Kohala Ventures
Venture capitalSan Francisco · 3 people tracked
Investment thesis
Seed-stage investor focused on accelerating transformative ideas that will help shape our future.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 6, 2026.
Team · 3 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Kohala Ventures went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 8 of 9 portfolio companiesAdvanced Manufacturing ×5Hardware ×4Space Tech ×4Defense Tech ×3Enterprise Software ×3New Materials ×2SaaS ×2AdTech ×1
HQs:United States×7
Investments · 9 tracked
founders shown can be your intro path
Apex manufactures productized satellite bus platforms at scale for constellation deployment and critical missions.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechHardwareSpace TechLos Angeles, US
Ian Cinnamon(CEO)inMax Benassi(CTO)in
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzBalerion Space VenturesCRV (Charles River Ventures)Embedded VenturesGlynn Capital ManagementJ2 Ventures+10 more
AstroForge builds low-cost spacecraft for tracking and mining metal-rich asteroids in deep space, targeting platinum group metals extraction for industrial and space applications.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechHardwareNew MaterialsRoboticsSpace TechLos Angeles, US
Matt Gialich(Founder/CEO)inJose Acain(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJustin Hamilton(Director)
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsOutliers FundPalm Drive CapitalUndeterred CapitalWayfinder VenturesY CombinatorAera VC+2 more
Embrace is a user-focused observability platform built on OpenTelemetry that provides real user monitoring (RUM) for mobile and web applications.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLos Angeles, US
Eric Futoran(Founder and CEO)inFredric Newberg(Founder)in
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsY CombinatorAV8 VenturesBaroda VenturesBonfire VenturesDuke Capital PartnersEniac Ventures+5 more
Epsilon3 provides a software platform for creating, reviewing, and executing operational procedures, serving teams that need to develop and iterate processes at scale.
Advanced ManufacturingEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLos Angeles, US
Laura Crabtree(Founder)inMax Mednik(Founder)inAaron Sullivan(Executive Officer)
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsBroom VenturesBVVCIceNineLux CapitalMaC Venture CapitalRavelin Capital+2 more
Inversion develops spacecraft and systems to establish Low-Earth Orbit as an on-demand logistics network for rapid global transportation and defense applications.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechHardwareLogistics & Supply ChainSpace TechLos Angeles, US
Justin Fiaschetti(Founder)inAustin Briggs(Founder)in
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsSpark CapitalY CombinatorACADEMY INVESTORAIN VenturesDas & Co.Dorm Room+5 more
Modern Meadow develops animal-free, bio-fabricated leather alternatives using synthetic biology and material science for the fashion, interiors, and automotive industries.
BiotechCircular EconomyNew MaterialsPine Brook, US
Gabor Forgacs(Director, Promoter)Anna Bakst(Executive Officer, Director)Rex Liu(Executive Officer)
BoardAndras Forgacs(Director, Promoter)Bart Swanson(Director)inKlaus Hommels(Director)
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsArtis VenturesAstanor VenturesBreakout LabsBreakout VenturesHorizons VenturesInventus Capital Partners+4 more
Narrative builds a data infrastructure platform that enables interoperability across systems and teams through a shared semantic layer, with built-in data quality validation and compliance.
AdTechData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSector Agnostic
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsG20 VenturesGlasswing VenturesProgress VenturesEarl Grey Capital
REGENT designs and manufactures Seaglider wing-in-ground-effect aircraft for regional coastal transportation and defense logistics, offering high-speed zero-emission travel between coastal cities and military applications.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechClimate TechDefense TechHardwareMobility & TransportationSpace TechNorth Kingstown, US
Billy Thalheimer(Founder)inMichael Klinker(Founder)in
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Co-investorsFounders FundAurum Venture PartnersDarco CapitalFuture Planet CapitalGlobal BrainGraph Ventures+15 more
PartnerEric del Balso· solo GP
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesNarrative · theamericanreporter.com · Jul 2, 2026
Inversion Space · spaceambition.substack.com · Jun 26, 2026
Apex Space · satellitetoday.com · Jun 23, 2026
Embrace · pymnts.com · Jun 23, 2026
REGENT · inc.com · May 1, 2025
AstroForge · nasdaqprivatemarket.com · Mar 2, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Kohala Ventures made?
- Kohala Ventures has 9 tracked investments.
- What sectors does Kohala Ventures focus on?
- Kohala Ventures focuses on Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Hardware, Mobility & Transportation, SaaS, Space Tech.
- Where is Kohala Ventures located?
- Kohala Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Kohala Ventures lead rounds?
- Kohala Ventures typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Kohala Ventures co-invest with?
- Kohala Ventures most often shares deals with Y Combinator, Point72 Ventures, Ravelin Capital, among 65 tracked co-investors.
Images
Co-investors · 27
Village Global is a venture capital firm backed by a network of 400+ founders, operator angels, and prominent LPs from leading tech companies, offering founders access to its network alongside capital.
Ravelin Capital is an early-stage technology investment firm focused on critical industries.
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.
Spark Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders, known for early investments including leading Twitter's Series B in 2008.
Eniac Ventures is a seed-stage venture firm that positions itself as founder-friendly and focused on helping early-stage companies achieve product-market fit.
Greycroft is a venture capital firm that partners with founders across multiple industries and geographies, investing in software, sustainability, and consumer brands.
Lux Capital is a venture capital firm that backs founders building transformative deep technologies, having been among the first investors in category-defining companies across AI, robotics, biotech, defense, and infrastructure.
Bonfire Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm that backs founders reinventing how business operates, leading seed rounds in AI-native B2B software.
XYZ Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with founders from the earliest stages, supporting portfolio companies across fundraising, go-to-market, product, and sales.
Embedded Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage deep-tech, space, and defense startups, including companies with applications serving the Department of Defense.
Craft Ventures is a venture capital firm founded and run by former founders and operators who partner with founders to help build and scale technology companies.
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.
▶15 more co-investors
Unknown VenturesACME CapitalInovia CapitalBAM VenturesNexus Venture PartnersFikaRubicon Venture CapitalClocktower VenturesBIOSPRING PARTNERSStealth CapitalPitbull VenturesRichmond Global VenturesGSR VenturesFortress Investment GroupZintinus
Firms observed investing alongside Kohala Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Kohala Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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