Pay It Forward - PIF
Seed · 3 people tracked
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Investment thesis
Pay It Forward (PIF) is a seed-stage investor with a flexible mandate that describes itself as patient, long-horizon capital. It backs companies from the idea stage through to public listing, and in addition to investing it incubates companies, helps arrange financing rounds, and assists with recruiting.
Team · 3 people
from public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 26 of 28 portfolio companiesFintech ×7AI & Machine Learning ×6SaaS ×6Consumer ×5E-commerce ×4Enterprise Software ×4FoodTech ×4Hardware ×4
HQs:United States×14India×2Canada×1Iraq×1Mexico×1Poland×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 12 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×12 founders×53 founders×24+ founders×4
Where their founders studiedfrom 22 founders with education data
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur ×2Stanford University ×2Syracuse University ×2Vanderbilt University ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 22 founders with field-of-study data
Engineering ×6Business & Management ×5Economics ×5Computer Science ×2Finance & Accounting ×2Life Sciences ×2Mathematics & Statistics ×2Physics ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 24 founders with career history
Carta ×2Grinnell College ×2IBM ×2Kraken ×2Microsoft ×2Oracle ×2Saildrone ×2Slack ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
2 founders hold a PhD · 4 hold an MBA (of 24 with degree data)
Investments · 28 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2025 · 12018 · 12 dated
Ampaire develops hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aircraft, with the AmpDrive technology deployed across multiple aircraft types to reduce fuel consumption, maintenance costs, and noise emissions.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyHardwareSpace TechLos Angeles, US
Kevin Noertker(Founder)inCory Combs(Founder)inRyan Bilton(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investors1955 CapitalAutodesk FoundationDiamondStream PartnersHemisphere Ventures LLCSand Hill AngelsTechstars+5 more
BlackBuck operates a technology platform for the trucking industry.
B2B MarketplacesLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSBangalore, IN
Rajesh Yabaji(Founder)inChanakya HRidaya(Executive Director and COO)inRamasubramaniam B(Founder)inSatyakam G N(Chief Financial Officer)inChanakya Hridaya(Founder)Ramasubramanian B(Founder)
Co-investorsAccelB Capital GroupB4 CapitalEvolution VC PartnersPeak XV PartnersSand Hill Angels+13 more
Chipper Cash provides a mobile platform that enables Africans to send money internationally to bank and mobile money accounts across 21+ African countries, plus payment cards and fractional stock investing.
Fintech
Ham Serunjogi(Founder)inMaijid Moujaled(Founder)in
Co-investors137 Ventures500 GlobalAsia Africa Investment & Consulting (AAIC)Better Tomorrow VenturesDebut CapitalDeciens+18 more
A payment platform that enables merchants to offer installment credit to customers at point of sale via mobile app, with funds settled directly to the merchant's bank account.
E-commerceFintechRetail TechMexico City, MX
Maximiliano Echeverria(Founder)inFernando de la Torre(Founder)inTom Alcorn(Software Engineer)in
Co-investorsY Combinator01Ventures8VCBain Capital VenturesCalibrate VenturesClout Capital+6 more
Frax Finance is a decentralized stablecoin protocol whose ecosystem spans stablecoins, lending, swaps, liquid staking and its own chain.
Sam Kazemian(Founder)inNader Ghazvini(Founder)in
Co-investorsElectric CapitalMorgan Crest
Hadrian operates AI-powered precision manufacturing factories for the aerospace and defense industrial base, producing precision components and offering manufacturing capacity as a service.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDefense TechRoboticsTorrance, US
Christopher Power(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Thomas Cobbs(Founder)inChris Power(Founder)Maurice Clin(Founder)Olivier Beg(Founder)Rogier Fischer(Founder)
Co-investors137 VenturesAndreessen HorowitzCapitalGCommodity CapitalConstruct CapitalCubit Capital+23 more
Hone is an online clinic offering telehealth consultations, doctor-prescribed medications, and biomarker testing to help aging men and women manage their health.
Digital HealthLongevityMedia & EntertainmentWellness & Fitness
Alba Mertira(Founder)inSaad Alam(Founder)in
Co-investorsEarl Grey CapitalFJ LabsFlucas VenturesGaingelsJustin “3LAU” BlauKnockout Capital+8 more
Kepler operates a satellite constellation designed to relay data between spacecraft in low Earth orbit and beyond, functioning as internet exchange points for space-to-space communications.
Advanced ManufacturingCloud ComputingData & InfrastructureHardwareIoTSpace TechToronto, CA
Mina Mitry(Founder)inJeffrey Osborne(Founder)Mark Michael(Founder)Wen Cheng Chong(Founder)
Co-investorsBDC Industrial Innovation Venture FundBerkeley SkyDeck FundCanaan PartnersDns CapitalEvolution VC PartnersGarage Capital+13 more
Lezzoo is a marketplace and delivery platform operating across Iraq and Kurdistan, serving restaurants, vendors, and consumers.
ConsumerFintechFoodTechLogistics & Supply ChainMarketplacesErbil, IQ
Rekar Botany(Founder)inYadgar Merani(CEO)inAla Battal(COO)
Co-investorsY Combinator
Lombard builds a financial infrastructure stack for Bitcoin, offering yield-bearing Bitcoin assets, institutional custody solutions, and developer tools that enable Bitcoin to function as an active financial instrument across multiple blockchains.
Crypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureFintechSaaS
Jacob Phillips(Founder)
Co-investorsHTX Ventures (ex Huobi Ventures)RR2 CapitalWeb3com VenturesPolychain Capital
Mighty Health provides a comprehensive health program designed to help older adults maintain and improve their daily functioning and independence.
HealthtechWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Felipe Lopes(Founder)inBernard Chang(Founder)inJames Li(Founder)in
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesGaingelsRRE VenturesStartXThird Act VenturesY Combinator+20 more
ORBT is a modular blockchain protocol presenting a "Unified Liquidity Layer" and a yield-earning product called the ORBT Module.
Crypto & Web3
PIF Advisory is a global services firm providing outsourced financial, operational, and strategic support—including bookkeeping, outsourced CFO, tax, HR, IT, and management consulting—to clients ranging from early-stage startups to multinational enterprises.
Enterprise SoftwareFintech
Pillar is a creator commerce platform that enables creators, coaches, influencers, and entrepreneurs to build online storefronts and sell digital products, memberships, courses, and services without requiring coding skills or a complex e-commerce stack.
ConsumerCreator EconomyE-commerceMedia & EntertainmentSaaSSan Francisco, US
Faisal Younus(Founder)inJessica Lam(Eng Hiring Manager)Neil PhilipMichael IvkovRyan Jiang(Vice President of Product)Shira Goldetsky(Recruiter)
Co-investorsCrucible CapitalEmles Venture PartnersSeabed VCY CombinatorACE & CompanyAnalog Ventures+10 more
PXP operates a cloud-native payment platform that lets merchants orchestrate multiple acquirers, payment methods, and currencies through a single integration, covering online, in-store POS, cross-border payments, and acquiring.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Resugar makes a plant-based sugar alternative that mimics the taste, texture, and cooking performance of sugar with half the calories and no artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols.
ConsumerFoodTechWellness & Fitness
Shiprocket is an end-to-end technology platform that simplifies logistics, checkout, payments, fulfillment, and cross-border trade for Indian e-commerce merchants and MSMEs.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsE-commerceLogistics & Supply ChainMarketing TechSaaSNot stated, IN
Saahil Goel(MD & CEO)inGautam KapoorinSunil Kumarin
Co-investorsPayPal VenturesTemasek500 GlobalBertelsmann India InvestmentsDas & Co.Evolution VC Partners+10 more
Shiru uses AI and material science to discover natural proteins and ingredients for use in food, personal care, agriculture, and advanced materials, reducing traditional development timelines from 5-15 years to 1-2 years.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechFoodTechHealthtechEmeryville, US
Jasmin Hume(Founder)inLawrence Lee(CTO)Geoffroy Dubourg-Felonneau(Machine Learning Lead)
Co-investorsEmles Venture PartnersGaingelsLux CapitalNourish VenturesS2G InvestmentsSGH Capital+12 more
Short Story designs and sells clothing made specifically for petite women, with sizes tailored to women 5'4" and under.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceMarketplacesSan Francisco, US
Samuel Hoffstaetter(Founder)inIsabella Sun(Founder)inDave Goldberg(COO)Irene Cheng(Short Story)Sage Bray(Head of People)Daria Niescierowicz(Executive Assistant)
Co-investorsCoughdrop CapitalNo Talking CapitalY CombinatorHyphen CapitalOperate VentureVenture Investment Associates+1 more
A co-living housing operator that provided shared residential spaces; the company was acquired by Common in 2021.
PropTechSan Francisco, US
Jon Dishotsky(CEO)inJosh Lehman(CTO)inMo Sakrani(CPO)Jesse Suarez(COO)inStephen Ripley(Vice President of Engineering)Lorraine Dorrow(Director of Talent)
Co-investorsBlue CollectiveBullpen CapitalTransition Level InvestmentsY CombinatorAvlok CapitalComcast Ventures+11 more
Stoic is a mental health journaling app that combines Stoic philosophy with psychological science to help users improve emotional well-being through self-reflection and resilience-building practices.
Digital HealthHealthtechMental HealthWellness & FitnessKraków, PL
Maciej Lobodzinski(Founder)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorAndreessen Horowitz
Talyn develops unmanned, battery-electric cargo aircraft that take off and land without runways using a two-vehicle system for regional cargo transport.
Advanced ManufacturingClimate TechDeep TechHardwareLogistics & Supply ChainSpace TechLos Angeles, US
Jamie Gull(Founder)inEvan Mucasey(Founder)in
Co-investorsInfinite CapitalSoma CapitalY Combinator
Terzo AI centralizes and processes enterprise documents from cloud storage, ERPs, and procurement systems, extracting metadata and providing analytics insights for finance, procurement, and legal teams.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLos Angeles, US
Al Giocondi(Founder)inBrandon Card(Founder)inPradeep Thangavel(Founder)in
Co-investors7BC Venture CapitalAlign VenturesGreat Oaks Venture CapitalInnovation Global CapitalTech Square VenturesTRAC (Third Round Analytics Capital)+1 more
Tribe Capital is a sector- and stage-agnostic venture capital firm that invests in seed to growth-stage technology companies, focusing on identifying and amplifying early product-market fit.
FintechSector AgnosticSan Francisco, US
Arjun Sethi(Chairman & Co-founder)inJonathan Hsu(Co-founder)inTed Maidenberg(Co-founder)inAlex Chee(Co-founding Partner & CEO of Termina)inJake Ellowitz(Co-founding Partner & CTO of Termina)inBrendan Moore(Co-founding Partner)in
Co-investorsBare VenturesEvolution VC PartnersKensington Capital Partners LimitedNimble PartnersSella Direct VenturesSmartGateVC+2 more
Unfurl operates a shared kitchen facility that allows customers to place a single order across multiple restaurant concepts simultaneously, delivering varied cuisines to households in one trip.
ConsumerFoodTechSan Francisco, US
Chris Tara-Browne(Founder)inAlex Kharis(COO)inMikhail Kokorich(Founder)inLiudmila Kokorich(Founder)in
Co-investorsVenture SolutionsY CombinatorCathexis VenturesOne Way Ventures
A company offering a managed model service (USF Series) that provides domain-specialized, right-sized AI models deployed on-premise, aimed at reducing the cost of running inference compared to per-token cloud API pricing.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise Software
Zeno develops nuclear batteries that convert heat from decaying radioisotopes into electricity for extended-duration applications in space and deep-sea environments where conventional power sources are inadequate.
CleantechDeep TechDefense TechEnergyHardwareSpace TechArlington, US
Jonathan Segal(Founder)inTyler Bernstein(Founder)inJake Matthews(Founder)
BoardArjun Sethi(Director)inSam Rohr(Director)John M. Richardson(Director)
Co-investors7percent VenturesAIN VenturesAlumni VenturesBalerion Space VenturesBeyond Earth VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)+19 more
Exits · 4
2 IPOs · 2 acquisitions · showing 1Talyn Airacq. by Ampaire
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Hadrian · prnewswire.com · Aug 6, 2026
Zeno Power Systems · finsmes.com · May 15, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Pay It Forward - PIF made?
- Pay It Forward - PIF has 28 tracked investments, 4 of which have exited, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Pay It Forward - PIF invest at?
- Pay It Forward - PIF invests at the Seed stage.
- What sectors does Pay It Forward - PIF focus on?
- Pay It Forward - PIF focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, Consumer, Fintech, Healthtech, PropTech.
- Who does Pay It Forward - PIF co-invest with?
- Pay It Forward - PIF most often shares deals with Evolution VC Partners, Sand Hill Angels, Techstars, among 107 tracked co-investors.
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