Fundraising Fox

Mike Arpaia

Investor

Partner at Moonfire Ventures

United Kingdom

Writes $100K – $5M checks Β· typically $1.5M

About

Mike Arpaia is a computer scientist who has spent 15 years building large-scale data and machine learning systems, with a focus on deep learning research and engineering. While at Facebook in 2014 he created and open-sourced osquery, now a widely used cybersecurity tool, and he later co-founded Kolide. He currently works at Moonfire, an early-stage venture capital firm, where he leads technical strategy and an internal research group exploring the mathematical foundations of the venture asset class. He is increasingly focused on how machine learning, robotics, and formal methods can make biological engineering more autonomous, and maintains an ecosystem of open-source software for biological engineering.

ContactΒ· published on Mike's own website

mβ€’β€’β€’@moonfire.comreveal

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningClimate TechCybersecurityData & InfrastructureDeep Tech

Beyond investing

Founded
Co-founded Kolide. Created and open-sourced osquery while at Facebook in 2014.
Education
Completed a program at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in February 2023.
Boards
Served as an AI Advisor to the UK Government Office for Science.
Communities
Was a guest lecturer at ETH, LBS, and UCL.
Awards
Completed avalanche training with the American Avalanche Association (A3) in January 2024 via Silverton Avalanche School in Ophir, CO. Completed Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) certification in May 2023. Recertified with the National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS) in May 2025 in Boulder, CO.
Hobbies
Spends time in the mountains with his family and has long-standing interests in wilderness medicine and avalanche operations. Maintains open-source software for biological engineering across data infrastructure, machine learning, robotics, and formal methods.
Family
Spends time in the mountains with his family.

From Mike's own website β€” common ground for a warm intro.

Experience

  1. MoonfireManaging Partnercurrent2020 β€” presentLondon
  2. Government Office for ScienceArtificial Intellgence Advisor2022 β€” 2023United Kingdom
  3. WorkdayMachine Learning Architect2020Boulder, Colorado, United States
  4. WorkdayPrincipal Machine Learning Engineer2019 β€” 2020Boulder, Colorado, United States
  5. Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence InstituteMachine Learning Research Engineer2019 β€” 2020Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  6. KolideCo-Founder & CTO2016 β€” 2019Boulder, Colorado, United States
  7. MetaEngineering Manager2015 β€” 2016Menlo Park, California, United States
  8. MetaStaff Software Engineer (E6)2014 β€” 2015Menlo Park, California, United States
  9. EtsySenior Software Engineer2013 β€” 2014Brooklyn, New York, United States
  10. EtsySoftware Engineer2012 β€” 2013Brooklyn, New York, United States
  11. iSEC PartnersSecurity Engineer2011 β€” 2012New York, New York, United States
  12. Gotham Digital Science, a Stroz Friedberg companySecurity Engineer2011New York, New York, United States

Skills & more

Machine Learning

From Mike's professional profile.

Colleagues at Moonfire Ventures

Network2

Investors connected to Mike in public investor directories β€” a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mike Arpaia?
Mike Arpaia is a computer scientist who has spent 15 years building large-scale data and machine learning systems, with a focus on deep learning research and engineering. While at Facebook in 2014 he created and open-sourced osquery, now a widely used cybersecurity tool, and he later co-founded Kolide. He currently works at Moonfire, an early-stage venture capital firm, where he leads technical strategy and an internal research group exploring the mathematical foundations of the venture asset class. He is increasingly focused on how machine learning, robotics, and formal methods can make biological engineering more autonomous, and maintains an ecosystem of open-source software for biological engineering.
Where does Mike Arpaia work?
Mike Arpaia is Partner at Moonfire Ventures.
What does Mike Arpaia invest in?
Mike Arpaia invests in AI & Machine Learning, Climate Tech, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech.
What check size does Mike Arpaia write?
Mike Arpaia typically writes checks of $100K – $5M.
What awards has Mike Arpaia received?
Completed avalanche training with the American Avalanche Association (A3) in January 2024 via Silverton Avalanche School in Ophir, CO. Completed Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) certification in May 2023. Recertified with the National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS) in May 2025 in Boulder, CO.

Founder mafias

Moonfire Ventures mafia2

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Shared employers