Machina Ventures
Venture capitalActively deployingSan Francisco · 2 people tracked
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Investment thesis
The firm focuses on the 'programmable economy' — leveraging AI to take autonomous action directly within preset systems and rules, with particular emphasis on blockchain-integrated applications. This thesis reflects a focus on combining artificial intelligence with decentralized infrastructure to enable autonomous decision-making and execution within constrained environments.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 2 people
from the firm's websiteWhat they invest in
from 19 of 26 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×9SaaS ×5Cybersecurity ×4Enterprise Software ×4Digital Health ×3Hardware ×3Climate Tech ×2Deep Tech ×2
HQs:United States×12Australia×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 16 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×92 founders×53 founders×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 12 founders with career history
McKinsey & Company ×3Google ×2
Investments · 26 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 22019 · 12017 · 14 dated
Revolutionizing space technology to make life multi-planetary
Hawthorne, US
Elon Musk(Founder)inBret Johnsen(Executive Officer)inGwynne Shotwell(Executive Officer, Director)Tom Mueller(Founder)
BoardAntonio Gracias(Director)inSteve Jurvetson(Director)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investors1/1 Capital137 Ventures1802 Ventures2080 Ventures3Spoke Capital4DX Ventures+206 more
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
The AI Foundation develops personal AI systems designed to align with each individual's values and goals.
AI & Machine LearningImpact & Social Good
Lars Buttler(Founder)inRob Meadows(Founder)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAbstract VenturesAlpha EdisonFounders FundMaC Venture Capital
Aircapture builds direct air capture systems that provide commercial and industrial customers with beverage-grade CO2 captured on-site from the atmosphere, offering an alternative to traditional CO2 distribution.
CleantechClimate TechHardwareBerkeley, US
Matt Atwood(Founder)inMichael DeDomenico(Director)inJerald Tenenbaum(Director)Kris Lotlikar(Director)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Akash Systems develops thermal management technology called Diamond Cooling, which integrates diamond with semiconductors to dissipate heat and improve efficiency in AI servers.
Deep TechHardwareSemiconductors
Alex Carter(Founder & CEO)Felix Ejeckam(Co-founder & CEO)inTy Mitchell(Co-Founder & Board Director)inPamit Surana(Chief Commercial Officer)inDaniel Francis(Chief Technology Officer)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsFounders FundKhosla VenturesACME CapitalAngel Collective Opportunity FundARC Angel FundBackstage Capital+12 more
Akili Interactive develops digital therapeutics that use video game-based interventions to target attentional control deficits in patients with ADHD, delivered through proprietary technology featuring adaptive difficulty algorithms.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthGamingHealthtechMedical Devices
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsDG Daiwa VenturesDG Ventures, Inc.Evidity Health CapitalJAZZ Venture PartnersRevelation PartnersWalnut Venture Associates+1 more
Aura provides AI-powered digital security and protection services for families and individuals across all ages.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerCybersecurityDigital HealthWellness & FitnessBoston, US
Hari Ravichandran(Founder)inBrian DeCenzo(President & Chief Financial Officer)inThomas Clayton(President & Chief Operating Officer)Adam Medros(Chief Product Officer)inSarah Cherng(Chief AI Officer)Kristin Lewis(Chief Product Officer (prior to May 2026 CPO reorganization; promoted from SVP Product, May 2022))in
Co-investorsAccelGeneral CatalystGranite HillPartech VenturesSignalFireTen Eleven+7 more
Averon provides authentication technology that verifies mobile users' identities without passwords or SMS codes, serving businesses and their customers who need secure and frictionless digital identity verification.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Wendell(Chief Executive Officer)Lea(COO & President)Hershey(Chief Technology Officer)Taro(Chief Creative Officer)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Companion connects animal health and wellness professionals with expertise and resources in animal pain management.
AgTechHealthtech
John Honchariw(Founder)in
BoardRoss PalmerStacy BurdickDuncan LascellesMike McFarlandMarty Becker
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsJazzya InvestmentsLerer HippeauMyelin VC
Endless West produces spirits using scientific flavor recreation methods, combining natural ingredients to replicate premium beverages while reducing production waste.
Circular EconomyFoodTechNew MaterialsDetroit, US
MardonnAlec
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBascom VenturesBloom8Casa Verde CapitalCollaborative FundFJ Labs+7 more
Austin, US
Paul Cross(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Sanjay Manickam(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardChristopher Shonk(Director)Charlie Walker(Director)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsATX Seed Ventures
Hamsa provides blockchain-based financial infrastructure for banks and central banks to support faster, cheaper clearing and settlement through its Unified Ledger platform.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureFintechNot stated, US
Adam Zbar(Founder, CEO)inHubert Wu(Founder, CTO)inWenhao Lin, PhD(Head of Hamsa Unified Ledger team)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAmino CapitalCommerce VenturesFlyover CapitalGateCap VenturesGreycroftHAVEN VENTURES+5 more
Ideaflow is a notebook application that aggregates knowledge from Slack, meetings, and documents to surface relevant information at the point of need.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSPalo Alto, US
Jacob Cole(Executive Officer, Director)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsDraper AssociatesFour Acres CapitalRaptor GroupSeraph GroupStreamlined VenturesSupernode Ventures+2 more
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Level was a financial services provider that offered advances and related products to very small businesses.
Fintech
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAscend Venture CapitalLightspeed Venture PartnersKhosla Ventures
LEXI develops smart lighting systems and IoT-enabled hardware for industrial and commercial facilities, enabling facility-wide connectivity and data-driven insights through networked lighting infrastructure.
Advanced ManufacturingClimate TechEnterprise SoftwareHardwareIoTPropTech
Scott Cahill(Chief Executive Officer (CEO))Deepak Saxena(Chief Technology Officer (CTO))Kelvin Ngan(VP, Operations, China)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsFuture Perfect Ventures
Ligandal develops precision medicine targeting technology, including its Peptide Direct Conjugate (PDC) platform driven by LigandAI and Predictive Interactomics, to guide therapeutics to specific disease sites at the molecular level.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep Tech
Andre Watson(Founder & CEO)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsFlucas VenturesHemisphere Ventures LLCSommet ABLearn Capital
Pex develops AI-powered audio and video content identification technology used to detect copyrighted content and user-generated content across digital platforms, serving music companies, rightsholders, and online platforms for licensing, royalty attribution, and fraud prevention.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMedia & EntertainmentSaaSSilicon Valley, US
Rasty Turek(Founder)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsEvolution VC PartnersIlluminate VenturesPartners ResoluteRockaway Ventures
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAltered VenturesGroundBreak VenturesRed Beard VenturesWhite Paper CapitalAiSprouts VC
Polygraf AI provides an inline data-governance and security platform that enforces organizational AI policies in real time, removing PII, secrets, and regulated content from prompts before they reach external LLMs and restoring it afterward.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareAustin, US
Yagub Rahimov(Executive Officer, Director)inVignesh Karumbaya(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesDOMiNO VenturesALLEGIS CAPITALAllegisCyber Capital
Properly provides vacation rental management tools and services for hosts, including self-service platforms and full property management operations across 45+ countries.
PropTechSaaS
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAsset Management CompanyFJ LabsThink+ Ventures Management, LlcAlleyCorpBain Capital VenturesGolden Ventures+4 more
Qoria provides digital safety and wellbeing solutions for schools, helping educators, parents, and students work together to protect children online and support their mental health.
CybersecurityDigital HealthEdTechSaaS
Tim Levy(Managing Director)Crispin SwanBen TriggerPaul Robinson
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Skillprint provides an AI platform and SDK that analyzes gameplay signals in real time to build cognitive and behavioral profiles of players, offering assessments for cognitive performance, learning, and mental wellness.
AI & Machine LearningGamingWellness & FitnessOakland, US
Chethan Ramachandran(Founder)in
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsChaos VenturesDaft CapitalVerissimo VenturesLearnStartNIREMIA CollectiveShanda Capital
Sunbasket delivers weekly meal kits and pre-made meals made with organic produce and clean ingredients to residential customers.
Direct to ConsumerE-commerceFoodTechSan Jose, US
Braxton Woodham(Director)Isobel Jones(Executive Officer)Donald Barnett(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardTim Connors(Director)Kevin Diestel(Director)inAdam Zbar(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsAugust CapitalFounders Circle CapitalRembrandt Venture PartnersSapphire VenturesSQN Venture Partners, LLCUnilever Ventures
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsKinetic Ventures, L.L.C.Prime Movers Lab
Regard builds an AI clinical insights platform that reviews EHR data to suggest diagnoses and draft clinical notes for physicians.
Eli Ben-Joseph(Founder)Nate Wilson(Founder)Thomas Moulia(Founder)
PartnerMatthew Stepka· solo GP
Co-investorsPLG VenturesCalibrate VenturesFoundryLux CapitalOak HC/FTSusa Ventures+3 more
Exits · 2
1 IPOs · 1 acquisitions · showing 1SpaceXNASDAQ: SPCX
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesAura · PR Newswire · Aug 5, 2026
Polygraf · thesaasnews.com · Oct 29, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Machina Ventures made?
- Machina Ventures has 26 tracked investments, 2 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What sectors does Machina Ventures focus on?
- Machina Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Crypto & Web3.
- Where is Machina Ventures located?
- Machina Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Who does Machina Ventures co-invest with?
- Machina Ventures most often shares deals with Alumni Ventures, FJ Labs, Flucas Ventures, among 84 tracked co-investors.
Images
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