Cortical Ventures
Venture capitalSan Francisco · Pre-Seed–Series A · 4 people tracked
Also known as Cortical Ventures SIC
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
What they invest in
from 11 of 18 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×11Deep Tech ×3SaaS ×3Creator Economy ×2Developer Tools ×2Hardware ×2Robotics ×2Cloud Computing ×1
HQs:United States×5
Investments · 18 tracked
founders shown can be your intro path
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
San Francisco, US
Dylan Bourgeois(Director)Mohamed R. Amer(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardIgor Taber(Director)
Old Bridge, US
JEFFREY SCHWARTZ(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
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 & CEO)inBurkay Gur(Founder)in
BoardSteve Jang(Director)Jennifer Li(Director)Glenn Solomon(Director)
hOS is a technology startup developing AI-driven technologies for people.
AI & Machine LearningDeep Tech
Jeremy Achin(Founder)Natalie Hogan
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 LearningFuture of WorkSaaS
Membrane (getmembrane.com) is an integration platform that lets developers connect their products, AI agents, and internal tools to external apps such as CRMs and databases through a single interface, offering pre-built connectors for a large catalog of applications.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaS
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
Julian(Robotics Research Scientist)
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 TechRobotics
A video editing platform with AI generative tools that let users create images, videos, voiceovers, and music (supporting models such as Nano Banana, Veo 3, and Sora 2) and add them to their projects.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMedia & Entertainment
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesfal · reuters.com · Aug 1, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Cortical Ventures invest at?
- Cortical Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A 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.
Co-investors · 13
Page One Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm.
Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.
Village Global is a venture capital firm backed by a network of 400+ founders, operator angels, and prominent LPs from leading tech companies, offering founders access to its network alongside capital.
General Catalyst is a venture capital and investment firm that backs founders across industries, with a strong focus on AI-driven transformation, fintech, healthcare, and other sectors.
Accel is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founding teams, positioning itself as a first partner to startups globally.
Global Founders Capital (GFC) is the global venture capital platform of Rocket Internet, investing early and across sectors in fast-growing technology companies.
Dell Technologies Capital (DTC) is the venture investment arm of Dell Technologies, investing in early-stage enterprise technology companies across the U.S., Israel, and Europe.
Tenaya Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs building enduring companies, focusing on growth-stage investments.
Summit Partners is a growth investing firm that backs category-leading companies across technology, healthcare and life sciences, and growth products and services, providing capital and resources to support their expansion.
Thomvest is a group of investment companies that invests on behalf of Peter J. Thomson and his family, backing teams across market cycles and supporting portfolio companies with mentorship, strategic guidance, and resources.
Active Capital is a venture firm led by Pat, an entrepreneur turned investor, focused on pre-seed investments in technical founders building AI-native software, infrastructure, and products for business use cases.
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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