Palo Alto · Pre-Seed–Seed · 1 people tracked
Also known as K9 VENTURES, LLC
Investment thesis
K9 Ventures is a technology-focused pre-seed fund that seeks to be the first institutional or professional capital raised by its portfolio companies, preferring to engage before any capital is raised or after only friends-and-family funding. It typically invests when the founding team is established and beginning to build the product, sometimes even at the idea stage. Initial checks range from $250K to $750K, with a sweet spot around $400K. The firm prefers to lead rounds, takes a board seat, and structures investments as priced equity rounds using Series Seed documents rather than convertible notes or SAFEs. K9 invests in only 4-6 companies per year to build deep founder relationships.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 1 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 34 of 68 portfolio companiesSaaS ×17AI & Machine Learning ×13Enterprise Software ×12Developer Tools ×8Cloud Computing ×4Consumer ×4Data & Infrastructure ×4EdTech ×4
HQs:United States×27South Korea×1New Zealand×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 25 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×92 founders×123 founders×34+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 15 founders with education data
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ×2University of Michigan ×2University of Toronto ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 15 founders with career history
Luminar Technologies ×2Lyft ×2Twitter ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 68 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 12024 · 12022 · 12021 · 12018 · 42017 · 22016 · 22015 · 214 dated
Palo Alto, US
Chris Urmson(Executive Officer, Director)James Andrew Bagnell(Executive Officer, Director)Sterling Anderson(Executive Officer)William Mouat(Executive Officer)Ian Smith(Director)
Co-investorsSequoia Capital
Connect corporate document and web apps to devices on-the-go without changing anything.
Twilio provides a cloud-based communications platform that enables businesses to integrate voice, messaging, and video into applications using APIs.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Jeff Lawson(Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer)inEvan Cooke(Director)John WolthuisLee Kirkpatrick(Chief Financial Officer)Roy Ng(Executive Officer)Karyn Smith(Executive Officer)
Co-investors500 GlobalBessemer Venture PartnersDraper AssociatesFounders Circle CapitalFounders FundIcon Ventures+16 more
Dealkit (formerly Docasaurus) was a transaction management platform for venture capital financings, serving founders, investors, and legal teams by managing the workflow from term sheet to close.
FintechLegalTechSaaS
James AlonsoinJeff SmitinAdam Zolyakin
Co-investorsCraft Ventures
Workona is a browser-based workspace tool that organizes tabs into project-based spaces, with autosave, tab syncing across devices, tab suspension, and search to switch between work contexts.
Developer ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaS
Quinn(Leads product and marketing)Alma(Leads engineering and UX design)
Co-investorsAugust Capital
Compound Eye builds camera-based sensing and perception technology (VIDAS) that combines AI with classical computer vision to give autonomous machines depth measurement, scene understanding, and positioning without LiDAR or radar.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareRoboticsRedwood City, US
Jason Devitt(Founder)Haoyang Wang(Founder)
BoardManu Kumar(Director)inSven Strohband(Director)in
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsKhosla Ventures
Los Altos, US
John Hastings Granbery(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Palo Alto, US
Henry Shozen Ward(Executive Officer)Charly Kevers(Executive Officer)Michael Chien Hsing Wu(Executive Officer)
BoardAndrew Daniel Parker(Director)Manu Kumar(Director)inJohn Ward Buttrick(Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D · $41.5M raise · filed Oct 2017
Co-investorsBattery VenturesExpansion Venture CapitalAndreessen HorowitzUnion Square Ventures (USV)
Everlaw develops advanced software for e-discovery and litigation, helping organizations manage digital evidence and navigate complex legal proceedings.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareLegalTechNew York, US
Ajeet Shankar(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardManu Kumar(Director)inSteven Sinofsky(Director)inTyler Sosin(Director)inJeff Friedman(Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzCapitalGH.I.G. CapitalH.I.G. Growth PartnersMenlo VenturesMudita Venture+2 more
Forethought builds self-improving AI agents for customer service, now integrated into Zendesk's platform.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSan Mateo, US
Deon Chris Nicholas(Founder)Deon Nicholas(Founder)inSami Ghoche(Founder)in
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Co-investors8VCFrontline VenturesGeodesic CapitalInspired CapitalNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Village Global+4 more
Gradescope is a web platform for administering and grading assessments—paper-based, digital, code, and bubble-sheet assignments—with flexible rubrics, AI-assisted grouping of similar answers, and per-question analytics.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechSaaSBerkeley, US
Arjun Singh(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardDave Samuel(Director)Manu Kumar(Director)inSergey Karayev(Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsGSV VenturesBloomberg BetaFreestyle CapitalHouseReach Capital
Berkeley, US
Sooinn Lee(Executive Officer, Director)Gunho Lee(Executive Officer)Garett Wiley(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardManu Kumar(Director)inSean Lee(Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D · $4M raise · filed Feb 2015
San Francisco, US
Anjali Menon(Executive Officer, Director)Brooke Krajancich(Executive Officer)Asaf Zilberfarb(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardManu Kumar(Director)in
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D · $3M raise · filed Sep 2021
Twindo converts iPhone/iPad scans, floor plans, and point clouds into accurate, editable CAD and BIM files for architectural and construction professionals.
Construction TechDeep TechSaaSBoulder, US
Kevin Albert(Founder)in
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsTechstarsTrilogy Equity PartnersFoundryIntel Capital
San Francisco, US
Vivek Nair(Executive Officer, Director)Douglas Steven Safreno(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardManu Kumar(Director)inJett Fein(Director)Daniel Liem(Director)Kojo Osei(Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Mountain View, US
Lewis Anderson(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatDr. Manu Kumar· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsHomebrew
Agenda Hero offers an AI-powered tool that converts text, images, and PDFs into calendar events for Google, Apple, Outlook, and its own platform, and lets users build shareable, printable, and digital calendars.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerSaaS
Caren Cioffi(Founder)Tim Walling(Founder)
Co-investorsUpfront VenturesPrecursor Ventures
Auth0 is an authentication and authorization platform that secures applications, AI agents, and internal tools by providing identity management, single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and fine-grained access control capabilities.
CybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareBellevue, US
Carlos Eugenio Pace(Executive Officer, Director)Matias Woloski(Director)Eugenio P.(Founder)inJonathan I. Gelsey(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardSunil Nagaraj(Director)Karan Mehandru(Director)in
Co-investorsBessemer Venture PartnersEndeavor CatalystFounders Circle CapitalFUSENTT DOCOMO VenturesNXTP+11 more
Avoma is a meeting intelligence platform that automatically captures, transcribes, and analyzes meetings, delivering summaries and key takeaways to Microsoft Teams channels to keep teams aligned.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSales TechPalo Alto, US
Albert Lai(Founder)
Co-investorsHubSpot VenturesInvariantes FundStorm VenturesTSVCTwin Ventures
BackType provides analytics tools for monitoring and understanding social conversations and content performance across the web.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Christopher Golda(Founder)inMike Montano(Founder)inMichael Montano
Co-investors500 GlobalY CombinatorFounder CollectiveTrue Ventures
CardMunch turned photographs of paper business cards into digital contact records.
Media & Entertainment
Bowei GaiManu KumarSid Viswanathan
Co-investors500 Global
Carta is a cloud-based ERP platform for private capital markets that manages cap tables, equity administration, fund management, and valuations for startups, private companies, and venture funds globally.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Henry Ward(Co-founder)Manu Kumar(Co-founder)inCharly Kevers(Chief Financial Officer)Jeff Perry(Chief Revenue Officer)Nick Avery(Chief People Officer)Nicole Baer(Chief Marketing Officer)
Co-investorsA*Align VenturesAmity VenturesAndreessen HorowitzAnthemis VentureDraper Associates+35 more
Crave provides one-click cloud infrastructure and containerized "Devspaces" — unified remote dev environments that let engineering teams onboard, build, debug, and run CI consistently.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsSaaSSanta Clara, US
Alvin C.(Founder)inYuvraaj Kelkar(Founder)
Co-investorsSignalFire
Co-investorsQuest Venture Partners
Co-investorsHeavybit
DNAnexus operates a cloud platform for managing, analyzing, and collaborating on multiomic and clinical data, supporting bioinformatics workflows, AI/ML analytics, and cohort analysis.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureMountain View, US
Andreas Sundquist(Executive Officer, Director)Richard Daly(Executive Officer, Director)George Asimenos, PhD(Chief Product Officer)in
BoardMICHAEL GOLDBERG(Director)GEOFF DUYK(Director)KRISHNA YESHWANT(Director)in
Co-investorsClaremont Creek VenturesForesite CapitalGV (Google Ventures)Uncork CapitalWireframe Ventures
Ello builds an AI-powered 1:1 reading tutor for children using a custom low-latency AI stack for real-time teaching decisions.
AI & Machine LearningEdTechSan Francisco, US
Tom Sayer(Co-founder, CEO)Dr. Elizabeth Adams(Co-founder, CXO)Catalin Voss(Co-Founder, CTO)Tom S(Founder)
Co-investorsGoodwater CapitalHomebrewKhosla VenturesProject A VenturesReach CapitalVisible Ventures+2 more
Enuma, based in South Korea, makes game-based learning software for young children.
EdTech
Sooinn Lee(Founder)inEmir EzwanGunho Lee
Co-investors500 GlobalK3 VenturesLG Technology VenturesSamsung NextKakao Ventures
Machine learning software platform that transforms unlabeled data into high-quality AI training data.
Co-investorsCanvas VenturesCheyenne VenturesGen CapitalPromus VenturesThe Perkins FundTrinity Ventures
Integrated platform that helps you build and manage your full stack of fintech services.
HiHello provides an enterprise platform for digital business cards, email signatures, and video-call branding, letting companies deploy and control brand-consistent contact identities across every employee's devices and platforms.
ConsumerEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkMarketing TechSaaSPalo Alto, US
Manu Kumar(Co-founder & CEO)Hari Ravi(Co-founder)
Co-investorsAugust CapitalFoundryLux CapitalTenOneTen Ventures
HighlightCam is a free iOS and Android app that continuously buffers the last 15 seconds of video so users can capture a sports highlight after it happens by tapping to save the preceding footage.
ConsumerSocialSports Tech
Invisible AI develops computer vision and AI solutions for the manufacturing industry, with expertise in human body and motion tracking derived from autonomous vehicle technology.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine Learning
Eric Danziger(Founder)inPrateek Sachdeva(Founder)in
Co-investorsFraser McCombs CapitalSierra Ventures8VCSilent VenturesSlow Ventures
Lucidchart is a diagramming and visualization platform that enables teams to create process maps, org charts, technical diagrams, and system architecture visualizations using AI-powered features, data linking, and automation.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Karl Sun(Founder)inDave Growin
Co-investorsBling CapitalGlynn Capital Management
Co-investorsForward Venture Capital
Lyft operates an on-demand ride-hailing platform connecting riders with drivers for scheduled, commute, and late-night trips, along with bikes and scooters in select regions.
ConsumerMarketplacesMobility & Transportation
Logan Green(Founder)inJohn Zimmer(Founder)inDavid Risherin
Co-investorsFidelity Investments
Co-investorsAndreessen Horowitz
Meld operates a network for onboarding users to stablecoins and digital assets, offering onramp/offramp orchestration, multi-chain token support, and KYC/bank-linking tools accessible via API.
Crypto & Web3Developer ToolsFintechSan Francisco, US
Pankaj Bengani(Founder)
Co-investorsCoatue ManagementFactionYolo InvestmentsLightspeed Faction
Aurora develops self-driving technology for autonomous vehicles.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareLogistics & Supply ChainMobility & TransportationPittsburgh, US
Chris Urmson(CEO)Drew BagnellSterling AndersonRandy R. Reibel(Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer)Stephen Crouch(Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer)Trenton Berg(Senior Hardware Engineer (listed as a founder on Crunchbase))
Co-investorsGeodesic CapitalGreylock PartnersIndex VenturesKhosla VenturesMillennium New HorizonsMillennium Technology Value Partners+7 more
Nexkey offers a mobile access control platform that turns a smartphone or Apple Watch into a digital key, letting businesses grant, revoke, and schedule keyless door access from one app.
IoTPropTechSaaS
Co-investorsUpfront Ventures
Occipital's Twindo turns iPhone/iPad scans, floor plans, and point clouds into accurate, editable CAD and BIM files for architecture, design, and construction professionals.
Construction TechPropTechSaaS
Co-investorsGrishin RoboticsFoundryIntel CapitalShea Ventures, LLC
Osmo makes hands-on educational games that combine physical, tactile pieces with technology to teach children subjects such as music, coding, and math.
EdTechGamingHardware
Co-investorsAccelUpfront VenturesBain Capital VenturesCollaborative FundMVP Ventures
OtterTune was a database tuning service, originally a start-up spun out of Carnegie Mellon University.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools
Dana Van Aken(Founder)in
Co-investorsAccel
Row Zero is a cloud spreadsheet built for large-scale enterprise data, scaling to billion-row datasets and connecting directly to data warehouses like Snowflake, Databricks, and Redshift with two-way SQL connections.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSeattle, US
Nick End(Executive Officer, Director)inBreck Fresen(Founder)inGrant B. Fresen(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsLudlow VenturesTrilogy Equity PartnersIA Ventures
A brand new way to create, share, and update schedules so that everyone is on the same page.
Teleo provides a remote command center solution that enables a single operator to supervise multiple machines, improving site productivity and workforce attraction through enhanced safety and comfort, while offering real-time analytics for operational visibility.
Advanced ManufacturingConstruction TechRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Rom Clément(Co-Founder and CTO)inVinay Shet(Founder)in
BoardAdam Grosser(Director)inRoger Fradin(Director)
Co-investorsTrousdale VenturesTrucks VCUP PartnersY Combinator
Torbit sells a cloud-based service for speeding up websites.
Developer Tools
Jon FoxJosh Fraser
Co-investors500 Global
Seamless transaction management for getting deals closed.
Valet parking on demand service.
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.
Exits · 4
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioAurora InnovationNASDAQ: AURDropboxNASDAQ: DBXOktaNASDAQ: OKTATwilioNYSE: TWLO
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesLyft · investing.com · Aug 10, 2026
Osmo · trysignalbase.com · Aug 5, 2026
Twilio · fundraiseinsider.com · Jul 19, 2026
Lucid · tipranks.com · Jul 17, 2026
Carta · medicalbuyer.co.in · Jul 14, 2026
Meld · pymnts.com · May 19, 2026
Gentrace · grafit.agency · Dec 23, 2025
Crave · foodnavigator-usa.com · Nov 20, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has K9 Ventures made?
- K9 Ventures has 61 tracked investments, 4 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does K9 Ventures invest at?
- K9 Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is K9 Ventures's typical check size?
- K9 Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $750K.
- What sectors does K9 Ventures focus on?
- K9 Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, Enterprise Software, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is K9 Ventures located?
- K9 Ventures is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.
- Does K9 Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, K9 Ventures leads investment rounds.
- Who does K9 Ventures co-invest with?
- K9 Ventures most often shares deals with 500 Global, Upfront Ventures, Accel, among 90 tracked co-investors.
Co-investors · 73
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.
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies focused on technology, mobile, and clean energy sectors, including biotechnology applications. The firm provides capital and strategic support to entrepreneurs developing breakthrough technologies across multiple markets.
Union Square Ventures is a venture capital firm based in New York City that invests at the edge of large markets undergoing transformation from technological and societal pressures.
Upfront Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that positions itself as a long-term partner to founders, with a presence bridging the Los Angeles and Bay Area startup ecosystems.
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare sectors from early stages through growth.
Accel is a venture capital firm that partners with exceptional teams, positioning itself as a first partner to founders globally.
Techstars is a startup accelerator and early-stage investor that funds ambitious founders and provides capital, mentorship, and access to a global network of investors, operators, and corporate partners.
Menlo Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in transformative, early-stage AI companies across every layer of the modern AI stack, from applications and middleware to data infrastructure and foundation models.
8VC is a venture capital firm investing across logistics, life sciences, healthcare, IT infrastructure, and government/defense, guided by its Smart Enterprise thesis focused on data integration and platform network effects.
Trinity Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in mission-driven entrepreneurs and their companies.
Foundry invests in early-stage startups and venture funds across multiple sectors. The firm builds a portfolio-based network connecting portfolio companies with other investors and entrepreneurs.
▶61 more co-investors
August CapitalReach CapitalGV (Google Ventures)Craft VenturesLong Journey VenturesUncork CapitalSpark CapitalSapphire VenturesBling CapitalFreestyle CapitalPrecursor VenturesMadrona Venture GroupMeritech Capital PartnersUlu VenturesSierra VenturesLowercase CapitalVillage GlobalTribe Capital FirstlookOperator CollectiveCapitalGWorklife VenturesInspired CapitalHouseBloomberg BetaH.I.G. Growth PartnersQuest Venture PartnersGeneral CatalystFelicis VenturesFirst Round CapitalKrakenB Capital GroupSound VenturesBalderton CapitalACME CapitalMayfield FundCaffeinated CapitalKapor CapitalObvious VenturesAfore CapitalFloodgateSouth Park CommonsPractical Venture CapitalHarrison MetalGaingelsChemistryAIX VenturesBaseline VenturesBedrockMucker CapitalFounders' Co-opXYZ Venture CapitalRadical VenturesSpero VenturesThink+ Ventures Management, LlcAdams Street PartnersElefundTwelve BelowUbiquity VenturesFootPrint CoalitionBroadway Venture PartnersStanley Ventures
Firms observed investing alongside K9 Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with K9 Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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