MDSV CAPITAL
Venture capitalActively deployingPalo Alto · Pre-Seed–Growth · 4 people tracked
Investment thesis
MDSV Capital pursues an 'Emerging Manager Alpha at Scale' strategy, investing in the top 1% of sub-$100M emerging manager funds (EMFs) to gain balanced early-stage exposure, then leveraging those funds' untapped pro-rata rights to invest directly in the fastest-growing early-growth outliers within their portfolios. The firm anchors its ecosystem with The Promontory, an invitation-only community of emerging managers and LPs, plus the Emerging Horizons conference series and quarterly events, giving it data intelligence and early access to promising companies. Its Emerging Outliers Fund targets sectors tied to the current innovation supercycle, including AI, B2B enterprise, defense tech, deep tech, and the automation economy. It also runs a Capital Extension Program serving as an 'Opportunity Fund' for EMFs.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 23, 2026.
Team · 4 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 17 of 23 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×11Fintech ×6Crypto & Web3 ×4SaaS ×4Defense Tech ×3Enterprise Software ×3Cloud Computing ×2Cybersecurity ×2
HQs:United States×10
Who they back
founder profiles across 8 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×42 founders×33 founders×1
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 23 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathSan Francisco, US
Board seatMichael Downing· per SEC Form D · $3.7M raise · filed Sep 2022
AccuKnox provides a Zero Trust runtime security platform covering AI, API, application, cloud, container, Kubernetes, and supply chain security for enterprise DevSecOps and security teams.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurity
Co-investorsAvanta VenturesDreamit VenturesNational Grid PartnersDolby Family VenturesOutliers VCZ5 Capital
Anduril builds autonomous systems and software for defense and military applications, including attack aviation, unmanned aircraft, and underwater vehicles, unified by an autonomy platform.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechHardwareRobotics
Palmer Luckey(Founder)Brian Schimpf(CEO)inTrae Stephens(Founder)in
Co-investors137 Ventures1Flourish Capital8VCAltra VentureAndreessen HorowitzAnorak Ventures+82 more
Arcoscan develops biometric and AI-based age verification technology, built in collaboration with SRI International, that identifies a user's age through a face scan rather than physical IDs.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeep Tech
Co-investorsSparq Capital (SFO)
Kompliant provides an AI-powered workflow automation platform for compliance management and fraud detection, accessible through a single integration.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSaaS
Co-investorsCasa Verde Capital
Cypher provides a non-custodial crypto card and payment protocol that enables users to spend cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in everyday life with in-app swaps and cross-chain bridges.
Crypto & Web3FintechSan Francisco, US
Kuberan Marimuthu(Founder)inJOHN WALKER(CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND MEMBER OF BOARD OF MANAGERS)BRANDON FUGAL(MEMBER OF BOARD OF MANAGERS)
BoardGLEN D MELLA(MEMBER OF BOARD OF MANAGERS)BRANDON D FUGAL(MEMBER OF BOARD OF MANAGERS)R. DUFF THOMPSON(MEMBER OF BOARD OF MANAGERS)
Co-investorsY CombinatorCoinbase VenturesLeonis CapitalTRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital)RevRoad Venture
Designer Fund is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies using design to improve health, sustainability, and prosperity, and supports founders with design expertise and resources.
Sector Agnostic
Co-investorsSparq Capital (SFO)
FalconX is a digital assets prime brokerage providing institutional clients with 24/7 access to liquidity and capital solutions through proprietary technology designed for risk management in volatile markets.
Crypto & Web3FintechSan Mateo, US
Raghu Yarlagadda(Founder)inAustin ReidinSuzy WaltherinBrian CristinVanessa Zhangin
BoardShekhar Kirani(Executive Officer, Director)in
Co-investorsAccelAccompliceB Capital GroupB4 CapitalCleo CapitalCoinbase Ventures+11 more
HF0 is a residency program for repeat founders, providing a cohort-based batch structure that culminates in a demo day.
Future of Work
Co-investorsDeep AcreIntegra GroupeLevel Ventures
LeoLabs operates a network of ground-based radars and an AI-enabled cloud platform that tracks and maps objects and activity in low Earth orbit.
AI & Machine LearningDefense TechSpace Tech
Daniel Ceperley(Founder)in
Co-investorsHemisphere Ventures LLCNZ Growth Capital PartnersSeraphim SpaceSpace CapitalSparq Capital (SFO)Velvet Sea Ventures+2 more
Radiant builds compute infrastructure and services designed to operate as a utility, providing the foundational platform for AI and intelligence applications at scale.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingData & Infrastructure
Mahdi Yahya(President)Vishal Padiyar(Executive Chairman)
Co-investorsBanyan VenturesEpisode1Insiders VenturesInvariantes FundSparq Capital (SFO)Flucas Ventures
Original Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in founders building vertical software and fintech companies.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSMiami, US
Sumeet GajriRamnik Arora
Co-investorsFjor FoundersWayfinder Ventures
Recursive Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm investing in US pre-seed and seed technology startups applying artificial intelligence.
AI & Machine LearningSan Francisco, US
Silent Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in founders building aerospace, defense, and national security companies.
Deep TechDefense TechDallas, US
Jackson Moses(Founder & Managing Partner)
Co-investorsIronGate Capital AdvisorsAirbusBlackstone
SkyLink is an AI-powered chat-based corporate travel booking platform that enables users to book flights and hotels in seconds through conversational interfaces while automatically applying company travel policies and preferences.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSTravel & HospitalityNew York City, US
Atyab Bhatti(Founder)inKush Maheshwari(Founder)in
Co-investorsAbstract VenturesRoot and Shoot VenturesY CombinatorGold House Ventures
Solsniper is an AI-powered trading terminal for Solana memecoins, offering features like MemeScope, trending and holdings tracking, and QuantGPT to help crypto traders.
AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3Fintech
Co-investorsD1 VenturesSevenX Ventures
Vitrina is a membership-based intelligence platform for the global entertainment supply chain, offering an AI assistant (VIQI) plus a curated database of companies, content titles, and executive profiles to help users plan content acquisitions, raise production financing, and find production, distribution, and vendor partners.
AI & Machine LearningMedia & EntertainmentSaaS
Co-investorsArka Venture LabsFoster VenturesSparq Capital (SFO)
Vectara is an enterprise agent platform for building AI agents deployable via SaaS, customer-managed VPC, or on-premise, with model-agnostic support and built-in governance.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareCupertino, US
Tallat M. Shafaat(Founder)Amr Awadallah(Founder)in
Co-investorsBrighter CapitalFusionPage One VenturesSamsung NextSparkLabs KoreaSparq Capital (SFO)+5 more
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.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesAnduril · bloomberg.com · Aug 10, 2026
HF0 · pulse2.com · Jul 31, 2026
FalconX · axios.com · Jul 15, 2026
Silent Ventures · techstartups.com · Jul 2, 2026
Cypher · finsmes.com · May 27, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has MDSV CAPITAL made?
- MDSV CAPITAL has 22 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
- What stage does MDSV CAPITAL invest at?
- MDSV CAPITAL invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth stages.
- What sectors does MDSV CAPITAL focus on?
- MDSV CAPITAL focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Crypto & Web3, Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software, Future of Work, IoT, PropTech, Robotics, SaaS, Social, Space Tech.
- Where is MDSV CAPITAL located?
- MDSV CAPITAL is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.
- Who does MDSV CAPITAL co-invest with?
- MDSV CAPITAL most often shares deals with Sparq Capital (SFO), Coinbase Ventures, Y Combinator, among 51 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamLP10X - GPs don't need LPs to start investing - Michael Downing, Founding Partner, MDSV Capital
VC10X with Prashant Choubey · Michael Downing
Images
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