Founders
AcceleratorActively deployingSan Francisco · Pre-Seed–Seed · 11 people tracked
Also known as Adamo Capital Family Office Llc · Founders Principals
Investment thesis
Founders, Inc positions itself as the first believer in bold founders working on hard problems in emerging domains, spanning AI, AR/VR, hardware, physical products, content creation, and robotics. Beyond writing the first check, the firm emphasizes giving founders space and community to experiment, fail, and try again, viewing resilience and community over early metrics like revenue or product-market fit. It operates a 42,000 sq ft campus at Fort Mason in San Francisco where builders gather, tinker, and develop future-defining companies. Founders selected through its process are invited to campus, receive a first check, and gain access to its network of top founders.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 27, 2026.
Team · 11 people
from the firm's website
Founder mafia
The Founders mafia →19 people who came through Founders went on to found or lead other companies.
+ 7 more
What they invest in
from 28 of 189 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×14Healthtech ×10Advanced Manufacturing ×6SaaS ×6Developer Tools ×5Robotics ×5Biotech ×4Consumer ×4
HQs:United States×24Canada×1Switzerland×1United Kingdom×1
Portfolio companies · 189 tracked
alumni founders can tell you what the program is really likeBy year:2026 · 22025 · 22021 · 22018 · 12016 · 12015 · 19 dated
Gym Class is a social gaming platform offering sports games including basketball, baseball, boxing, football, paintball, and soccer across virtual reality and mobile.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerGamingSocialSports TechSan Francisco, US
Justin Hubert(Founder)inPaul Katsen(Founder)inErik(CTO)
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzY CombinatorSoma Capital
Gym Class is a social gaming platform featuring sports games like basketball, baseball, boxing, football, paintball, and soccer available on Meta Quest VR and mobile.
ConsumerGamingSocial
Paul(Product Leader)Erik(CTO)
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzSoma CapitalY CombinatorTodd and Rahul’s Angel Fund
HealthtechNew York, US
Arel Lidow(Director)Florian Otto(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardKareem Zaki(Director)in
Board seatKen Howery· per SEC Form D · $13M raise · filed Jan 2017
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzThrive Capital
Gecko Robotics builds robots equipped with sensors and cameras to inspect industrial structures like boilers for structural defects, replacing dangerous manual inspections at height.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeep TechRoboticsPittsburgh, US
Jake Loosararian(Founder/CEO)inTroy Demmer(Founder/COO)
BoardGaetano Crupi(Director)inAndrew Davis(Director)in
Board seatTrae Stephens· per SEC Form D · $139.9M raise · filed Jun 2025
Co-investorsAlpha PartnersBase Venture Management, Inc.Drive CapitalFifth Down CapitalFormula VCFriends Family Capital+18 more
San Francisco, US
Board seatTrae Stephens· per SEC Form D · $9M raise · filed Jan 2021
RigUp (operating under Workrise) provides vendor management, staffing and payroll, and bid management software for the energy industry in the US and Canada.
EnergyEnterprise SoftwareSaaSAustin, US
Ying Xuan Yong(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Witte(Executive Officer, Director)inWitte Michael(Founder)inSandeep Sampath Jain(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDavid George(Director)in
Board seatNapoleon Ta· per SEC Form D · $300M raise · filed May 2021
Co-investorsBreyer CapitalCarnrite VenturesFounders FundGreat Oaks Venture CapitalJames Beshara FundAndreessen Horowitz+2 more
Zocdoc runs an online marketplace where US patients find in-network doctors and dentists and book in-person or telehealth appointments.
New York, US
Cyrus Massoumi(Executive Officer, Director)Oliver Kharraz(Executive Officer, Director)Nick (Nikhil) Ganju(Founder)inNetta Samroengraja(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDavid Weiden(Director)in
Board seatKen Howery· per SEC Form D · $1.5M raise · filed Apr 2015
Co-investorsBlue CollectiveDisruptive VenturesFounders FundFrancisco PartnersJumpStart EquityKhosla Ventures+5 more
Afriex provides a remittance service enabling immigrants to transfer money to over 25 countries at low costs with rapid settlement.
FintechSan Francisco, US
Tope Alabi(Founder)inJohn Obirije(Founder)in
Co-investorsAdaverseBrightstone Venture CapitalDragonflyMetastableOpen Opportunity FundPrecursor Ventures+2 more
Augmenta develops software that uses computational design and AI to automate building design, targeting the construction and engineering industry.
AI & Machine LearningConstruction TechDeep TechSaaS
Francesco Iorio(Founder)in
Co-investorsFerguson VenturesHazelview VenturesPrelude VenturesSuffolk TechnologiesA16Z SpeedrunMarathon Venture Capital+1 more
Aurelius Systems builds Archimedes, an autonomous counter-UAS laser system that combines high-power directed energy, optical sensors, and AI to detect, track, and neutralize aerial drone threats without an operator.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardwareSan Francisco, US
John Marmaduke(Executive Officer, Director)Michael LaFramboise(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardPaige Craig(Director)
Co-investorsBlack FlagBlue Ivy VenturesDecisive PointDraper AssociatesGeneral CatalystGoAhead Ventures+2 more
Comfy is an open-source tool for building repeatable visual AI workflows by chaining multiple AI models together.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyDeveloper ToolsSan Francisco, US
Yoland Y.(Founder)inYaozhong Yan(Executive Officer, Director)Junhan Huang(Director)
BoardChristopher Paik(Director)Yannik Marek(Director)
Co-investorsAbstract VenturesCraft VenturesTranspose Platform ManagementChemistryCursor CapitalESSENCE VC+2 more
Entelexo develops engineered exosome therapeutics for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and psoriasis.
BiotechHealthtechIrvine, US
MILAD RIAZIFAR(Founder)inTodd Schurr(Founder)inCameron Taylor(Founder)in
Co-investorsY Combinator
Headlight provides mental health services in the Western U.S., offering therapy and medication management delivered by licensed clinicians through a care coordination model that emphasizes personalized matching and integrated care.
Digital HealthHealthtechMental HealthWalnut, US
Dr. Manish ShethJason Shen(Executive Officer, Director)Wayne Gerard(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsMatrixMultiplier CapitalPACE Healthcare CapitalEPIC VENTURES
Hoxton Farms grows cultivated fat, a biomanufactured ingredient for food companies to use in plant-based and alternative meat products.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechFoodTechLondon, GB
Vítor Espírito Santo(Chief Scientific Officer)in
Co-investorsBackedCollaborative FundEarth Venture CapitalFine Structures VenturesForm VenturesGlobal Brain+4 more
Joon is a mobile app that helps children ages 6-12 build executive functioning and positive habits through gamified task management, targeting parents seeking to reduce behavioral friction around chores, homework, and daily routines.
ConsumerHealthtechWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Isaac Eaves(Founder)inBrad Brenner(Founder)inKevin Bunarjo(Founder)in
Co-investorsLobster CapitalMaC Venture CapitalY Combinator
LiveKit is an open source framework and cloud platform for building, deploying, and scaling voice, video, and physical AI agents.
Lucid Bots designs and manufactures commercial robotics and drones for exterior cleaning and building maintenance in the construction and facilities management industries.
Advanced ManufacturingConstruction TechHardwareRoboticsCharlotte, US
Andrew Ashur(Founder)in
Co-investorsG Vision CapitalMPG FundTriangle TweenerY CombinatorCubit CapitalIDEA Fund Partners
LunaBill provides AI automation software for hospital billing teams to manage denied claims and patient revenue cycles.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Suhail Parry(Founder)inDavid Day(Founder)in
Co-investorsGarage CapitalLobster CapitalY CombinatorZAKA VC
Motley builds data infrastructure for AI agents that automate business reporting and analysis.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareZürich, CH
Egor Kraev(Founder)in
Co-investorsKima VenturesRTP Global
Musicfy is an AI music platform for voice conversion, AI vocals and text-to-music song creation.
Omnipilot is a macOS AI copilot that can type in any application using context from what is on the user's screen.
Orangewood develops industrial robots for bin picking, visual inspection, powder coating, bartending, and spray painting tasks.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningHardwareRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Abhinav Das(Founder)inAkash Bansal(Founder)inAditya Bhatia(Founder)in
Co-investorsY Combinator7percent Ventures
HyperWrite is an AI writing assistant available as a Chrome extension that provides autocomplete, web search, and citation capabilities to help users write, edit, and refine text.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsSaaSMelville, US
Matthew Shumer(Executive Officer, Director)Jason Kuperberg(Cofounder)inMatt Shumer(Cofounder)Josh BickettinMiles Feldstein(Director)
Co-investorsMadrona Venture GroupNew York Venture Partners
Pally is a personal assistant that lives in iMessage and connects to multiple communication and productivity tools to automatically organize information from emails, messages, calendars, and documents.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaSSan Francisco, US
Haz Hubble(Founder)inWyatt Lansford(Co-founder & CTO)in
Co-investorsY Combinator468 Capital
Pirouette develops OnePush, a fully automatic hidden-needle auto-injector platform paired with drug programs across chronic and rescue care indications.
Advanced ManufacturingBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesBoston, US
Conor Cullinane(Founder)inMatthew Kane(Founder)inElijah Kapas(Founder)in
BoardPARINAZ MOTAMEDY(Director)inJOSEPH NEMMERS(Director)
Co-investorsY CombinatorGaingelsHelium-3 VenturesSafar Partners
Promakhos Therapeutics develops immunomodulatory therapies to restore immune system balance and reduce chronic inflammation in diseases like Crohn's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis.
BiotechHealthtechBoston, US
Katerina Chatzi(Founder)inJasper Edgar Neggers(Founder)inAIKATERINI CHATZI(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Co-investorsMetaplanetY CombinatorZAKA VC
Rork Max is an AI-powered platform that enables developers to build and ship native iOS applications and games through conversational AI, with support for creating multiplayer games with physics simulations.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsGaming
Daniel Dhawan(Founder)in
Co-investorsChapter OneLeft Lane CapitalPeak XV PartnersSarah SmithA16Z SpeedrunHustle Fund+2 more
Scenario is a creative AI platform that lets teams train custom models on their own art and brand style, then access 600+ image, video, 3D, and audio models to generate on-brand assets.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomySaaSSan Francisco, US
Hervé Nivon(Founder)in
Co-investorsDecasonicPlay VenturesAndreessen HorowitzAnorak VenturesGraph VenturesThe Venture Reality Fund
thirdweb provides a developer platform for building web3 applications, offering tools for creating and managing tokens, bridging and swapping across blockchain networks, and wallet infrastructure.
Crypto & Web3Developer Tools
Co-investorsBitDAODraft Ventures LlcHaun VenturesMantle NetworkShrug CapitalEarl Grey Capital+2 more
VR game studio building social multiplayer experiences, known for its free-to-play title Yeeps: Hide and Seek.
Trexo develops a robotic device that enables children with cerebral palsy and other mobility disabilities to walk independently at home.
HealthtechMedical DevicesRoboticsToronto, CA
Manmeet Maggu(Founder/CEO)inRahul Udasi(Founder)in
Co-investorsGeekdomkineo financeSocial StartsTechstarsUCeed FundsY Combinator
Vena Vitals develops a noninvasive, continuous blood pressure monitoring device using patented sensor technology placed on the skin over an artery.
Digital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesIrvine, US
Ray Liu(Founder)inMichelle Khine(Founder)inJosh Kim(Founder)in
Co-investorsPi CampusSamsung NextY CombinatorMorado Ventures
Yummy Future builds automated robotic café systems and software for beverage service in public venues.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningConsumerFoodTechHardwareRoboticsChampaign, US
Jack Cui(Founder)inGarrett Yan(Founder)in
Co-investorsKnockout CapitalY CombinatorSoma Capital
Zeit Medical develops a wearable headband with AI-powered sensors that detects strokes in real time and automatically alerts emergency services, targeting patients at high risk for stroke who may be asleep or unable to call for help themselves.
HealthtechMedical DevicesSan Francisco, US
Orestis Vardoulis(Founder)inUrs Naber(Founder)in
Co-investorsCitta CapitalY CombinatorAxial VCGaingelsSeedToB
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 companiesBlockratize · cryptotimes.io · Aug 20, 2026
Augmenta · betakit.com · Aug 19, 2026
Motley · fool.com · Aug 15, 2026
Aurelius Systems · x.com · Aug 5, 2026
Pally · impartialreporter.com · Jul 6, 2026
Zocdoc · startupfundraising.com · Jun 17, 2026
Workrise · unleash.ai · May 20, 2026
ComfyUI · tech-insider.org · Apr 27, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Founders invest at?
- Founders invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Founders's typical check size?
- Founders typically writes checks of $250K.
- What sectors does Founders focus on?
- Founders focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Creator Economy, Crypto & Web3, Deep Tech, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, Gaming, Hardware, Robotics, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Founders located?
- Founders is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Founders lead rounds?
- Yes, Founders leads investment rounds.
- Who does Founders co-invest with?
- Founders most often shares deals with BitDAO, Draft Ventures Llc, Haun Ventures, among 5 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
from their channelhow to create an infinite context window
Founders, Inc.
he built a new type of electric vehicle
Founders, Inc.
He invented a "microfactory"
Founders, Inc.
he built self driving fork lifts
Founders, Inc.
Canopy Festival - 24 Teams Live from Fort Mason
Founders, Inc.
they made an AI model that finds tumors
Founders, Inc.
Images
Co-investors · 21
Soma Capital is a venture capital firm that partners early with founders, emphasizing close relationships and running a fellows program for those just getting started.
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Gaingels is a large venture investor that co-invests alongside lead VCs in companies committed to building diverse and inclusive teams, while advocating for LGBTQ+ representation and equity of access in venture capital.
Alumni Ventures (AV) is a venture capital firm that co-invests alongside lead VCs in startups, backing founders with capital and access to a large investor and operator community.
Founder Collective is a seed and pre-seed stage venture capital firm that invests across sectors, describing itself as sector agnostic and anti-thematic.
DST Global is a global internet-focused investment firm that backs fast-growing, high-value internet companies. It does not solicit or accept retail investors.
Pioneer Fund is a venture capital firm investing in the top Y Combinator startups.
Goodwater Capital is a consumer technology investment firm backing entrepreneurs building companies across sectors such as housing, healthcare, food delivery, financial services, education, entertainment, and transportation.
BITKRAFT Ventures is a global investment platform focused on gaming, interactive media, and related technologies, backing companies building at the convergence of physical and digital worlds (which it calls Synthetic Reality).
TQ Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm whose team invests from first principles and commits deeply to the founders it backs.
Unusual Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs enterprise and infrastructure founders from initial insight through market leadership, providing a proprietary playbook for finding product-market fit.
Work-Bench is a New York City-based seed-stage venture fund backing early-stage founders building enterprise, SaaS, and infrastructure software, with hands-on go-to-market support.
Nyca Partners is a fintech-focused venture capital firm that invests primarily in early-stage financial services and technology companies, offering founders strategic support and access to a large advisor network.
▶9 more co-investors
foobar.vcPreston-Werner VenturesMakers FundCurious CapitalG20 VenturesMoonfire VenturesMysten LabsBackend CapitalGamegroove Capital
Firms observed investing alongside Founders, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Founders's recorded portfolio.
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