NextFab Ventures
Venture capitalPhiladelphia · Pre-Seed–Seed
Find your way into NextFab Ventures
Investment thesis
NextFab Ventures backs pre-seed, hardware-focused startups building venture-scale companies in critical technologies such as robotics, automation, cleantech, and physical AI, where early technical risk keeps strong companies from getting funded. The firm aims to systematically derisk breakthrough technologies by pairing seed capital with hands-on engineering support, business coaching, and milestone-driven execution. Through deep technical engagement and access to contract manufacturers, advisors, and downstream investors, it helps founders reach the inflection points that unlock Series A and beyond.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
What they invest in
from 27 of 31 portfolio companiesHardware ×13AI & Machine Learning ×8Cleantech ×7Medical Devices ×7Deep Tech ×6AgTech ×5Climate Tech ×5Energy ×5
HQs:United States×14
Who they back
founder profiles across 17 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×102 founders×33 founders×34+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 17 founders with education data
Cornell ×2Purdue University ×2University of Pennsylvania ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 17 founders with field-of-study data
Engineering ×9Life Sciences ×4Finance & Accounting ×3
Investments · 31 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2023 · 12022 · 12017 · 13 dated
Pike Robotics builds robots that inspect Above-Ground Floating Roof Storage Tanks, replacing manual inspection methods for oil & gas refining and product storage facilities.
EnergyHardwareRoboticsAustin, US
John Brumley(Chief Executive Officer, Cofounder)
Aepnus is developing a sulfate recycling process that regenerates chemicals on-site from sodium sulfate waste, with a planned demonstration-scale plant designed to process over 500 tonnes of sodium sulfate annually.
Circular EconomyCleantechNew Materials
Lukas Hackl(Founder)in
Co-investorsClean Energy VenturesISVLOWERCARBONLowercarbon CapitalVoyager PartnersIMPACT SCIENCE VENTURES+1 more
AgTechLogic develops intelligent precision spraying technology that combines hardware and software to retrofit existing spray equipment, reducing chemical use in agriculture and weed management.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningClimate TechData & InfrastructureHardwareMesa, US
Tom Gauthier(Founder/CEO)in
Biomeme develops a mobile molecular testing platform that brings laboratory-grade PCR diagnostics to the point of need, serving clinical partners and organizations that need real-time detection of biological threats and diseases.
BiotechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesPhiladelphia, US
Max Perelman(President & Chief Executive Officer)inMarc DeJong(Executive Officer, Director)Jesse vanWestrienen(Executive Vice President of Products)inMarc DeJohn(Executive Officer, Director)inJesse van Westrienen(Executive Officer, Director)Chris Woods(Chief Medical Officer)in
Co-investorsDarco CapitalRobin Hood VenturesMicroVentures
Bluesonde builds real-time water monitoring hardware and a data/intelligence layer for oceans, freshwater systems, and industrial waterways.
CleantechClimate TechHardwareIoT
Andrew Thompson(Technical & Strategic Lead)inJohn Williams(Mechanical Engineering Lead)inTim(Electrical Engineering Lead)Ben(Software Engineering Lead)in
Burro builds autonomous robots for agricultural and outdoor operations that mow, tow, carry, and spray to automate manual labor tasks.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningRobotics
Terry Scott(Founder)in
Co-investorsAsimov VenturesCatalyst InvestorsEverywhere VenturesF-Prime CapitalFf Venture CapitalRadicle Growth+5 more
ConnectDER makes meter socket adapters (meter collars) that connect residential solar, battery, and EV charging systems directly at the electric meter, avoiding panel upgrades and complex electrical work.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyHardwarePhiladelphia, US
Whitman Fulton(Executive Officer, Director)inIvo Steklac(Executive Officer, Director)inMark Gustafson(Director)
BoardDaniel Goldman(Director)inRajan Gupta(Director)Matt Coleman(Director)
Co-investorsBlackRockTemasekClean Energy VentureClean Energy VenturesEvergy VenturesLG Technology Ventures+2 more
Daxo Robotics develops a highly dexterous, tendon-driven robotic hand with 120 tendens and high degrees of freedom, offered with a Python-first API, ROS wrapper, and simulation assets.
Deep TechHardwareRobotics
Tom Zhang Jiahao(Founder)in
Co-investorsBig Brain Holdings
Deepwave Digital designs AI-driven RF, wireless, and edge computing systems for real-time signal classification, detection, and spectrum intelligence.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechPhiladelphia, US
John David Ferguson(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsJumpStart New Jersey Angel NetworkRobin Hood Ventures
Dottir Labs is an MIT spinout developing reagent-free optical sensor systems for real-time, detailed chemical analysis of water, detecting nutrients, metabolic markers, and organic and non-organic waste products.
AgTechDeep TechHardware
Co-investorsMassVentures
Florrent develops bio-based supercapacitors with higher energy density than standard supercapacitors, aimed at short-duration power quality and reliability applications such as data center backup power, grid reliability, and renewables firming.
CleantechDeep TechEnergyAmherst, US
Joseph Hastry(Executive Officer, Promoter)Alexander Nichols(Director, Promoter)Jose LaSalle(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardChristopher Noble(Director)Priya Yadav(Director)in
Co-investorsACADEMY INVESTORAIN VenturesMassVenturesRaven CapitalBoston Impact Initiative (BII)
Flux Marine designs and manufactures all-electric outboard motors and electric propulsion systems for boats, selling to companies and individual customers.
CleantechHardwareMobility & TransportationEast Greenwich, US
Jonathan Lord(Cofounder)Ben Sorkin(Director)inDaylin Frantin(Co-founder)
Co-investorsSlater Technology FundWinklevoss CapitalCollide Capital
Haylon Technologies develops battery management systems and software for optimizing performance across drones, electric vehicles, grid storage, and space applications.
AI & Machine LearningClimate TechEnergyHardwareChampaign, US
Namin Shah(Co-Founder & CEO)inDante Vaisbort(Co-Founder & COO)inRaj Lulla(Co-Founder & CTO)in
Co-investorsTechstars
Hexmodal provides IoT devices and a dashboard that automate required life safety and environmental compliance testing—covering emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, room pressure, cold storage, and leak detection—for facilities teams.
IoTPropTechSaaS
Hubly Surgical makes the Hubly Drill, an FDA-cleared single-use cranial access kit and cordless drill for bedside neurosurgical procedures such as drilling burr holes and EVD placement.
HardwareHealthtechMedical Devices
Casey Qadir(Founder)Casey Q(Founder)Jack Mahoney(Founder)in
Co-investorsCitrine AngelsGolden Seeds
Neuralert develops a patented algorithm and wearable technology aimed at early stroke detection.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
Det Ansinn(CEO)inSteven Messé(Co-Founder)James Weimer(Co-Founder)inBrian Kieser(CFO)
PortableDx develops the Integrity-1 Analysis System, a portable microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip drug testing platform that delivers lab-quality results in about five minutes using very small sample volumes.
HardwareHealthtechMedical Devices
Precision Livestock provides a machine vision camera system that monitors cattle feed bunks and feeding behavior around the clock, converting the data into graphs, charts and alerts.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningIoT
Co-investorsCheckmate Capital Group LLC
Pression LLC develops Wave PRO, a non-invasive external counterpulsation (ECP) therapy device using lightweight calf sleeves for adults with Chronic Stable Angina who are not candidates for revascularization.
HardwareHealthtechMedical DevicesCoatesville, US
Adam Salamon(Executive Officer, Director)
Rhoic develops a field-induced reactor technology called the Maxwell Reactor, which uses catalyst-coated conductive nanofibers and high-frequency AC fields to run chemical reactions at near-ambient temperature and pressure.
CleantechDeep TechNew Materials
John Slack(Co-Founder & CEO)Ashley Bernstein(Co-Founder & COO)in
THE MOST is a marketplace and hardware platform for natural hair care products and solutions tailored to Afro-textured hair, serving Black women seeking simplified grooming solutions and culturally-informed products.
B2B MarketplacesConsumerWellness & FitnessWashington, US
Dawn Myers(Founder and CEO)in
Co-investorsTechstars
SOLUtion Medical is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing reconstitution drug-delivery products, including its dual-chamber TwistJECT prefilled syringe and auto-injector for treating adrenal crisis.
BiotechDigital HealthMedical Devices
Julia Anthony(Founder & CSO)in
Co-investorsBand of AngelsLife Sciences Greenhouse InvestmentsNW Angel
Strados Labs builds wearable biosensors and a cloud platform that continuously capture and analyze respiratory data — including cough, spirometry, FeNO, and eCOA endpoints — in patients' daily lives.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDigital HealthMedical DevicesPhiladelphia, US
Nick Delmonico(CEO & Co-founder)Yu Kan Au(Clinician Co-founder)Richard Powers(Executive Officer, Director)Steve Bishop(Director)Robert Ball(Director)Alex Levit(Director)
Co-investorsBand of AngelsBrincBroad Street AngelsCathexis VenturesNeer Venture PartnersBlu Venture Investors+2 more
Strella makes sensors that monitor ethylene, the gas that drives ripening in fruits and vegetables, to track produce freshness across the supply chain.
AgTechBiotechFoodTechHardwareSeattle, US
Katherine Sizov(Executive Officer, Director)inJacob Jordan(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardEric Linn(Director)Nolan Paul(Director)inBrett Topche(Director)in
Co-investorsCatapult VenturesDorm RoomMillennium New HorizonsMillennium Technology Value PartnersRed & Blue VenturesSiddhi Capital+3 more
SUNFISH is a person-portable autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) using onboard AI and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) to autonomously explore and map complex undersea environments.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechRobotics
Co-investorsALLEGIS CAPITALCoyote VenturesFiat VenturesHaymaker VenturesMother VenturesWalkabout Ventures Llc
Unruly Splats develops an approach to teaching computer science and coding to children that moves away from isolated, screen-based, sedentary activities.
EdTechFuture of Work
Co-investorsAspira CapitalBrass Ring VenturesChloe CapitalWalnut Venture AssociatesAmazon Alexa FundLearnLaunch+1 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
Andluca TechnologiesEssential AeroGelTech LabsTourStream
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesDottir Labs · greentownlabs.com · Jul 29, 2026
Flux Marine · inforcapital.com · Feb 14, 2026
Sunfish · femtechinsider.com · Dec 1, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has NextFab Ventures made?
- NextFab Ventures has 31 tracked investments.
- What stage does NextFab Ventures invest at?
- NextFab Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What sectors does NextFab Ventures focus on?
- NextFab Ventures focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, AgTech, AI & Machine Learning, Cleantech, Deep Tech, Energy, Hardware, Healthtech, Medical Devices, Robotics.
- Where is NextFab Ventures located?
- NextFab Ventures is headquartered in Philadelphia, US.
- Who does NextFab Ventures co-invest with?
- NextFab Ventures most often shares deals with Band of Angels, Clean Energy Ventures, Catalyst Investors, among 51 tracked co-investors.
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