Fundraising Fox

Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels)

Venture capital

Santa Monica Β· Pre-Seed–Seed

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Investment thesis

Picks and Shovels is an operator-led investment firm focused on pre-seed and seed stage startups. Its thesis centers on companies that sell tools and infrastructure to other businesses β€” the 'picks and shovels' for those 'digging for gold' β€” rather than betting on the end markets themselves. This approach targets the enabling layer of emerging industries, backing founders building foundational products and platforms that others depend on.

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Seed
Check
$100K
HQ
Santa Monica, CA, US
Leads rounds
Follows
Instruments
Equity
Tracked investments
25

What they invest in

from 16 of 25 portfolio companies

AI & Machine Learning Γ—8Crypto & Web3 Γ—7Developer Tools Γ—6Fintech Γ—5SaaS Γ—5Enterprise Software Γ—4Cybersecurity Γ—2Digital Health Γ—2

HQs:United StatesΓ—4

Investments Β· 25 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path
Anonanon.com

Anon builds agentic AI solutions that deploy AI agents from prototypes to production systems for SMBs and Fortune 500 companies.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software

Co-investorsAbstract VenturesEx/AnteImpatient VenturesSpice CapitalUnion Square Ventures (USV)

Assistiv Labsassistivlabs.comJun 2022

Assistiv Labs provides browser-based tools that let web developers, QA engineers, designers, and accessibility specialists test their products on real assistive technologies (such as screen readers) across platforms.

Developer ToolsDigital HealthSaaSWhite Salmon, US

Weston Thayer(Founder)Andrew Hedges(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)

Co-investorsZenda

Cedarcedar.moneyin𝕏

Cedar Money provides cross-border payment infrastructure that combines stablecoin and fiat rails to help businesses move money internationally with T+1 settlements and currency exchange.

Crypto & Web3Fintech

Benjy Feinberg(Founder & CEO)

Co-investorsQED InvestorsDigital Currency GroupLattice CapitalNIVNode CapitalWischoff Ventures

Concrete

Protection of non-stable collateral in DeFi lending

Concrete Protocol DeFiconcrete.xyz𝕏

Concrete provides on-chain financial infrastructure that generates yield on crypto assets across multiple blockchains, using automated vault strategies that allocate, rebalance, and compound returns across DeFi opportunities.

Crypto & Web3Fintech

Co-investorsHyperithmHypersphere Ventures

daydreamwithdaydream.comin𝕏

daydream provides organic search and AI visibility services, combining a defined methodology with AI agents and dedicated experts.

AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaSSan Francisco, US

Shravan Rajinikanth(Founder)

Co-investorsBasis Set VenturesMoth FundSouth Quad

Eventual

AI for insurance accounting teams

Eventualtreasuryeventualtreasury.com

Eventual is an AI-native platform for insurance teams that automates financial back-office workflows, including document and statement retrieval, direct bill and agency bill reconciliation, cash reconciliation, carrier payables, invoicing, and revenue reporting.

AI & Machine LearningFintechInsurTech

Mohit Chawla(CEO)

Glowstickglowstick.xyz

3D IDE and design platform for professionals and teams

Ion Protocolionprotocol.io𝕏

Ion Protocol is a lending and borrowing platform that lets users lend and borrow against staked and restaked crypto assets without price-based liquidation risk.

AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3Fintech

Co-investorsCollider VenturesMaelstromManifold VenturesRobot VenturesSevenX Ventures

Litvuelitvue.comin𝕏

Litvue provides legal engineering as a service, using software and AI to produce case-file-based work product for law firms without requiring them to build platforms or hire technical teams.

AI & Machine LearningLegalTechSaaS

Seth Fenster(Founder & CEO)

Masavamasava.com

Masava is a platform for wine and spirits distributors that manages orders, inventory, pricing, and payments in one system of record.

Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS

Co-investorsMoth FundRecall Capital

Morph AI
Morph AI Stealthmorph.aiin

Morph is an AI platform that automates software development tasks including code generation, testing, documentation, and bug fixing.

AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software

Gil Arditi(Founder)in

Co-investorsRackhouse Venture Management LpGeneral Partnership

Olympixolympix.security𝕏

Olympix builds automated smart contract security tools that help Web3 developers detect vulnerabilities early in the development cycle, before deployment or audit.

AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3CybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Channi(Founder)

Co-investorsboldstart venturesDigital Currency Group

Olympix Snyk for Web3olympix.ai𝕏

Olympix provides a security tool for smart contracts that deterministically analyzes Solidity code to identify and remediate vulnerabilities during development, before audits and deployment.

Crypto & Web3CybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Co-investorsCoalition Operators

Openlyticsopenlytics.io

Empowers business analysts to create their own data flows

Seattle, US

Pedro Pinto(Founder)

Osiris

B2B fintech fraud consortium leveraging ML

Runswitchboardrunswitchboard.com

Co-investorsBehind Genius Ventures

Skipskip.moneyin𝕏acquired by Interchain Foundation (Cosmos)

Crypto & Web3Enterprise SoftwareFintech

Co-investorsBain Capital CryptoFactionFigment

Slingshot

Foundational data model for psychology

Slingshot AIslingshot.xyz

Building Ash develops a foundation model for psychology delivered through Ash, an AI application that provides mental health support to individuals.

AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthMental Health

Neil Parikh(Founder)

Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzTMVFelicis VenturesForerunner VenturesRadical Ventures

Stellstell-engineering.comin

Stell builds AI-powered systems engineering software for requirements management and traceability, targeting hardware engineers working on mission-critical systems in aerospace and defense.

Defense TechSaaSSpace TechSan Francisco, US

Malory McLemore(Founder)

Co-investorsFulcrum VentureThird PrimeUrban InnovationLong Journey VenturesWischoff Ventures

Switchboard

Error monitoring and incident response platform

Vaporwarevaporware.network𝕏

Vaporware is a decentralized, peer-to-peer internet computer built on a purely functional virtual machine ("ship") that combines cryptographic identity, large-scale file storage, encrypted networking, and full-stack web applications into a single framework.

Crypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools

Co-investorsBlockwall

Exits Β· 1

IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolio

Skipacq. by Interchain Foundation (Cosmos)

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) made?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) has 25 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
What stage does Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) invest at?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
What is Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels)'s typical check size?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) typically writes checks of $100K.
What sectors does Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) focus on?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) focuses on Crypto & Web3, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Developer Tools, Enterprise Software.
Where is Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) located?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) is headquartered in Santa Monica, US.
Does Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) lead rounds?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Who does Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) co-invest with?
Picks and Shovels (Picks & Shovels) most often shares deals with Digital Currency Group, Moth Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, among 32 tracked co-investors.

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