led companies each year to support their growth strategies.
▶1 more co-investors
Firms observed investing alongside Cortical Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Cortical Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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