LAUNCH
AcceleratorActively deployingSan Francisco · Pre-Seed–Seed · 1 people tracked
Also known as LAUNCH Food Incubator · Launch Partners
Investment thesis
LAUNCH aims to identify top early-stage founders globally and provide them with capital, network, and resources to build transformative companies. It engages founders through multiple entry points: the Founder University pre-accelerator, the LAUNCH Accelerator for high-growth startups, Startup Tuneup events, Angel University education, and regional programs in MENA and Japan. Alongside investing, it supports founders with free events, podcasts, books, and research products, and operates The Syndicate and its media brand This Week in Startups.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Founder fit — who Jason backs
A strong fit is an early-stage founder with direct, lived experience of the problem, visible speed, clean current metrics, and a demand channel they own. Consumer, marketplaces, SaaS, fintech and AI are all in scope. Comfort being public helps: his network runs through media, and founders who engage with it get more from the relationship.
Large lead rounds, deep tech with a decade to first revenue, and founders unwilling to be public. These are inferences from LAUNCH's cheque range and media-led model, not published exclusions.
How to pitch
Open with why you specifically know this problem. Bring the numbers as they are today, not a projection. Show the channel that brings you customers and explain why it cannot be switched off by a platform you do not control. You do not need a warm introduction — the accelerator, Founder University and the shows are all real front doors.
As of August 2026 LAUNCH continues to invest at roughly a hundred new companies a year across pre-seed, seed and Series A, with an AI screen that prioritises founders with hands-on experience of the workflow they are automating. He remains host of This Week in Startups and a co-host of All-In.
Editorial inference from Jason's portfolio, writing and public record — not a published mandate.
Investment themes
8 documented themes from Jason's essays, talks and portfolio, grouped by what they say about founders.
▶More themes6
Volume plus helpfulness beats selection2017
His stated model is to see enormous deal flow, write many small early cheques — on the order of a hundred new companies a year — and be genuinely useful to every founder, letting power-law maths do the rest.
For founders: A first cheque here is achievable; the bar is traction and clarity, not warm-intro prestige.
Media is the deal-flow engine2009
This Week in Startups, the LAUNCH conference and the accelerator exist partly as a funnel: founders come to him because of the audience, not the other way round.
For founders: Appearing on his shows or in his programmes is a legitimate route to a cheque.
Founders should not pay to pitch2009
He founded Open Angel Forum specifically in reaction to events charging startups for access to investors.
For founders: He is hostile to pay-to-play intermediaries in early-stage fundraising.
Angel investing should be taught, not gate-kept2017
He wrote a how-to book for new angels and built a syndicate of thousands of accredited backers who co-invest alongside the fund.
For founders: His cheque often brings a large syndicate behind it.
Pre-accelerator as a filter2021
Founder University runs founders through a structured multi-week programme with small cheques, and larger cheques for the standouts — a paid-in-effort audition rather than an interview.
For founders: There is an entry point for founders with no network at all.
Own your distribution2011
Mahalo was profitable and then gutted by a single Google algorithm change — an experience he has used ever since to argue against businesses whose demand depends on a platform they do not control.
For founders: Show a demand channel you own.
▶Founders & company building2
Founder-market fit over credentials2026
LAUNCH's stated screen for AI companies is lived experience of the problem — founders who have worked inside the domain they are automating.
For founders: Explain in one line why you specifically know this problem.
Traction beats narrative2017
His public evaluation framework leans on clean, current metrics and evidence of speed rather than market-size decks.
For founders: Bring the numbers to the first meeting.
Portfolio coverage
Uber is the anchor: a roughly $25,000 angel cheque reported to be worth on the order of $100 million by the time the company listed. Robinhood, Calm, Trello, Superhuman, Thumbtack and Wealthfront sit alongside it. The failures are on the record too — Mahalo raised around $20 million and closed in 2014 after Google's Panda update removed its traffic.
Public databases count this portfolio differently — scopes and methodologies vary, so no single total is definitive.
| Fundraising Fox | Tracked LAUNCH investments | 18 |
| Fundraising Fox | Tracked personal investments | 20 |
| Public profiles | Reported startups backed | 300+ |
| LAUNCH | Stated new investments per year | ≈100 |
▶1 more attributed companies without a tracked profile yet
Thumbtack
Positions, predictions and career history live on Jason Calacanis →
Deep-research dossier, compiled August 2026. Every row carries its own source.
Team · 1 people
from curated
What they invest in
from 12 of 23 portfolio companiesSaaS ×5AI & Machine Learning ×4Enterprise Software ×4Fintech ×3Developer Tools ×2Future of Work ×2Wellness & Fitness ×2Advanced Manufacturing ×1
HQs:United States×16
Portfolio companies · 23 tracked
alumni founders can tell you what the program is really likeBy year:2026 · 12022 · 12021 · 12020 · 32019 · 12018 · 22017 · 12014 · 12009 · 112 dated
Uber operates a multi-sided platform providing ride-sharing, food delivery, freight logistics, and business fleet management services across various global markets.
Logistics & Supply ChainMarketplacesMobility & TransportationSan Francisco, US
Travis Kalanick(Co-founder & CEO)Garrett Camp(Co-founder)
Co-investors137 Ventures408 VenturesA*Across Capital PartnersAglae VenturesAkkadian Ventures+63 more
Wealthfront offers automated investment management, a high-yield cash account, financial planning tools, and mortgage lending to individual investors.
FintechSaaSPalo Alto, US
Daniel Carroll(Founder)inAndy Rachleff(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsDag VenturesGraph VenturesIndex VenturesMaven VenturesSavano Capital PartnersSlow Ventures+1 more
Boulder, US
Andrew Duffy(Founder)Jacob Levin(Founder)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $8M raise · filed Dec 2022
Advanced ManufacturingClyde Hill, US
Aaron Holm(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $6M raise · filed Nov 2017
Co-investorsKnockout CapitalVU Venture PartnersThird Sphere
San Francisco, US
Henry Hu(Executive Officer, Director)Cynthia Yeung(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $12M raise · filed Aug 2018
San Jose, US
Rahul Kapoor(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJulie Eades(Director)Arun Lal(Director)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $21K raise · filed Oct 2020
Fitbod is a mobile app that generates personalized strength and resistance training workouts based on a user's goals, fitness level, and available equipment, using a proprietary algorithm applying progressive overload and recovery tracking.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerSports TechWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Jess Venticinque(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Allen Chen(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Jesse Venticinque
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $4.7M raise · filed Mar 2020
Co-investorsAllied Venture PartnersSterling Road
Fenton, US
Osmaan Shah(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardMichael Savino(Director)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $2.5M raise · filed Oct 2020
Miami, US
Alex Nucci(Executive Officer, Director)Ricardo Vazquez(Director)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $3.5M raise · filed Oct 2018
Sacramento, US
Brandon Brown(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Brian Mecham(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Chris Mondfrans(Executive Officer)
BoardJett Fein(Director)Matt Thomson(Director)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $113M raise · filed Oct 2021
Coomera Qld
Chris O'Halloran(Executive Officer, Director)Andrew Gibson(Executive Officer)Kyle Beatty(Director)Ben Kuffer(Executive Officer)
Board seatJason Calacanis· per SEC Form D · $3M raise · filed Jul 2019
8090 is an AI-native software development platform designed for regulated enterprises in healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and government that enables teams to build production code from business intent with full audit trails and governance controls.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
Chamath Palihapitiya(Co-founder and CEO)Rohit Kelapure(Founder)Sina Sojoodi(Founder)
Co-investorsS32Section 32Craft VenturesSalesforce VenturesTPB
Calm is a mental health app offering guided meditations, sleep stories, soundscapes, and stress-relief tools designed to help users manage anxiety, improve sleep, and build healthy habits for overall wellness.
HealthtechMental HealthWellness & Fitness
David Ko(CEO)
Co-investorsBrighter CapitalCherubic VenturesConnect VenturesElefundEQUIAMEvio VC+17 more
Codiga is a platform that helps developers and managers detect code defects and technical debt early in their development process.
CybersecurityDeveloper ToolsSaaSDenver, US
Julien Delange(Founder & CEO)in
Co-investorsTechstars2.12 AngelsMGV Capital
Density makes Waffle, a self-installable real-time radar sensor for anonymous people counting in rooms, phone booths, and desks.
HardwareIoTPropTechSan Francisco, US
Andrew Farah(Founder)in
Co-investorsA-Rod CorpChapter OneKleiner PerkinsLong Journey VenturesLudlow VenturesReshape+3 more
Robinhood is a financial trading platform that enables users to manage portfolios across stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, options, futures, and prediction markets.
FintechMenlo Park, US
Vlad Tenev(Co-founder & CEO)inBaiju Bhatt(Co-founder)
Co-investors1/1 CapitalAlgerAmplo VenturesAndreessen HorowitzBLN CapitalChamaeleon+40 more
Superhuman provides an AI-native platform for marketing teams that integrates AI agents, email management, and collaborative documentation within existing workflows.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkMarketing TechSaaS
Conrad Irwin(Founder)inRahul VohraVivek Sodera
Co-investors1809 Capital500 Global7BC Venture CapitalAndreessen HorowitzArcher Capital GroupArcher Venture Capital+24 more
TaxGPT provides tax information access and services to individual taxpayers and businesses.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechLegalTechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Kashif Ali(Co-founder and CEO)inIsabella Maceda-Ali(Founder)in
Co-investorsConvergeOrange CollectiveTRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital)Y Combinator468 CapitaliSeed Ventures+3 more
Marco Zappacosta(Cofounder)in
Co-investorsCapitalGDraper AssociatesFounders Circle CapitalG SquaredJavelin Venture PartnersLong Journey Ventures+2 more
Trello is a work organization and project management tool that uses Inbox, Boards, and Planner to help users track to-dos, ideas, and tasks, with integrations, automation, and task mirroring across locations.
Enterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaSNew York, US
Joel Spolsky(Founder)inMichael Howard Pryor(Executive Officer, Director)Avram Joel Spolsky(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardBijan Sabet(Director)
Co-investorsSpark Capital
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 · 2
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioUberNYSE: UBERWealthfrontNASDAQ: WLTH
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Robinhood · techcrunch.com · Aug 5, 2026
Wealthfront · marketbeat.com · Jul 18, 2026
Calm · funderintel.com · Jul 16, 2026
8090 · businesswire.com · Jun 30, 2026
Uber · fxleaders.com · Jun 25, 2026
Superhuman · trysignalbase.com · Oct 31, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has LAUNCH made?
- LAUNCH has 6 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
- What stage does LAUNCH invest at?
- LAUNCH invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is LAUNCH's typical check size?
- LAUNCH typically writes checks of $100K – $500K.
- What sectors does LAUNCH focus on?
- LAUNCH focuses on Sector Agnostic.
- Where is LAUNCH located?
- LAUNCH is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does LAUNCH lead rounds?
- Yes, LAUNCH leads investment rounds.
- Who does LAUNCH co-invest with?
- LAUNCH most often shares deals with Felicis Ventures, Jude Gomila, Andreessen Horowitz, among 46 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamJason Calacanis has built a front-row seat to the future of technology
SiliconANGLE theCUBE · Jason Calacanis
All In Podcast Host Jason Calacanis Overviews Liquidity Summit in Napa Valley
New York Stock Exchange · Jason Calacanis
Inside All-In: Investing Lessons from Elon, Trump, Travis K | Jason Calacanis
The Peel with Turner Novak · Jason Calacanis
What Does This Mean for America - Jason Calacanis
Triggernometry · Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis Tells the Origin Story of The All-In Podcast | The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss · Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis: Startups, Angel Investing, Capitalism, and Friendship | Lex Fridman Podcast #161
Lex Fridman · Jason Calacanis
Images
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