AI First Fund
AI First Innovations
FUND THESIS:
AI‑native startups place large‑scale models, autonomous agents, and proprietary data at the very heart of the company. This DNA produces radically better cost curves, breakthrough product experiences, and an execution tempo measured in days, not quarters. Just as in every prior platform shift, the enduring winners will be those born on the new platform, not incumbents retrofitting the old.
WHY NOW:
Our mandate is to meet these founders at formation, before valuations run away, when our capital, community, and expertise can still meaningfully bend the curve of company creation. We back AI‑first teams early so our investors participate in shaping what comes next, not by following the hype, but by leading it. This is the window where outsized returns are found: by seeing the future first and funding it first.
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Invest in the Fund
Let our expert team handle it for you.
Our award-winning venture investing professionals will build a diversified portfolio of venture-backed companies for you.
📱 Text (650) 410-8600 for Info
📞 Short Intro Call
Invest Deal-by-Deal
You select individual companies to invest in.
Join our AI First Syndicate to review deals one at a time. We’ll share diligence materials for informed decision making.
📱 Text (650) 410-8600 for Info
📞 Short Intro Call
Practice Areas
Intelligent Systems & AI Infrastructure →
Code Is the New Command. Enabling machines to sense, decide, and act with strategic autonomy.
Portfolio companies: PicoGrid, Pacific Fusion, Radiant
National Resilience & Public Systems →
America’s Backbone, Reinforced. Backing the systems that must never fail — from farmland to frontlines.
Portfolio companies: Ghost Robotics, InkBit, Lambda
Awards & Recognition
Fund Overview
- HomeInvest in AI First startups
- Home~15-20 venture investments made over ~12-18 months — diversified by stage, sector, geography, lead investor
- HomeReserves ~25% to pursue follow-on opportunities in the most promising portfolio investments
- HomeInvestments sourced by a team of dedicated investing professionals, our network of handpicked Scouts, AV’s 600K+ supporters, and other AV funds
See video policy below.
AV Co-Invests with Experienced Venture Firms
250+ investments with leading VCs and many with other top-quartile firms.
These leading venture firms have backed some of the most successful companies in the world.
Co-investors are shown for illustrative purposes only, do not represent all co-investors with which Alumni Ventures as invested, and are not necessarily indicative of future co-investors. The identity of a co-investor does not guarantee investment quality or performance.
20 ventures from the Alumni Ventures portfolio that we’re excited about for 2025
Invest in Startups Like the Apex 50
Accredited investors can invest in startups like the Apex 50 with Alumni Ventures. Talk with a Senior Partner about our portfolio of over 1,400 companies from Bluesky to Groq to Goodles to learn more about becoming an investor.
Fundraise Timing & Loyalty Rewards
The fundraise deadlines of current and upcoming fund vintages are published below to help our investors with their personal venture allocation planning strategies. Read more about our Loyalty Rewards, Performance, and Fees.
About Alumni Ventures
We are a venture capital firm that provides accredited investors & institutions with access to professionally-managed, diversified venture portfolios. Our network is among the largest and most well-connected in the industry.
- Home$1.5B+ capital raised since founding in 2014
- HomeDiversified current & portfolio of 1,600+ venture-backed companies, adding ~250 / year
- HomeTrusted venture investing partner11,000+ individual investors
- HomeTop-decile and top-quartile investment performance track record.
- HomeNetwork of 850K+ investors, entrepreneurs, & community members
- HomeFive national offices & ~40 full-time venture investors
*Top-Quartile investment performance against Cambridge Associates’ peer group for venture capital, according to DPI metric. Top-decile investment performance against Carta peer group for venture capital, according to DPI metric.
AI First Fund News
Content at the intersection of entrepreneurship, venture capital, and specific industry sectors.
Meet the Team
- Fund Team
- AV Support Team
Sample AI First Fund Deals
These investments, from AV's existing portfolio, are examples of the AI First Fund's investing strategy.*
Opus Clip
Auto-Transforms Videos Into Social Clips
Rigetti
Quantum Computing Infrastructure
Gatik
Autonomous Middle-Mile Logistics
Ghost Robotics
Autonomous, Legged Robots
Sahara AI
Platform for AI Builders
Lambda
AI Cloud Infrastructure
Toma
AI Workforce for Auto Retail
Haven
AI CFO for Startups
*For illustration purposes only. These investments are not intended to suggest any level of investment returns. No representation is intended that any outcome discussed is or would be representative of outcomes experienced by any AV fund or investor. Many returns in investments result in the loss of capital invested. These investments are not available to future fund investors except potentially in certain follow-on investment options.
Want to speak with one of us?
- HomeWe are easy to talk to
- HomeWe can help you put together a venture plan
- HomeAnswers any nagging question
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