Fundraising Fox
OVO Fund
Venture capitalMenlo Park · Pre-Seed–Seed · 16 people tracked
Also known as OVO II MANAGER, LLC
Find your way into OVO Fund
Sign up to see every warm intro you have to OVO Fund
- Paths you didn't know you had: your email and LinkedIn already hold routes to the OVO Fund team. We find them for you
- 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: the friend-of-a-friend routes that take hours to manually find through your inbox or LinkedIn
- Answers now, not in days: momentum is everything in a raise. Skip asking around whether someone knows someone
Days of research, done the moment you sign in, with every route ranked by how warm it is.
Investment thesis
OVO specializes in the earliest, pre-seed stage — what it calls the 'negative one to zero' phase — backing bold founders with ambitious visions and the potential to define or create new categories. The firm positions itself as a founder-focused, human-centric partner that offers conviction alongside capital, aiming to be a founder's first call through pivots and milestones. It emphasizes helping teams find their footing when the path is unclear, providing guidance, resources, Series A introductions, and team-building support. OVO invests across Applied AI, enterprise tech, fintech, digital health, Web3, consumer, and SaaS, and highlights a track record of backing companies that became unicorns.
Source: firm website, verified Oct 13, 2026.
Team · 16 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
Founding partner of Ovo Fund and a former Partner at WI Harper for nine years, as well as co-founder of TinyPrints (acquired by Shutterfly). He advises Think + and sits on its Advisory Committee.
Rene J Caissie is the Co-Founder and CEO of Medeloop, a HealthTech company. His stated interests include healthcare policy, regulatory frameworks for medical research, and the development of HealthTech products.
Adam Kaufman is the founder and general partner of the Up2 Opportunity Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund, and manager of Ohio Ovo Fund III, LLC. He is a limited partner in Ovo Fund and Ovo Fund 2, where he also serves on the LP Advisory Committee as a Venture Partner, and he advises and serves on the boards of growth-stage companies. Kaufman hosts the Up2 podcast, founded the Up2 leadership gathering, has served as Cleveland Chapter president of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, and has guest lectured at Oberlin College's Entrepreneurship Program.
Gianfranco Filice is a Partner at OVO Fund, where he invests $250K–$750K in pre-product, pre-revenue founders, typically as the lead investor. OVO provided the first check into companies including Palantir, Wish, Sourcegraph, Addepar, Everlaw, and Signifyd, as well as Haize Labs, Tilde Labs, Context AI, and Accordance. Before OVO, Filice worked in TMT investment banking at Barclays and growth equity investing at Realization Capital, and he holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University.
Ilse Calderon is Chief of Staff to the CTO at Forge and a venture capital professional with over seven years of experience in business operations and startup strategy. She has led projects spanning consumer fintech product launches, data-driven project structuring, and operational scaling, while managing cross-functional relationships and industry analysis. Calderon is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and contributor focusing on opportunities within the Latinx demographic and direct-to-consumer business models.
Steve Ciesinski is founder and managing partner of Vencrest Partners, where he invests in and advises international venture capital funds and private technology companies. He previously served as president of SRI International and held C-level positions at Applied Materials, Octel Communications, and Resumix, and began his career at Procter & Gamble before working at Booz, Allen & Hamilton and Earlybird Ventures. He has been a faculty member at Stanford's Graduate School of Business for 15 years, teaching venture capital and entrepreneurship, and holds a BSEE and AB from Union College and an MBA from Stanford University.
Founder mafia
4 people who came through OVO Fund went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 24 of 35 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×12Enterprise Software ×8Fintech ×8SaaS ×6Healthtech ×4Cybersecurity ×3Digital Health ×3PropTech ×3
HQs:United States×24Japan×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 12 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×32 founders×43 founders×24+ founders×3
Where their founders studiedfrom 17 founders with education data
Stanford University ×6Stanford University Graduate School of Business ×4Harvard University ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 18 founders with field-of-study data
Computer Science ×9Engineering ×4Economics ×3Humanities ×3
Where their founders worked beforefrom 19 founders with career history
Google ×4PayPal ×3Adentro ×2Meta ×2Microsoft ×2Shopping.com ×2Silicon Valley Technology Partners ×2Stanford University ×2
Investments · 35 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2024 · 12023 · 22022 · 32021 · 32020 · 22016 · 32015 · 12012 · 217 dated
Palantir builds data integration and analysis platforms — Gotham for defence and government, Foundry for commercial operations — and deploys forward engineers inside customer organisations.
Palo Alto, US
Peter Thiel(Founder)inStephen Cohen(Founder)Nathan Gettings(Founder)Joe Lonsdale(Founder)inAlexander C. Karp(Founder)Alex Karp(Founder)
Co-investors137 Ventures8VCA*AiSprouts VCAkkadian VenturesAllied Venture Partners+74 more
Develops AI tools for tax and accounting professionals to improve compliance, financial planning, and decision-making capabilities.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechLegalTechSan Francisco, US
David Yue(Founder)inFinsam Samson(Founder)in
Co-investorsKhosla VenturesAlumni VenturesBasecamp FundCarya Venture PartnersDcode CapitalGen Capital+8 more
Addepar is a portfolio management platform that enables investment teams and CIOs to aggregate, analyze, and report on diverse asset classes—including liquid equities and private markets—within a single consolidated system.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareFintechMountain View, US
Joe Lonsdale(Founder)inEric Poirier(Chief Executive Officer and Board Member)inStephen Snyder(Executive Officer)inMitchell Bompey(Chief Financial Officer)inJason Mirra(Founder)
BoardLaurence Tosi(Director)in
Co-investors8VCBlumberg CapitalCollective LiquidityCota CapitalCraft VenturesCresset Capital+18 more
Agile Robots (思灵机器人) develops intelligent robotics systems combining AI with physical-world applications, with core technologies in robot perception, decision-making, force control, vision, operating systems, and deep learning.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningHardwareRobotics
Zhaopeng Chen(Founder)in
Co-investorsHongShan Capital GroupLinear CapitalSoftBank GroupSoftBank Vision Fund
Augmedix builds AI-driven documentation technology for clinicians, aiming to reduce time spent on technology so providers can focus on patient care.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechSan Francisco, US
Ian Shakil(Executive Officer, Director)inPelu Tran(Cofounder)inEmmanuel Krakaris(Executive Officer, Director)inPaul Ginocchio(Executive Officer)inSandra Breber(Executive Officer)inJoseph Marks(Director)
Co-investorsDCM VenturesEvolution VC PartnersGaingelsGreat Oaks Venture CapitalLifeSci Venture PartnersRock Health Capital+5 more
__Twitter.png)
Clayful Health provides accessible mental health resources and support for children and adolescents.
Digital HealthEdTechHealthtechMental Health
Maria Barrera(Co-founder)inMelissa Pelochino(Chief Experience Officer & Co-Founder)in
Co-investorsEdovate CapitalReach CapitalCharter School Growth FundCommon Sense VenturesWisdom Ventures
Cloudastructure provides cloud-based video surveillance and remote guarding solutions for multifamily property management companies.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurityIoTPropTechSaaSPalo Alto, US
Rick BentleyinGregory Rayzman(CTO)inLauren O'Brien(Chief Revenue Officer)inJames McCormick(Chief Executive Officer and Director)inELIZABETH FETTER(Director)GLENN FORRESTER(Executive Officer)
Co-investors500 GlobalSfventures Group LLCSand Hill AngelsTrinity Ventures
Dashworks builds an AI system designed to answer questions across an organization's internal knowledge and work context.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaSSan Francisco, US
Prasad Kawthekar(Recruiter)inPraty Sharma(Founder)inMichelle Telada(Operations)Zach Schwager(Head of Sales)Meg Bradshaw(Head of CS)
BoardAshish Toshniwal(Director)in
Co-investorsGaruda VenturesGSF AcceleratorJude GomilaPoint72 VenturesRosecliff VenturesY Combinator+11 more
Everlaw develops advanced software for e-discovery and litigation, helping organizations manage digital evidence and navigate complex legal proceedings.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingEnterprise SoftwareLegalTechNew York, US
AJ Shankar(Founder)in
BoardManu Kumar(Director)inSteven Sinofsky(Director)inTyler Sosin(Director)inJeff Friedman(Director)
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzCapitalGH.I.G. CapitalH.I.G. Growth PartnersK9 VenturesMenlo Ventures+3 more
Leonard Tang(Founder)Richard Liu(Founder)Steve Li(Founder)
Co-investors515 VenturesBeyond CapitalCelero Ventures Ltd.Firestreak VenturesJuniper Ventures Management, LlcSoma Capital+3 more
Juniper Square provides an investor management platform for private investment firms, combining an investor portal, investor CRM, and reporting tools to manage investments from onboarding through final sale.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechPropTechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Alex Robinson(Founder)inAdam Ginsburg(Founder)inYonas Fisseha(Founder)inEric Jenny(Executive Officer)in
BoardNick Shalek(Director)inElliot Geidt(Director)in
Co-investorsFelicis VenturesFlex Capital PartnersHighsage VenturesPharmStars VenturesPrecursor VenturesRedpoint Ventures+6 more
Just Women's Sports is a media brand focused exclusively on women's sports, producing editorial, social, video, live events, shows and merchandise for women's sports fans, athletes and brands.
ConsumerMedia & EntertainmentSports Tech
Haley Rosen(Founder)in
Co-investorsDrive by DraftKingsMuse CapitalRevolutionSupernode GlobalBlue Pool CapitalDapper Labs+2 more
KiwiCo creates hands-on project and activity kits designed to foster creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving in children, delivering them to families as ready-to-use enriching experiences.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerEdTechMountain View, US
Sandra Oh Lin(Founder & CEO)inBill Onderdonkin
BoardDavid Li(Director)Michael Yang(Director)Josh Kopelman(Director)in
Co-investorsFundersClubGFT VenturesKeiretsu Forum500 GlobalComcast VenturesFelicis Ventures+3 more
Landed provides housing loan program administration and management for hospitals and colleges, enabling employers to co-invest with employees for down payment assistance while managing compliance and program operations.
FintechHR TechPropTechSan Francisco, US
Jonathan Asmis(Founder)inAlex Lofton(Founder)inJesse Vaughan(Cofounder)inVivian Wang(Founder)in
Co-investorsAAF Management Ltd.MassMutual VenturesMission and MarketUlu VenturesWestern Technology InvestmentY Combinator+15 more
N0 Labs develops an open environment simulation platform that enables robotics and AI teams to accelerate robot development and testing by providing tools for perception and action systems.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Kristopher Luo(CEO)inNiel Ok(CTO)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorPalm Drive Capital
PayJoy provides financial services and credit access to unbanked and underbanked populations in emerging markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
B2B MarketplacesFintechImpact & Social GoodRetail TechSan Francisco, US
Mark Heynen(Founder)inDoug Ricket(CEO)inGib Lopez(Co-founder & COO)inTom Ricket(Co-Founder)inNick Zakrasek(President, Product Development)inAmy Pardee(General Counsel)in
Co-investorsAidenlair CapitalAssurant VenturesCeniarthCiti VenturesCompoundCore Venture Capital+22 more
Pesto Mastercard offers affordable credit for people with poor or limited credit history, positioning itself as an alternative to high-cost pawn loans.
FintechSan Francisco, US
James Savoldelli(Founder)inMonica Dean(Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel)Gabriel Dorsch(Senior Software Engineer)Tim Richey(Head of Operations)Wes Berry(Software Engineer)Morgan Jefferson(Hiring Manager)
Co-investorsActivant CapitalCommerce VenturesCore Venture CapitalSoma CapitalTruStage VenturesY Combinator+12 more
Relationship intelligence solution acquired by Salesforce.
Steve Loughlin(Founder)
Co-investors8VCAccelCanvas VenturesFelicis VenturesGlynn Capital ManagementGreatPoint Ventures+6 more
SellScale builds AI-driven tools aimed at helping businesses grow revenue, applying artificial intelligence to sales and outbound processes.
AI & Machine LearningSaaSSales Tech
Aakash Adesara(Founder)Ishan Sharma(Founder)in
Co-investorsFour Acres CapitalMute VenturesPear VCSoma CapitalBrowder Capital
Signifyd provides a commerce protection platform for online retailers to prevent fraud and consumer abuse through order scoring and financial guarantees.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityE-commerceFintechSan Jose, US
Mike Liberty(Founder)inRaj Ramanand(Co-founder)Rajesh Ramanand(Founder)inMichael Liberty(Founder)
BoardMichael Hirshland(Director)in
Co-investorsBain Capital VenturesMenlo VenturesResolute VenturesIA VenturesAllegisCyber CapitalBlue Owl Capital+14 more
SoundFocus develops audio distribution systems that enable individualized sound delivery in zoned spaces, with applications in healthcare environments including noise reduction in critical care units.
HealthtechMedical DevicesWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Alex Selig(CEO)inVarun Srinivasanin
Co-investorsY CombinatorAgrolimen VenturesAmino CapitalKapor CapitalRTA Capital | Suda, SteveVenture Investment Associates+1 more
-2.png)
Sourcegraph is a code intelligence platform that helps developers search, write, and understand code with insights from their entire codebase integrated into their editor.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareInsurTechSan Francisco, US
Quinn Slack(Founder)inBeyang Liu(Founder)in
BoardScott Raney(Director)inDaniel Friedland(Director)inDavid Sacks(Board Member (Craft Ventures))in
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzCraft VenturesRedpoint VenturesGoldcrest CapitalSequoia CapitalAmplify Partners+12 more
.jpeg){kind=logo}
Vecna Robotics provides autonomous mobile robot (AMR) systems and orchestration software for material handling tasks such as case picking, cross-docking, and warehouse workflows.
Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainRoboticsCambridge, US
Daniel Patt(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Bearman(Executive Officer)inKarl IagnemmainDaniel Theobald Dan Patt(Founder)
BoardDaniel Theobald(Founder)inNick Solaro(Director)in
Co-investorsBlackhorn VenturesDrive CapitalFontinalis PartnersTau VenturesTectonic VenturesUnless+6 more
Vested Finance is an investment platform that lets Indian residents and NRIs invest in over 10,000 US stocks and ETFs, including full and fractional shares.
FintechSaaSAustin, US
Sourabh Ahuja(Executive Officer)Mike Bruno(Executive Officer)Darwin Arifin(Founder)Eric Huynh(Founder)Viram Shah(Co-founder & CEO)Yinghan Lin(Founder)
Co-investorsCPP InvestmentsMorgan StanleyPremji InvestTA AssociatesThink InvestmentsTiger Global Management+10 more
Zerigo Health develops technology-driven digital therapeutics and care solutions for individuals living with chronic skin conditions.
Digital HealthHealthtechMedical Devices
Co-investors7wire VenturesCorewell Health VenturesGeneral CatalystH.I.G. CapitalH.I.G. HealthBridge PartnersSV Health Investors+3 more
.png)
Wish is a mobile-first, low-price e-commerce marketplace connecting mainly Chinese merchants with bargain shoppers worldwide.
San Francisco, US
Peter Szulczewski(Founder)inDanny Zhang(Founder)Piotr Szulczewski(Founder)
Co-investors137 Ventures8VCAcequia Capital (AceCap)AME Cloud VenturesCarbide VenturesChina Growth Capital+24 more
Zerostorefront Edge manufactures industrial data gateway hardware that secures local sensor data with end-to-end encryption and unifies SCADA network communication across multiple protocols (Modbus, DNP3, MQTT, OPC-UA) while maintaining sub-5ms latency.
CybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareHardwareIoTSaaSSan Francisco, US
Collin Wallace(CEO)inAshutosh Joshi(Founder)in
Co-investorsY Combinator500 GlobalCathexis VenturesKapor CapitalUlu Ventures
Kreation is a Web3 publisher platform for Japanese creators to go global, offering NFT-based commerce, metaverse fashion collectibles, and free-to-play gaming experiences.
Creator EconomyCrypto & Web3GamingTokyo, JP
Tatsuro IwamotoTomoya Ogawain
Co-investorsGlobal BrainSpiral CapitalW Inc.W venturesXTech Ventures
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
3Gear SystemsBrightCrowdCamp Six LabsContextSide ProtocolSuma Wealtht1 (aka t1 protocol)
Exits · 7
1 IPOs · 6 acquisitions · showing 2Palantir Technologies Inc.NASDAQ: PLTRDashworksacq. by HubSpot, Inc.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesVecna Robotics · globenewswire.com · Sep 12, 2026
Addepar · forgeglobal.com · Jul 26, 2026
PayJoy · PR Newswire · Jul 23, 2026
Pesto · startupintros.com · Jul 13, 2026
Signifyd · en.wikipedia.org · Jun 15, 2026
Just Women's Sports · femtechinsider.com · Jun 2, 2026
Vested Finance · prnewswire.com · Oct 15, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has OVO Fund made?
- OVO Fund has 35 tracked investments, 7 of which have exited.
- What stage does OVO Fund invest at?
- OVO Fund invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is OVO Fund's typical check size?
- OVO Fund typically writes checks of $250K – $750K.
- What sectors does OVO Fund focus on?
- OVO Fund focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Consumer, Crypto & Web3, Digital Health, Enterprise Software, Fintech, SaaS.
- Where is OVO Fund located?
- OVO Fund is headquartered in Menlo Park, US.
- Does OVO Fund lead rounds?
- OVO Fund typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does OVO Fund co-invest with?
- OVO Fund most often shares deals with Felicis Ventures, 8VC, Menlo Ventures, among 124 tracked co-investors.
Co-investors · 25
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.
Ulu Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm focused on finding and funding early-stage founder teams, emphasizing diversity and data-driven investment decisions.
8VC is a venture capital firm investing across logistics, life sciences, healthcare, IT infrastructure, and government/defense, guided by its Smart Enterprise thesis focused on data integration and platform network effects.
Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that backs technology companies building transformative products.
RRE Ventures is a boutique early-stage venture capital firm that backs founders across sectors, combining decades of experience with AI-driven analysis throughout the investment lifecycle.
Think + Ventures is an early-stage venture firm backing market-driven founders solving significant market pain points. It invests from seed through Series A, typically after an MVP.
FJ Labs is an early-stage investment firm specializing in marketplaces and network-effect businesses, taking an angel-style co-investment approach alongside institutional venture funds worldwide.
Trinity Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs mission-driven entrepreneurs and has been investing in breakthrough companies for over 30 years.
Catapult Capital is an operator-led investment firm that backs market-defining AI, internet, software, and life science platforms, pairing hands-on operating expertise with a founder network to create value.
Gaingels is a large venture investor that co-invests alongside lead VCs in companies committed to building diverse and inclusive teams, while advocating for LGBTQ+ representation and equity of access in venture capital.
A.Capital Ventures is an early-stage venture firm that provides funding, advice, and network access to founders building technology companies, offering hands-on support including a dedicated talent team.
Backstage Capital is an investment firm focused on supporting underrepresented founders. It publishes a weekly newsletter, The Mixtape, sharing news, opportunities, and stories for these founders.
▶13 more co-investors
Chingona VenturesVamosVenturesEverywhere VenturesDN CapitalZetta Venture PartnersParade VenturesCorrelation VenturesMetamorphic VenturesGanas VenturesSUPPLY CHANGE CAPITALCreative Destruction Lab (CDL)Brick Mortar VenturesMeta
Firms observed investing alongside OVO Fund, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with OVO Fund's recorded portfolio.
Similar investors
.jpeg){kind=logo}
B Capital is a global investment firm backing early to late-stage technology innovators across technology, healthcare, and energy & resilience sectors.
Hoxton Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs pre-seed and seed companies, often investing before revenue or product and offering hands-on support to founders.
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs bold, early-stage, technology-driven companies across deep tech and other sectors, providing hands-on 'venture assistance' to help founders build category-defining businesses.
OMERS Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in founders globally, with investment teams based in New York, Palo Alto, and Toronto.
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies.