How many investments has Sum Ventures made?

Sum Ventures has 8 tracked investments, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.

What stage does Sum Ventures invest at?

Sum Ventures invests at the Seed stage.

Does Sum Ventures lead rounds?

Sum Ventures typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.

Who does Sum Ventures co-invest with?

Sum Ventures most often shares deals with Flow Capital, IrishAngels, Rebellion Ventures, among 11 tracked co-investors.

Sum Ventures

Venture capital

Seed · 37 people tracked

Also known as SUM Investment Group, Inc

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Investment thesis

SUM Ventures is a generalist seed-stage fund operating on the thesis that small funds and emerging managers structurally outperform. It enters broadly with smaller initial checks at seed and earns the right to invest more as founders execute, ultimately deploying roughly 80% of capital into the top third of its portfolio. The firm keeps rounds disciplined to avoid overcapitalization and preserve product-market fit. Beyond capital, it positions itself as a platform, hosting monthly meetings that connect investors, operators, and angel groups to drive sourcing and co-investment. LPs can gain additional exposure to high-conviction companies through SPVs and direct allocations.

Invests inAI & Machine Learning Climate Tech Fintech Healthtech PropTechSector Agnostic

Source: firm website, verified Oct 1, 2026.

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Stage

Seed

Leads rounds

Follows

Instruments

Equity

Last 12 months

1 investment

AUM

$10M

Tracked investments

Team · 37 people

from the firm's website & public directories

Jackson Yomogida· Co-Founder

Community member, co-founder of Grafted.

Garrett Gilbertson· Managing Partner· Hermosa Beach, California, United Statesin

Managing Partner of SUM Ventures and Chairman of the Band of Angels Los Angeles. An entrepreneur, investor, and former USAF Captain and Afghan War veteran who previously led investments for family offices, angel groups, and corporate venture funds across aerospace/defense, gaming, consumer, life science, proptech, and fintech. Holds a B.Sc. from the US Air Force Academy and an M.Sc. from Pepperdine.

Brent Celek· Partner

Partner at SUM Ventures and former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion, involved with Automotus's CurbPass Philly deployment in his hometown.

Brian Stephenson· Partner

Partner at SUM Ventures who provides strategic guidance and operational expertise to help portfolio founders navigate growth.

Derek Hu· Partner· New York, New York, United Statesin

Entrepreneur with a management consulting background and co-founder/Managing Partner of TFA International, a family fund investing across venture, private equity, and other asset classes. A fluent Chinese speaker who holds a bachelor's degree from UCLA.

Elizabeth Spears· General Partner

Elizabeth Spears is a Managing Partner and active founder running Tensa Sports, bringing current hands-on startup leadership and deep productization experience translating complex, first-of-their-kind technical innovations into usable products.

Harry Hopper· Senior Partnerin

Veteran venture investor and entrepreneur with 30+ years across communications, media, and technology, having served on 25+ company boards. Formerly a Managing Partner at Columbia Capital overseeing four institutional funds. Holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from UC Berkeley.

Raj Khoshoo· Senior Partner· Irvine, California, United Statesin

Senior Partner at SUM with a background in strategic software acquisitions and partnerships supporting digital transformation.

Chris Sporck· Venture Partner

Engineer and seed-stage investor who began at Summit Microelectronics (acquired by Qualcomm) and now directs the Battery Management Product Line at Monolithic Power Systems. An active investor in 30+ companies, member of the Band of Angels, holding 20+ patents. Holds a BS from Cornell.

Margot Shapiro· Venture Partner· California

Investment professional with 20+ years in private equity and venture capital. Managing Partner of Spiral Sun Ventures and Venture Partner at Avestria Ventures, with a focus on consumer, health and wellness, and women-led companies. Holds a BS and MS from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Nachi Gupta· Venture Partnerin

Physician-scientist, quantitative finance expert, and venture investor with an MD from Brown and a PhD in Mathematics and Computer Science from Oxford. Currently Chief Innovation Officer at Kriya Therapeutics and a practicing emergency physician in California.

Peter Jun· Venture Partnerin

Strategist, investor, and advisor with a background in management consulting and executive leadership, and direct investment experience across real estate, retail, financial services, defense, entertainment, and healthcare. Holds a bachelor's degree from Cornell and an MBA from Yale.

Rick Lu· Venture Partner

Aerospace and defense entrepreneur with 30+ years of experience who founded NetworkFab (acquired by Agilent) and Spectranetix (acquired by Pacific Defense). Background in RF and systems engineering and government contracting. Holds a BS from UCLA and two MS degrees from Stanford.

Tammo Mueller· Venture Partner

Managing Director of Quantiva who brings quantitative analysis, strategic advisory, and venture investment expertise to SUM Ventures as a Venture Partner.

Adam Korman· Partner

Community member affiliated with Uptech Studio.

Aike Müller

Amy Wood· Program Manager

Community member, Program Manager at Pepperdine.

Andrey Kudievskiy· CEO

Community member, CEO of Distillery.

Carlos Ortiz· Strategic Partner

Community member affiliated with Siemens.

Darren Eng· Executive Director

Community member, Executive Director at LAVA.

Ely Bar-Ness· Advisorin

Frank Mastrangelo· Advisor

Ian Sobieski· Advisor

John Paglia· Advisor

Kammron Taylor· Advisor

Mike Van Kempen· Advisor

Millicent Tracey· Advisor

Nick Tao· Advisor

Ross Burningham

Sebastian Brandt· Investor

Community member affiliated with Brandt Family Office.

Vincent Nguyen· Partner

Community member affiliated with The Good CFO.

Sunita Mohanty

What they invest in

from 7 of 8 portfolio companies

Fintech ×2PropTech ×2SaaS ×2AgTech ×1AI & Machine Learning ×1B2B Marketplaces ×1Circular Economy ×1Climate Tech ×1

HQs:United States×7

Investments · 8 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 1 2025 · 1 2022 · 13 dated

Automotusautomotus.ai in 𝕏

Automotus uses computer vision and AI to help cities and airports manage commercial vehicle traffic and reduce CO2 emissions.

AI & Machine LearningClimate TechGovTechMobility & TransportationSaaSLos Angeles, US

Harris Lummus(Executive Officer, Director)Jordan Justus(Founder)in Harris Lummis(Founder)in

BoardOliver Libby(Director)Tom Spengler(Director)Gabe Klein(Director)in

Co-investorsBand of Angels E8 Angels Emerging Ventures IrishAngels Keiki Capital Partnership Fund for NYC +6 more

GoBuild (fka Brick)go.build 𝕏SeedDefunct

GoBuild provides payment and working capital solutions designed for small construction firms, addressing cash flow delays through deposit financing, project-based lending, and subcontractor payment management.

FintechPropTechSan Francisco, US

Chapman Snowden(Founder)in Drew Barrett(Founder)inAdrian Calderon(CTO)Tiffany Testa(Chief Of Staff)

Co-investorsCapmont Trihill Capital Y Combinator Global Founders Capital Goodwater Capital Northwestern Mutual Accelerator +6 more

Grapefruit Healthgrapefruit.health inAug 2022

Grapefruit Health provides healthcare organizations with a workforce of trained clinical students—recruited from pre-med, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and similar programs—who are integrated into care team workflows to close care gaps and address staffing shortages.

Digital HealthFuture of WorkHealthtechSaaSChicago, US

Eric Alvarez(Executive Officer, Director)in

Co-investorsAntler Chicago Early Growth Ventures (CEGV)Everywhere Ventures GoAhead Ventures Litquidity Ventures LongJump Ventures +2 more

Irrigreenirrigreen.com in 𝕏Apr 2025 · $19M

Irrigreen manufactures smart in-ground sprinkler systems for residential lawns that use mapping technology to reduce water waste by up to 50% compared to traditional irrigation.

AgTechHardwareIoT

Co-investorsBerkeley Angel Network BURNT ISLAND VENTURES Echo River Capital MFV Partners Sand Hill Angels StartX +3 more

Pippin / Rent the Backyardrentthebackyard.com in 𝕏SeedDefunct

Rent a Backyard connects homeowners with prefab home builders and designers to add accessory dwelling units, mother-in-law suites, and other backyard structures to properties.

B2B MarketplacesConstruction TechMarketplacesPropTechSan Francisco, US

Brian Bakerman(Founder)in Spencer Burleigh(Founder)inGeorgia Kate(Operations Associate)Angeli Dimakiling(Recruiter)

Co-investorsK2 Global Y Combinator Zillionize Asymmetry Ventures Cleo Capital Great Wave Ventures +4 more

Plantswitchplantswitch.com in

PlantSwitch manufactures home-compostable food packaging and cutlery products from agricultural waste, particularly rice hulls, using a proprietary CompostZero™ bio-resin that breaks down in backyard compost without leaving microplastics.

Circular EconomyFoodTechNew MaterialsSanford, US

MAXIME BLANDIN(Executive Officer, Director)DILLON BAXTER(Executive Officer, Director)in

BoardSamuel Phelps(Director)

Co-investorsFlow Capital

Transparency Analyticstransparency-analytics.com inJan 2026

Transparency Analytics provides quantitatively driven credit ratings for corporate issuers and private credit transactions.

FintechNew York, US

Christopher Tolles(CFO)Michael Brawer(CEO)inRobert Boresta(Executive Officer)

BoardMichael Fedorochko(Director)Christopher Gottschalk(Director)in

Co-investorsCore Venture Capital Deciens FJ Labs Mouro Capital Allianz Life Ventures Core Innovation Capital

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

FantasyLife

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Automotus Secures Growth Capital to Revolutionize Curb Management

Automotus · automotus.ai · Dec 19, 2025

Transparency Analytics Closes Second Funding Round

Transparency Analytics · finsmes.com · Dec 18, 2025

Grapefruit Health Raises Seed Funding

Grapefruit Health · grapefruit.health · Aug 19, 2025

Irrigreen Secures $19M Series A to Lead the Future of Smart Lawn Care

Irrigreen · prnewswire.com · Apr 22, 2025

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Sum Ventures made?: Sum Ventures has 8 tracked investments, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
What stage does Sum Ventures invest at?: Sum Ventures invests at the Seed stage.
What sectors does Sum Ventures focus on?: Sum Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Climate Tech, Fintech, Healthtech, PropTech, Sector Agnostic.
Does Sum Ventures lead rounds?: Sum Ventures typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Who does Sum Ventures co-invest with?: Sum Ventures most often shares deals with Flow Capital, IrishAngels, Rebellion Ventures, among 11 tracked co-investors.

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