gradCapital
Venture capitalActively deployingPre-Seed–Seed
Investment thesis
gradCapital backs students who are working on projects and building companies. It offers $200k for students pursuing projects full-time and $60k for those working on ideas alongside their classes. It also provides small no-strings-attached grants of $1k-$5k to let students experiment with any idea. The firm focuses on early-stage, student-founder ventures and provides both equity funding and non-dilutive grant capital to help students test and develop their ideas.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 7, 2026.
What they invest in
from 1 of 2 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×1Cloud Computing ×1Data & Infrastructure ×1Enterprise Software ×1
HQs:United States×2
Investments · 2 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12025 · 12 dated
Madison, US
Aishwarya Das(Mr. Das is the Chief Operating Officer)Sanket Deshpande(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsAutomotive Ventures MobilityAutomotive VenturesquantumEDGE VenturesTitletownTech
Pipeshift provides managed inference infrastructure for deploying and scaling AI models with low latency and high reliability.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Arko C(Co-founder, CEO)inEnrique Ferrao(Founder)inPranav Reddy(Founder)in
Co-investorsArka Venture LabsGood News VenturesMyAsiaVCSenseAI VenturesStrategxy Ventures LLCY Combinator+1 more
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesDirac Labs · brianlenahan.substack.com · Aug 24, 2026
Pipeshift · beststartup.us · Jul 17, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does gradCapital invest at?
- gradCapital invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is gradCapital's typical check size?
- gradCapital typically writes checks of $1K – $200K.
- What sectors does gradCapital focus on?
- gradCapital focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Consumer, Deep Tech, Hardware, Robotics, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Does gradCapital lead rounds?
- gradCapital typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Images
Similar investors
Hyderabad Angels is an angel investment network founded in 2010, comprising entrepreneurs, industrialists, and family offices that back early-stage startups across India with capital and mentorship.
Kleiner Perkins is a venture capital firm that backs founders across technology and life sciences, from early stage through growth.
Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm, backed by a community of founders and operators as LPs, that writes early checks (including pre-seed) into startups across many sectors and geographies.
MPG Fund is an early-stage venture investor backing technology startups.
UTokyo Innovation Platform (UTokyo IPC) invests in startups that address social challenges, focusing mainly on deep tech with the potential to bring significant impact to society.