Fundraising FoxSan Francisco · Pre-Seed–Seed · 3 people tracked
Also known as Dream Machine VC
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Investment thesis
Dream Machine invests in consumer technology broadly defined — spanning social, creator, identity, audio, gaming, and commerce — described as tech for ordinary people. The fund treats frontier technology as interesting only insofar as it unlocks new human behavior, favoring intuition over fixed categories for the next decade of consumer. It prioritizes conviction in the founder before the product, typically entering at pre-seed and seed. Deliberately small, the fund operates with a single investor and no associates, investment committee, or platform team, deploying capital slowly and selectively. Pitches are read directly by the founder; a few sentences are preferred over a lengthy deck.
Source: firm website, verified Oct 2, 2026.
Team · 3 people
from public directories
What they invest in
from 19 of 41 portfolio companiesConsumer ×10Media & Entertainment ×5Social ×5Gaming ×3Wellness & Fitness ×3AI & Machine Learning ×2Creator Economy ×2Future of Work ×2
HQs:United States×12
Who they back
founder profiles across 10 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×42 founders×43 founders×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 10 founders with career history
Google ×3Airbnb ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 41 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2022 · 12021 · 22020 · 12019 · 15 dated
Block Party provides tools and services to help users control their online privacy and reduce harassment and unwanted contact on social media platforms.
CybersecuritySocial
Tracy Chou(Founder)
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsPrecursor VenturesBrighter CapitalHomebrewMozilla Ventures
Airbuds is an iPhone widget app that lets friends share and see each other's real-time music listening activity on their home screens, with the ability to react to songs, play music, start conversations, and get a weekly music recap.
ConsumerMedia & EntertainmentSocial
Gawen Arab(Founder)Gilles Poupardin(Founder)inGilles Poupardin Gawen Arab(Founder)
Co-investorsSeven Seven Six
Berbix provides identity verification and fraud detection technology that online platforms integrate via SDKs to confirm users' identities and prevent fraudulent accounts.
Developer ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSan Francisco, US
Eric Levine(Founder)inSteve Kirkham(Founder)inKelsey Wolf(Recruiter)Jay Omar(Vice President of Sales)Jonathan Unikowski(Vice President of Engineering)Jason Goodman(Vice President of Product)
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsFikaY CombinatorAirAngelsFika VenturesIndex VenturesInitialized Capital+3 more
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Clearspace advocates for reduced screen time in childhood and promotes outdoor activity and unstructured play.
ConsumerImpact & Social GoodSan Francisco, US
Royce Branning(CEO)inOliver Hill(Founder)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorCaladanCapitalize VCCojourn CompaniesElementum VenturesGoodwater Capital+10 more
Clearspace offers screen time controls and mindful prompts to help individuals manage their digital habits and reduce distractions.
ConsumerMental HealthWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Oliver Hill(Founder)in
Clubhouse is a social audio platform where users can join live voice conversations and discussions.
Social
Rohan Seth(Founder)inPaul Davison(Founder)
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzColor CapitalDreamers VCGraph VenturesJames Beshara FundJustin “3LAU” Blau+15 more
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
The page is a memorial tribute to Pete Billington and does not describe the company's products or services.
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsBoston Seed CapitalAgFunderFive Elms CapitalK3 VenturesSuper Ventures
Haus produces apéritif spirits made with natural ingredients and light alcohol content, marketed as an alternative to traditional spirits with fewer hangovers.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerFoodTechSonoma, US
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsEvolution VC PartnersOssian CapitalPartners ResoluteReshapeClearcoGreat Oaks Venture Capital+4 more
Mad Realities is a creator-powered entertainment network that produces original episodic shows in partnership with online creators for distribution across social platforms and streaming.
Creator EconomyMedia & EntertainmentSocialNew York, US
Alice Ma(Cofounder)Devin Lewtan(Cofounder)in
Co-investorsParadigmAlex ZhangElectric AntFirst Round CapitalIndex VenturesLowercarbon Capital+1 more
Mad Realities is a streaming destination for reality and lifestyle TV series, offering full episodes of shows such as Caught in the Act: Unfaithful, The Challenge, Glam Slam, and Catfish.
Media & Entertainment
Alice Ma(Founder)Devin Lewtan(Founder)
Co-investorsParadigm
ODF is a one-week in-person program in San Francisco that connects early-stage founders and builders to explore ideas, find co-founders, and build support networks.
Future of WorkSan Francisco, US
Co-investorsAdapt VenturesAngel Collective Opportunity FundBase Venture Management, Inc.Canaan PartnersCoinbase VenturesCore91.vc+9 more
Playbyte builds accessible tools for creating video games and apps, having released an iOS app for making and playing microgames in an algorithmic feed, a utility for Godot developers, and a GPT-4-based app prototyping tool.
ConsumerCreator EconomyGamingBrooklyn, US
Kyle Russell(Executive Officer, Director)in
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Interact is a 501(c)3 technology fellowship and research organization that runs a Technology Residency and Symposium, bringing together technologists to develop novel research, collaborations, and ideas across disciplines.
Deep TechFuture of WorkImpact & Social GoodSan Francisco, US
SquadApp is a platform that helps people connect with friends, family, and collaborators in real-time to reduce loneliness and isolation.
ConsumerSocialWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Ethan Sutin(CTO)inEdwin van Vliet(Creator & Developer)Anthony Adamovich(Founder)inEsther Crawford(CEO)Chris Messinain
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsThe Chernin Group (TCG Crypto)Y CombinatorAgrolimen VenturesBasis Set VenturesBBG VenturesBetaworks Ventures Management, Llc+7 more
Imagine Golf offers a mobile app focused on the mental game of golf, delivering daily 3-minute audio lessons on visualization, confidence, habits, and course strategy.
ConsumerSports TechWellness & Fitness
The site publishes articles and listicles about consumer apps, such as recommendations for music-listening applications.
Media & Entertainment
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsGeneral CatalystTIRTA Ventures
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Tulip Cremation is a direct cremation service that lets families arrange cremations online or by phone, offering cremation services, pre-need planning, and Spanish-language support.
ConsumerSan Francisco, US
Volley develops voice-controlled and interactive games for smart speakers and TV platforms, offering titles such as trivia, music quizzes, and bedtime stories.
ConsumerGamingMedia & Entertainment
Max Child(Founder)James Wilsterman(Founder)
PartnerAlexia Bonatsos· solo GP
Co-investorsA.Capital VenturesAdvancit CapitalAmplify.LAAurumBitkraft Esports VenturesLightspeed Venture Partners+12 more
Weekend develops voice-activated games for television that encourage group interaction and social engagement, offering licensed game shows and branded content for families and friend groups.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerGamingSan Francisco, US
Max Child(CEO)inJames Wilsterman(CTO)inPratyush Buddiga(Chief of Staff)Brian Ng(Data Scientist)Michael Poteat(Principal Software Engineer)Devin Ozel(Engineering Manager)
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesCauseway PartnersRainfall VenturesY CombinatorA.Capital VenturesAdvancit Capital+15 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
BeOnDeckCAPTUREFable StudioFullyKora BioLaunch HouseLayerMicroNewnessSnack BreakSnagTL;DLTTYLWeekendYOLO
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesAirbuds · techcrunch.com · Sep 17, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Dream Machine made?
- Dream Machine has 41 tracked investments, 2 of which have exited.
- What stage does Dream Machine invest at?
- Dream Machine invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Dream Machine's typical check size?
- Dream Machine typically writes checks of $250K – $500K.
- What sectors does Dream Machine focus on?
- Dream Machine focuses on Consumer, Creator Economy, Deep Tech, E-commerce, Gaming, Social.
- Where is Dream Machine located?
- Dream Machine is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Who does Dream Machine co-invest with?
- Dream Machine most often shares deals with Gaingels, Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, among 53 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 21
Index Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs founders across industries and geographies, emphasizing the people behind ideas as much as the businesses themselves.
First Round Capital is an early-stage venture firm partnering with founders at the very first stages of company creation, backing companies from angel through seed with hands-on support across GTM, recruiting, and operations.
Electric Ant is an early-stage investment firm with offices in Los Angeles and Miami. It backs startups at the beginning of their journey and maintains a public presence on AngelList.
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.
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies.
Techstars is a global startup accelerator and early-stage investor that funds and mentors ambitious founders, providing $220K in capital, a three-month program, and access to a worldwide network of mentors, investors, and corporate partners.
Liquid 2 Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Joe Montana and based in San Francisco.
Cowboy Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on partnering with startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, offering hands-on support to help build enduring companies.
Fika Ventures backs early-stage founders building B2B software, fintech, marketplaces, and healthcare companies across the US and Canada.
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that backs technology companies building transformative products.
Greylock Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with founders building companies from inception. Its partners make only one or two new investments per year to focus deeply on each partnership.
Lookout Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm backing B2B SaaS startups located outside the major coastal tech hubs across the United States.
▶9 more co-investors
Flybridge Capital PartnersFloodgateSierra VenturesNot Boring CapitalAltaIR CapitalHustle FundStandard CapitalUpside PartnershipHelium-3 Ventures
Firms observed investing alongside Dream Machine, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Dream Machine's recorded portfolio.
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