Fundraising Fox
Jeff Herbst
InvestorFounding Managing Partner at GFT Ventures · Board director at Watch Fantom
San Francisco Bay Area
Writes $100K – $10M checks · typically $1M
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Ask Stuart McClure to introduce you to Jeff
You →Stuart · together at WethosAI (2024–2026) →Jeff
Ask Jamie Chen to introduce you to Jeff
You →Jamie · 3 people · together at GFT Ventures →Jeff
Ask Sam Okafor to introduce you to Jeff
You →Sam · together at Element →Jeff
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About
Jeff Herbst is Co-Founding Managing Partner of GFT Ventures, an early-stage frontier technology VC firm investing primarily in the US and Israel, focused on AI, data science, autonomous machines, and other frontier tech. Before launching GFT, he spent 20 years as NVIDIA's Vice President of Business Development, where he built out the company's ecosystem of accelerated computing applications and created its ventures and acquisitions programs, overseeing more than 40 investments and 20 acquisitions valued at over $8B. He also led NVIDIA's Inception startup accelerator, which grew to more than 10,000 companies. Earlier in his career he ran business development at the AltaVista search engine and was a partner at the Wilson Sonsini law firm in Palo Alto.
Contact· published on Jeff's own website
Invests in
AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareRobotics
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded GFT Ventures.
- Education
- Holds a JD from Stanford University. Earned a BS with Honors in Computer Science and Economics from Brown University.
From Jeff's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Board director at Watch Fantom
Intro paths
In turn, Jeff can intro founders to Watch Fantom's investors below.
Watch Fantom's investors · 1
Experience
- GFT VenturesFounding Managing Partnercurrent2021 — presentPalo Alto, California, United States
- Higgsfield AIBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- KnitBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
- WethosAIBoard Membercurrent2024 — present
- QortexBoard Membercurrent2023 — presentNew York, United States
- Switchboard SoftwareBoard Membercurrent2022 — presentSan Francisco, California, United States
- Mars Auto, Inc.Board Membercurrent2022 — presentSeoul, South Korea
- MperativBoard Membercurrent2021 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- ArtisightSenior Advisor/Board Observercurrent2020 — presentChicago, Illinois, United States
- MicroVisionBoard Membercurrent2022 — presentRedmond, Washington
- SK hynixGlobal CEO Advisory Boardcurrent2024 — presentGlobal
- NVIDIAVice President of Business Development and Head of Nvidia Inception GPU Ventures2001 — 2021Santa Clara, CA
- H2O.aiBoard Observer2017 — 2021San Francisco Bay Area
- WeRide.aiBoard Observer2017 — 2021San Francisco Bay Area
- Deep InstinctBoard Observer2017 — 2021Tel Aviv District, Israel
- FASTDATA.ioBoard Observer2017 — 2021Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
- HEAVY.AIBoard Observer2016 — 2021San Francisco Bay Area
- TuSimpleBoard Observer2016 — 2021Beijing, China
- ElementBoard Observer2017 — 2021Greater Montreal Metropolitan Area
- Rocketick Technologies Ltd.Board Observer2011 — 2016Tel Aviv District, Israel
- Geomerics (now part of Arm)Board Member2010 — 2013Greater Cambridge Area
- mental imagesBoard Member2005 — 2007Berlin Metropolitan Area
- Alterego Networks (acquired by Macromedia)Executive Vice President of Strategy, Corporate Development and Operations2000 — 2001Redwood City, CA
- AltaVistaVice President of Corporate and Business Development1999 — 2000Palo Alto, CA
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and RosatiPartner1992 — 1999Palo Alto, CA
- Latham & WatkinsAssociate Attorney1990 — 1992Los Angeles, CA
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitJudicial Clerk1989 — 1990Washington D.C.
Skills & more
+12 more
Cloud ComputingIntegrationCorporate DevelopmentBusiness PlanningManagementHigh Performance ComputingProduct MarketingMobile DevicesSaaSEnterprise SoftwareSoftware as a Service (SaaS)P&L ManagementFrom Jeff's professional profile.
Deals · 1
Watch FantomBoard seat
via GFT Ventures · filed Aug 2023 · $10M raise
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.
Other disclosed investments
Sources: SEC Form D filings · curated public sources.
Colleagues at GFT Ventures
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Jeff Herbst?
- Jeff Herbst is Co-Founding Managing Partner of GFT Ventures, an early-stage frontier technology VC firm investing primarily in the US and Israel, focused on AI, data science, autonomous machines, and other frontier tech. Before launching GFT, he spent 20 years as NVIDIA's Vice President of Business Development, where he built out the company's ecosystem of accelerated computing applications and created its ventures and acquisitions programs, overseeing more than 40 investments and 20 acquisitions valued at over $8B. He also led NVIDIA's Inception startup accelerator, which grew to more than 10,000 companies. Earlier in his career he ran business development at the AltaVista search engine and was a partner at the Wilson Sonsini law firm in Palo Alto.
- Where does Jeff Herbst work?
- Jeff Herbst is Founding Managing Partner at GFT Ventures and Board director at Watch Fantom.
- What does Jeff Herbst invest in?
- Jeff Herbst invests in AI & Machine Learning, Crypto & Web3, Data & Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, Robotics.
- What check size does Jeff Herbst write?
- Jeff Herbst typically writes checks of $100K – $10M.
- What boards does Jeff Herbst sit on?
- Jeff Herbst holds tracked board seats at Watch Fantom.
- What companies has Jeff Herbst invested in?
- Investments tracked here include Deep Instinct, Deepgram, Higgsfield AI, Knit, Qortex, Switchboard, WETHOS.
- Where did Jeff Herbst go to school?
- Jeff Herbst studied at Brown University (B.S. with Honors, Computer Science); Stanford University (J.D.).
Same school
Also attended Brown University747
+ 741 more
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at MicroVision7
+ 1 more
Also worked at WeRide.ai1
Also worked at Deep Instinct8
+ 2 more
