Pathbreaker Ventures
Venture capitalActively deployingSan Francisco · Pre-Seed–Seed · 1 people tracked
Also known as PATHBREAKER VENTURES II, LLC
Investment thesis
Pathbreaker Ventures focuses on backing highly specialized, determined founders working to solve some of the world's hardest problems. The firm invests across both novel hardware and software technologies, favoring companies pursuing uncharted or unconventional technical paths. Its emphasis on deep technical innovation suggests a deeptech orientation spanning frontier hardware and software categories.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 1 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 27 of 64 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×10Enterprise Software ×9Data & Infrastructure ×7Robotics ×7SaaS ×6Advanced Manufacturing ×5Deep Tech ×5Hardware ×5
HQs:United States×23
Investments · 64 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathOrderful provides technology for instant electronic data interchange (EDI) connectivity between trading partners, replacing traditional one-by-one connection setups with immediate, always-current integrations for any transaction type.
Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSSan Francisco, US
Erik Kiser(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inJohn McCarthy(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardGregoire Lehmann(Director)Daniel Ward(Director)David Ulevitch(Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Simbe provides retail inventory and monitoring solutions combining computer vision, robotics, RFID, and fixed sensors for retail businesses.
AI & Machine LearningRetail TechRobotics
Brad Bogolea(CEO)Ryan Gembala(Director)Subodh Gupta(Director)Mirza Akbar Shah(Executive Officer, Director)Bradley Douglas Bogolea(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Jay Douglas Knafel(Director)
Board seatRyan Gembala· per SEC Form D
Advanced ManufacturingParker, US
DONALD G MACK(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Palo Alto, US
Joshua Benjamin Looks(Executive Officer, Director)Itamar Arel(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
BeyondView provides AI-powered virtual whiteboxing and spec-suite visualization for commercial real estate, generating video walkthroughs, 360º panoramas, 3D maps, and AR tours from a floorplan and photos.
AI & Machine LearningPropTechSaaS
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Biobot pioneers wastewater epidemiology, monitoring pathogens and substances in sewage to provide real-time public health surveillance at the community level.
BiotechData & InfrastructureGovTechHealthtechBoston, US
Newsha Ghaeli(Cofounder & President)inMariana Matus(Founder)inVivek Pattipati(Director)Andrew Perlman(Director)Mariana Guadalupe Matus Garcia(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Warhead designs and manufactures advanced explosive ordnance systems for autonomous weapons platforms and drone applications.
Deep TechDefense TechHardware
Anthony Jones(COO and Co-Founder)Devan Plantamura(CEO)Jacob Lambuth(CTO)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
CleantechSouth San Francisco, US
Waleed Haddad(Executive Officer, Director)Anukool Lakhina(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Biomemory develops DNA-based data storage systems for data centers, offering an alternative storage tier optimized for long-term archival, density, and energy efficiency.
Climate TechData & InfrastructureDeep Tech
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Datagrid provides AI agents that automate workflows across disconnected enterprise systems and documents in construction and facilities management.
AI & Machine LearningConstruction TechEnterprise Software
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Diligent Robotics develops AI-powered robot assistants for healthcare settings, focusing on mobile manipulation and social intelligence to help hospital staff with routine non-patient-facing tasks.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesRoboticsAustin, US
Andrea Thomaz(Founder & CEO)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Esper provides device management software using DevOps principles for company-managed devices, automating provisioning and exception-based management across Android and other platforms.
Developer ToolsEnterprise SoftwareIoT
Yadhu(Co-Founder & CEO)inShiv(Co-Founder & Chief Business Operator)in
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
First Bite provides a sales and relationship management platform connecting food manufacturers directly with foodservice operators.
FoodTechMarketing TechSaaSSales TechRedwood City, US
Reed McCord(CEO)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Foxglove builds observability tooling and open-source software for robotics engineers to accelerate development and deployment.
Data & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Adrian Macneil(CEO and Co-Founder)Roman Shtylman(CTO and Co-Founder)Alexandra Sukin(Director)
BoardSeth Winterroth(Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Halen Mattison(Cofounder)Luke Neise(Cofounder)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
The page does not provide clear information about what Hyphen builds, who it serves, or its market.
FoodTechRobotics
Daniel Fukuba(Co-Founder / CTO)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Inevitable Tech builds a fully automated, plug-and-play plant propagation system that gives growers precise control over climate, lighting, and nutrients, using a closed-loop design with built-in perception to detect pests and disease early.
Advanced ManufacturingAgTechClimate TechHardwareRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Brandon Alexander(Founder/CEO)inJonathan Binney(Founder/CTO)in
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Ingest is a data management and analytics platform designed for restaurants and food & beverage businesses.
Data & InfrastructureFoodTechNew York, US
Daniel Meth(Executive Officer, Director)Linus Liang(Executive Officer, Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
INVISV develops privacy and security technologies for data in motion, including a Multi-Party Relay service that unlinks users' Internet requests from their identity, an encrypted video conferencing product (Booth), and a mobile privacy service (PGPP) that protects against IMSI-based location tracking.
CybersecurityDeep Tech
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Mux provides video infrastructure and API services for developers building video applications.
Cloud ComputingData & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareMedia & EntertainmentSan Francisco, US
Jon Dahl(Founder/CEO)inAdam Brown(Founder)inSteve Heffernan(Founder/Head of Product)inMatthew McClure(Founder)Kristina Shen(Director)Rick Hess(Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
nTop provides implicit modeling and field-driven design software that integrates physics simulation to accelerate engineering design iterations.
Advanced ManufacturingDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareNew York, US
Gregory Schroy(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Bradley Rothenberg(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Palo Alto, US
Marin Saric(Executive Officer, Director)Vladimir de Franceschi(Director)Goran Kukolj(Executive Officer)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Oway uses AI to match and sell unused truck capacity in real time, making freight shipping faster and cheaper for businesses while improving carrier margins.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Phillip Nadjafov(CEO + Founder)Henry Raschke(Head of Engineering)Will Honda(Chief of Staff)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Row64 provides real-time data visualization and analytics software that uses GPU-accelerated rendering to enable organizations to explore large datasets and make rapid, data-driven decisions.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainCheyenne, US
John Hantzis(CEO & Founder)Michael Isner(Co-founder & CEO)Marc Stevens(Co-founder & CTO)June Isner(Chief Data Scientist)Jeff Brown(Director)
BoardJeremy Kirsch(Director)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Atlanta, US
Thiago Olson(Director)Blake Patton(Director)Dennis Siedlak(Executive Officer, Director)Christopher Smith(Executive Officer, Director)John Jakomin(Executive Officer)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Solideon is a manufacturing platform specializing in bespoke aerospace vehicle production, including custom-designed aircraft and components.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningCleantechHardwareRoboticsSpace TechDenver, US
Oluseun Taiwo(Founder & CEO)Joel Ilfill(CTO)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
San Francisco, US
Virgilio Pigliucci(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Kieran Fitzpatrick(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
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
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Relativity builds AI-powered software for legal teams to manage and analyze legal data, including document review, privilege analysis, and case strategy.
AI & Machine LearningLegalTechSaaS
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
ThinkOrbital develops scalable, pressurizable space infrastructure platforms for cislunar space applications including satellite servicing, in-space manufacturing, storage, and refueling.
Deep TechDefense TechHardwareSpace Tech
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Philadelphia, US
Elizabeth Hunter(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Steven Chen(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Michael Shomin(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
PartnerRyan Gembala· solo GP
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Pathbreaker Ventures invest at?
- Pathbreaker Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Pathbreaker Ventures's typical check size?
- Pathbreaker Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $1M.
- What sectors does Pathbreaker Ventures focus on?
- Pathbreaker Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Deep Tech, Hardware, Robotics.
- Where is Pathbreaker Ventures located?
- Pathbreaker Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
- Does Pathbreaker Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, Pathbreaker Ventures leads investment rounds.
Images
Co-investors · 3
Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies, with a strong current focus on artificial intelligence.
Coatue Management is a technology-focused investment firm that invests across both public and private markets, with an active private portfolio of over 250 tech companies.
Firms observed investing alongside Pathbreaker Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Pathbreaker Ventures's recorded portfolio.
Similar investors
Crosscut Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that has backed founders across industries and geographies since 2008.
DCVC (Data Collective) is a venture capital firm that backs founders building companies which apply technology to major challenges across areas such as energy, biotech, agriculture, and machine learning.
FoundersX Ventures is a venture capital firm investing in fast-growing companies across GenAI infrastructure, deep domains, and GenAI agents.
Future Positive Capital is an investment firm backing entrepreneurs building companies that address major global challenges and shape more sustainable, preferable futures.
Hyderabad Angels is an angel investor network founded in 2010, comprising entrepreneurs, industrialists, and family offices that back early-stage startups across India with capital, mentorship, and strategic networks.