Fundraising FoxMenlo Park · Pre-Seed–Seed · 1 people tracked
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Investment thesis
The fund backs 'irrationally intense' founder CEOs at the pre-seed and seed stages, writing checks of $250K or more. It differentiates through deep, trusting relationships with founders, providing people-operations expertise via on-demand office hours, direct messaging access, and a proprietary CEO 360 performance-review process. The founder draws on operating and executive experience from companies like Meta, Quora, and Bain Capital Ventures, plus board and multi-stage investing background, to help CEOs build company culture and navigate hiring, firing, compensation, and scaling challenges. A significant share of portfolio companies have a Stanford-affiliated founder.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 7, 2026.
Team · 1 people
from the firm's websiteWhat they invest in
from 48 of 54 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×35SaaS ×19Enterprise Software ×12Fintech ×9Deep Tech ×5Marketing Tech ×5Cleantech ×4Developer Tools ×4
HQs:United States×25Canada×1Switzerland×1Mexico×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 29 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×162 founders×103 founders×3
Where their founders studiedfrom 35 founders with education data
Stanford University Graduate School of Business ×5Harvard University ×3Stanford University ×3a16z speedrun ×2Bilkent University ×2Princeton University ×2The Wharton School ×2University of Pennsylvania ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 29 founders with field-of-study data
Computer Science ×15Engineering ×6Finance & Accounting ×6Mathematics & Statistics ×4Business & Management ×3Economics ×3Humanities ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 37 founders with career history
McKinsey & Company ×5Stanford University ×5Google ×4Andreessen Horowitz ×3Bridgewater Associates ×2Microsoft ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
4 founders hold a PhD · 5 hold an MBA (of 35 with degree data)
Investments · 54 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 22025 · 12023 · 14 dated
Animation Inc. builds a proprietary on-device AI model (Ani-2) that generates full-body 3D motion in real time to drive lifelike virtual characters and enrich LLM-based interactions.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechMedia & EntertainmentSan Francisco, US
Sergey Gonchar(CEO)inEugene Zatepyakin(CTO)Eugene Nevgen(CSO)inAndrew Yanchurevich(CPO)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investors75 & SunnyCosmic Venture PartnersCoughdrop CapitalDapper LabsDreamers VCFranklin Templeton+5 more
AnyReach builds AI "teammates" (AI SDRs and agents) that handle go-to-market tasks such as lead qualification, outbound prospecting, follow-ups, meeting scheduling, and customer success across voice, chat, email, and SMS.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSales Tech
Richard Lin(CEO)Mukunth Krishnasagar(CTO & Co-founder)inRichard L.(CEO & Co-founder)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsAntlerUntapped Capital
Arc provides a unified platform for managing cash, accessing competitive yield, raising debt capital, and using AI-powered financial services, serving businesses and organizations.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSan Francisco, US
Nick Lombardo(Founder)inDon Muir(Founder)in
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesCarya Venture PartnersClocktower VenturesLeft Lane CapitalNext Legacy PartnersNFX+9 more
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Bandana is a job search platform that recommends roles tailored to a user's experience and preferences, and offers tools to generate and enhance resumes, apply, and track job applications in one place.
Future of WorkHR TechMarketplaces
Timothy Makalinao(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsAngel Collective Opportunity FundCraft VenturesBain Capital VenturesGeneral Catalyst
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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)inMariana Guadalupe Matus Garcia(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardVivek Pattipati(Director)inAndrew Perlman(Director)in
Co-investorsAmerican Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social ImpactBlindspot Ventures Management CoDCVC (Data Collective)Dorm RoomHomebrewPathbreaker Ventures+21 more
BoltWise turns messy part descriptions and RFQs into searchable attributes, mapping customer and supplier part numbers to a distributor's own and automating PO generation and quoting.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSDenver, US
COLE WEILER(CEO & Co-Founder)inJie Min Wong(CTO & Co-founder)inJIE MIN WONG(Executive Officer, Director)in
BoardCHRIS ERICKSON(Director)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsFractal SoftwarePeterson VenturesRange VCService Provider CapitalSpringTime VenturesBienville Capital
Bunsen is a creative agency that helps science and deep technology companies develop strategic narratives and design to communicate their innovations to investors and the public.
BiotechDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechNew York, US
Ben Kellogg(Co-founder)inMichael Polansky(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsRiot Ventures
Casca provides business loan eligibility checks, with a focus on helping small businesses access SBA loans.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSan Francisco, US
Lukas Haffer(CEO & Co-Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsClocktower VenturesPeterson VenturesY CombinatorAndreessen HorowitzCanapi VenturesLitquidity Ventures+4 more
Clema builds battery-powered solid-state active cooling vests worn under PPE by industrial crews working long shifts in extreme heat, such as refinery, construction, and warehouse workers.
Advanced ManufacturingCleantechClimate TechHardwareWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Anna(Co-founder & CEO)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Costa provides observability and control for AI agents, showing developers the complete session including prompts, tool calls, and decisions across models like OpenAI, Anthropic, and others.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityDeveloper ToolsEnterprise Software
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
F2 is a private markets intelligence platform that helps investment firms leverage their institutional knowledge to screen, diligence, underwrite, and monitor deals more efficiently.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSNew York City, US
Don Muir(CEO & Co-Founder)inEmre Kazdagli(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesAngel Collective Opportunity FundLeft Lane CapitalNext Legacy PartnersNFXSoma Capital+11 more
Finia is a fintech platform offering digital personal loans and credit cards to small businesses in Mexico, using artificial intelligence to automate credit approval and management without requiring perfect credit history.
AI & Machine LearningFintech
Nicolas S. Bergengruen(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsDeciens
Finrank offers Rory, an engagement platform for auto loan borrowers that tracks vehicle value, delivers payment rewards, and identifies cross-selling opportunities to reduce delinquencies and increase indirect lending.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS
Shyam Pradheep(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Flitch provides cloud software for lumber and building material (LBM) suppliers, covering point of sale, order processing, accounts receivable, inventory management, purchasing, delivery/GPS logistics, and customer payment portals.
Logistics & Supply ChainRetail TechSaaSAltadena, US
Anthony Ho(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inDavid Mellstrom(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsFractal Software
ConsumerNew York City, US
Alan Du(Founder)inJason Cai(Founder)inDerrick Xin(Founder)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsLotus Venture PartnersY CombinatorAgrolimen VenturesGoodwater CapitalGopher US VentureMei Lin Capital+1 more
Galini provides a service that filters harmful inputs and outputs from AI applications according to company policies and industry regulations, enabling enterprises to create, test, deploy, and manage these safeguards.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSan Francisco, US
Shaun Ayrton(Founder, CEO)inRaul Zablah(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsClocktower VenturesThe MBA FundY CombinatorAndreessen HorowitzCapitalize VCGaingels+8 more
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GenPeach develops AI models, referencing diffusion models running on GPU clusters.
AI & Machine LearningZürich, CH
Artsiom Sanakoyeu(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Haptica builds washable, scalable tactile touch sensors and an integrated software pipeline that captures and processes high-fidelity tactile data to train dexterous robots.
AI & Machine LearningHardwareRobotics
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsGrit VenturesNVP Capital
Hexagon offers a single integration that connects a merchant's product catalog, pricing, and availability so items become discoverable and purchasable across AI shopping channels like ChatGPT.
AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail Tech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsNuMundo Ventures
Hilt provides data exfiltration detection and response using kernel-level telemetry, cross-domain correlation across cloud, SaaS, endpoints, and AI agents, and runtime host isolation.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise Software
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsPear VC
HyperGTM helps B2B companies build relationships and create demand through in-person events and direct mail, positioning these channels as performance marketing tools rather than brand-building exercises.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSaaSSales Tech
Adit Trivedi(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsFirst Degree CapitalHaatch
Kernel offers a data management platform that RevOps teams use to clean, deduplicate, and enrich account data and manage account hierarchies across enterprise CRMs.
Data & InfrastructureSaaSSales Tech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsKinnevikMoonfire VenturesAccelCintrifuse CapitalY Combinator
Mirai Labs builds on-device AI models, inference runtimes, and quantization stacks optimized for consumer hardware like phones and computers, enabling full-capability local intelligence without cloud dependency.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDeveloper Tools
Dima Shvets(co-founder & co-CEO)inAlexey Moiseenkov(co-founder & co-CEO)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsAndreessen HorowitzFuel Venture CapitalMento vcSamsung NextZ Venture Capital
Mosaic is a software and logistics company that combines LTL (less-than-truckload) freight expertise with modern technology to help manufacturers and distributors optimize shipments and reduce operational complexity.
Enterprise SoftwareLogistics & Supply ChainSaaSOntario, US
Jacquie Meyers(Fourth-generation President)Justin BailieRob DohertySrdjan Lakovic
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsRoar VenturesRadical Ventures
Courtyard.io is a marketplace and tokenization service that enables users to own and trade physical collectible cards on the blockchain, with options to store them vaulted, sell them, or redeem the NFT for physical delivery.
ConsumerCrypto & Web3MarketplacesMedia & EntertainmentNew York City, US
Devin Finzer(Founder/CEO)inAlex Atallah(Co-Founder & CTO)in
Co-investors1confirmationA.Capital Venturesa16z cryptoAndreessen HorowitzBalaji SrinivasanBlockchain Capital+37 more
Osmo is an AI-native storytelling studio that produces films and offers Osmo Studio, an editing tool for storytellers.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMedia & Entertainment
Will Hoppin(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsBain Capital VenturesCollaborative FundBasis Set VenturesMVP Ventures
Pika provides AI-powered creative tools for making videos and images.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyMedia & EntertainmentPalo Alto, US
Demi G.(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsBeyond CapitalGreycroftHomebrewLightspeed Venture PartnersSignalRankSV Angel
Pinnacle provides text-based management coaching delivered via Slack, connecting managers with coaches for personalized guidance on leadership skills, team engagement, and conflict resolution.
Future of WorkHR Tech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investors57Blocks CapitaleLab Ventures
Pravah.ai is an AI lab building foundational machine learning models for electricity utilities, using deep learning forecasting, graph neural networks, computer vision, and reinforcement learning to forecast demand, map grid assets, model grid constraints, and simulate grid scenarios.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechEnergy
Shaurya Pratap Singh(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Predictive Horizons builds an intelligence layer for the mobility service industry that ingests telematics, work-order, technical documentation, and parts data to help diagnose vehicle issues, surface evidence for technicians, and capture resolution reasoning for reuse.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMobility & TransportationSaaSSan Ramon, US
Mohamad (Moe) Yassine(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsNorthside Ventures
Rork Max is an AI-powered platform that enables developers to build and ship native iOS applications and games through conversational AI, with support for creating multiplayer games with physics simulations.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsGamingSaaS
Daniel Dhawan(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsChapter OneFoundersHustle FundLeft Lane CapitalMento vcPeak XV Partners+8 more
San Francisco, US
Yibo Ling(Founder)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsBasis Set VenturesThirdstream PartnersTwine VenturesGradient Ventures
Scope Zero offers the Climate Savings Account (CSA), an employer-provided benefit that helps employees lower the upfront cost of home and transportation upgrades to reduce utility bills, fuel costs, and carbon emissions.
CleantechClimate TechFintechFuture of WorkHR TechImpact & Social Good
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsCollaborative FundDifferential VenturesHearstLabThe MBA Fund
Sirius helps consumer subscription brands reduce customer churn and retain revenue through AI-powered tools that automate retention operations and deliver personalized offers at cancellation moments.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerSaaSSales TechSan Francisco, US
Azamat Khamidov(Co-founder & CEO)inBenazir Toleubekova(Co-founder & CTO)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsBroom Ventures
Skyfire provides financial infrastructure that enables AI agents to transact autonomously—making and receiving payments, managing accounts, and accessing services globally without traditional financial intermediaries.
AI & Machine LearningFintechSector AgnosticSan Francisco, US
Amir Sarhangi(CEO)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsArrington CapitalBlitzscaling VenturesCircle VenturesCoinbase VenturesDCVC (Data Collective)Draper Associates+16 more
Skyward develops a lightning wildfire prevention system that uses AI to forecast where lightning is most likely to ignite wildfires and releases inert atmospheric materials to reduce cloud-to-ground strikes before fires start.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechClimate Tech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsActive Impact InvestmentsAngel Collective Opportunity FundCity LightClimate Innovation CapitalDangerous VenturesDiagram+1 more
Somastacks builds infrastructure for physical AI, spanning from high-quality data collection to model deployment.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechRobotics
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Soulside builds AI-driven tools for clinicians in behavioral healthcare, including automated clinical documentation and real-time insights.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMental HealthSaaS
Surabhi Bhandari(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsAngel Collective Opportunity FundCounterpart VenturesGreyMatterKaya Ventures
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Streamlane is an AI-driven parcel spend management platform that consolidates shipping data, automates invoice audits, models carrier and network changes, and benchmarks rates to reduce shipping costs.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsBrighter CapitalLeadout Capital
Syntro builds AI agents that discover, select, and manage component suppliers for hardware manufacturers, covering the procurement lifecycle from first design through mass production.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningHardware
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Takeoff41 builds TPN2.0, an AI-guided total parenteral nutrition (TPN) ordering system for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) that integrates with EHR systems to track fluids and nutrition and generate safe, compoundable prescriptions.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsFocal Ventures
Reston, US
Glynn Christopher LoPresti(Executive Officer, Director)Sean Barkman(Director)James Zimmerman(Executive Officer, Director)Alexander Rhea(Executive Officer)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsBallast Point Ventures
Tely AI generates search-optimized content at scale across multiple languages and automatically structures it for lead conversion and SEO performance.
AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsMento vcDating Group
Tessel Biosciences develops AI models of human physiology to support drug discovery, including generative chemistry and target discovery tools, and is advancing its own therapeutic pipeline.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechCambridge, US
Naren Tallapragada(Founder)Arvind Thiagarajanin
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsLifeX VenturesThe E14 FundUndeterred Capital
Compute Index provides financial infrastructure for compute traders, including live compute price data on Bloomberg terminals, private deal tracking, workflow tools for reserved compute deals, and settlement infrastructure.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingFintech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsSoma Capital
TrueMeter is an AI utility management platform that audits utility bills, secures lower electricity and gas rates, corrects billing errors, and automates utility accounts payable and bookkeeping across locations.
AI & Machine LearningEnergySaaSSan Francisco, US
Ali SarilganinOzge Islegen-Wojdyla(Founder)inOzge Islegen-Wojdyla, Ph.D.(Founder)in
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsPear VCUlu Ventures
TruTec provides AI-based paving takeoff software that measures paving sites (parking lots, streets, driveways) from aerial imagery, drone photos, or blueprints and generates bid-ready estimates.
AI & Machine LearningConstruction TechSaaSDover, US
Ross Stitts(Founder)inRyan Brown(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardBrendan Rempel(Director)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsPear VC
Unreal Labs builds AI agents that generate, test, and optimize advertising creatives automatically, treating creative production and paid growth as an engineering problem.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningMarketing Tech
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsCreator VenturesRoar Ventures
Veros provides a platform for setting up and administering revocable and irrevocable trusts, including drafting or importing documents, automatically titling assets into the trust, live tracking of trust value and family net worth, and managing distributions to beneficiaries.
FintechLegalTechSaaS
Marcello(Co-founder)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Viewpoints.ai provides simulated jury and audience panels powered by AI personas grounded in media psychology research for legal teams preparing trial strategy and marketing teams testing ads and messaging.
AI & Machine LearningLegalTechMarketing TechSaaSStanford, US
Leo Yeykelis(Founder)inByron Reeves(Founder, Stanford Professor)
PartnerSarah Smith· solo GP
Co-investorsForerunner VenturesPear VC
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesF2 · finsmes.com · Jun 10, 2026
Rork · thesaasnews.com · Apr 10, 2026
Casca · prnewswire.com · Jan 15, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Sarah Smith made?
- Sarah Smith has 54 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited, including 3 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Sarah Smith invest at?
- Sarah Smith invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages.
- What is Sarah Smith's typical check size?
- Sarah Smith typically writes checks of $250K.
- What sectors does Sarah Smith focus on?
- Sarah Smith focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Sarah Smith located?
- Sarah Smith is headquartered in Menlo Park, US.
- Does Sarah Smith lead rounds?
- Sarah Smith typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Sarah Smith co-invest with?
- Sarah Smith most often shares deals with Y Combinator, Angel Collective Opportunity Fund, Pear VC, among 114 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamSarah Smith - BBC News 21Sep2025
Sporadic Wasp · Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith - BBC News 12Aug2025
Sporadic Wasp · Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith - BBC News 26Jun2025
Sporadic Wasp · Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith Reporter Reel (March 2025)
Sarah B Smith · Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith Speaks About Musical Influences …
Sarah Smith · Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith - Live in Rome 2024
Massimo Cecchini · Sarah Smith
Images
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