🦊/Investors

Knife Capital

Venture capital

Cape Town · Seed–Late Stage · 20 people tracked

Find your way into Knife Capital

1,119 people in our graph share verified history with the Knife Capital team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

David Phuunlockedknows Craig Ivy · together at PwC (overlapped)
×7knows the team · via PwC
knows the team · via University of Cambridge
×2knows the team · via Chevron
knows the team · via Knife Capital
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Investment thesis

Knife Capital seeks out and backs companies that demonstrate deep technological competence alongside the potential to succeed internationally. The firm, connected to South Africa's tech ecosystem, focuses on scalable, innovation-driven businesses and supports them toward global growth and eventual exits.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Late Stage
HQ
Cape Town, ZA
Leads rounds
Leads
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2010
Last 12 months
1 investment
AUM
$50M
Tracked investments
23
Acquisitions
1

Team · 20 people

from the firm's website & public directories
Abraham van der Merwe

External board/IC member and successful South African serial tech entrepreneur.

Chris Seabrooke

External board/IC member; director of many listed companies and CEO of Sabvest.

Nchaupe Khaole

External board/IC member; Chief Investment Officer at the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC).

Founder mafia

2 people who came through Knife Capital went on to found or lead other companies.

What they invest in

from 17 of 23 portfolio companies

Enterprise Software ×8SaaS ×8AI & Machine Learning ×6EdTech ×4Healthtech ×4Fintech ×3IoT ×3Advanced Manufacturing ×2

HQs:South Africa×12Australia×1United States×1

Investments · 23 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 12025 · 12022 · 12021 · 14 dated

Grindstonexlgrindstonexl.comin𝕏✓ verified

Grindstone is a global growth engineering firm that provides accelerator programs and venture capital services to early-stage startups.

Enterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSector AgnosticSouth Africa, ZA

Inqubainquba.comin𝕏✓ verified

inQuba provides a cloud-based customer experience management platform that gathers omni-channel feedback throughout the customer journey and enables businesses to personalize interactions and resolve service issues collaboratively.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaS

Trent Rossini(Co-Founder & CEO)Micheal Renzon(Co-Founder & CEO inQuba North America)

Co-investorsConvergence Partners

Simera Sensesimera-sense.comin✓ verified

Simera Sense manufactures imaging systems for earth observation, including the TriScape50 camera designed for satellite and CubeSat platforms.

AgTechDeep TechHardwareSpace TechCape Town, ZA

Johann du Toit(Director for Simera Holdings & CEO)Jacu Vos(Chief Technical Officer)Edward Phillips(Chief Financial Officer)

Snapplifysnapplify.comin𝕏✓ verified

Snapplify is a global edtech company providing a digital learning platform with AI-enhanced tools, integration capabilities with 600+ education applications, and a library of over 50,000 free educational resources for students, educators, and institutions.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechSaaSSouth Africa, ZA

Wamlywamly.ioinJan 2022✓ verified

Wamly provides hiring and recruitment software that includes job posting and career page creation, psychometric candidate assessments, and centralized communication tools for recruitment teams.

Enterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaS

Francois de Wet(Founder)inMarnus Broodryk(Co-founder)in

Cuecueup.comJul 2026 · $5MAcquired

Cue aggregates email, contact, and calendar information to help users view and search across their accounts in one place.

ConsumerHealthtechSan Francisco, US

Shai Magzimof(Founder/CEO)inDaniel Gross(Founder/CEO)inRobby Walker(Founder/CTO)inAyub Khattak(Executive Officer, Director)Clint Sever(Executive Officer)in

BoardRohan Oza(Director)

Co-investorsY Combinator

D6d6.co.za

d6 develops school management and communication software used by schools, teachers and parents, covering administration, curriculum, finance, and parent-school communication with integrated cashless payments.

AI & Machine LearningEdTechEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Dataprophetdataprophet.comin

DataProphet Connect is a cloud-based industrial intelligence platform that centralizes production data from multiple sources across manufacturing sites, enabling operators and engineers to create dashboards, alarms, and AI models for production optimization.

Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareIoTCape Town, ZA

Granitewmsgranitewms.comin𝕏

GraniteWMS is a barcode-based warehouse management system designed for mid-sized warehouses, offering real-time inventory visibility, picking, packing, and stock control through a lightweight web application.

Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS

Octivfitnessoctivfitness.com

Octiv is a software platform for fitness gyms and studios that manages memberships, class scheduling, payments, and member engagement through a branded mobile app and administrative dashboard.

SaaSSports TechWellness & Fitness

Mark Fawzy(Founder)

Optiqueoptique.co.za

Optique sells eyeglasses and frames through direct-to-consumer channels in South Africa.

ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceHealthtechRetail Tech

Outsizedoutsized.comin

Outsized is a platform connecting financial services organizations with vetted independent consultants, interim executives, and fractional experts to fill capability gaps and execute transformation projects.

B2B MarketplacesEnterprise SoftwareFintechFuture of WorkHR TechMarketplacesSingapore, AU

Niclas Thelander(Founder)Anurag Bhalla(Co-founder)Johann van Niekerk(Co-founder)Azeem Zainulbhai(Co-founder)Sara Kahlau(Leadership team member)

PharmaScoutpharmascout.co.zain

PharmaScout provides temperature monitoring and data logging systems for storing medicines in pharmacies, helping them comply with South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) requirements.

HardwareHealthtechIoT

Sticittsticitt.cominJul 2025

Sticitt provides a cashless payment platform for schools in South Africa, covering tuckshop payments, school fee and project collections, point-of-sale integrations, and online ordering through Sticitt cards and bands.

EdTechFintechSaaS

Theo Kitshoff(Founder)in

Sticittsticitt.co.za

Sticitt provides a cashless payment system for schools in South Africa, covering school fee and project collections, tuckshop payments via cards and bands, point-of-sale integrations, online ordering, and automated reconciliation.

EdTechFintechSaaS

Theo Kitshoff(Founder)in

Stone Threestonethree.comin

Stone Three Digital combines machine learning and expert services to help industrial clients improve productivity and worker safety through AI-enabled machine vision, remote process monitoring, and digital video safety solutions.

Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareHealthtechIoT

VoxCroftvoxcroft.comNov 2021 · $2M

VoxCroft develops AI-driven intelligence analysis, including machine translation for low-resource languages and broadcast collection from inaccessible environments, to support decision-makers with global coverage and crisis response.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureDefense TechGovTechMarketing TechMedia & Entertainment

Sarah-Leah(Co-founder & Head of Language Solutions)Barend(Co-founder, COO, VP Innovation, Head of VoxCroft Labs)William(Co-founder & Chief of Intelligence)Casey(CEO)

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

d6 GroupGrindstone VenturesKashaOctivPURAPurabeverageco

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Knife Capital made?
Knife Capital has 23 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Knife Capital invest at?
Knife Capital invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth, Late Stage stages.
What sectors does Knife Capital focus on?
Knife Capital focuses on Deep Tech, SaaS, Sector Agnostic, Space Tech.
Where is Knife Capital located?
Knife Capital is headquartered in Cape Town, ZA.
Does Knife Capital lead rounds?
Yes, Knife Capital leads investment rounds.
Who does Knife Capital co-invest with?
Knife Capital most often shares deals with Beyond Capital, Beyond Capital Ventures, Convergence Partners, among 3 tracked co-investors.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Keet van Zyl on Knife Capital

iAfrikan Media · Keet van Zyl

The story of Keet van Zyl, Knife Capital, Africa

Ansarada · Keet van Zyl

Evolution of the venture landscape - Keet van Zyl - Co-founder of Knife Capital

Outsourced CFO · Keet van Zyl

Images

Knife Capital photoKnife Capital photoKnife Capital photo

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