A* Capital Research
Investment Thesis & Philosophy
A* Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco that is "leading the shift from transactional capital to meaningful partnerships." Founded in 2021 by three operators with exceptional track records—Eventbrite founder Kevin Hartz, former Uber CFO Gautam Gupta, and ex-Coatue partner Bennett Siegel—the firm brings an unusually operator-heavy founding team to seed and early-stage investing.
The firm's core investment philosophy centers on conviction-led investing combined with founder-centric partnership. Rather than following market trends, A* operates with "unwavering conviction" in their investment decisions and maintains a relentless approach to backing founders. They explicitly position themselves as partners in the journey from idea to IPO, offering operational support, financial expertise, and network access beyond just capital.
Fund Structure & Stage Focus
A* Capital currently operates Fund II, which closed at $315 million in June 2024—an oversubscribed raise that demonstrates strong LP confidence. The fund focuses on the seed and early-stage markets, which aligns perfectly with the founding partners' expertise in identifying outlier founders and providing hands-on operational support.
Stage Focus:
- Primary: Seed
- Secondary: Pre-Seed (selective, emerging thesis around teenage founders)
- Occasional Series A follow-ons for portfolio companies
The firm leads and doubles down at Series A with existing portfolio companies, providing continuity and operational support through growth stages.
Check Size & Investment Tickets
Based on team member profiles and portfolio analysis:
Typical Check Size Range:
- Minimum: $100K (for exceptional teenage founders)
- Maximum: $10M (from investor profiles)
- Sweet spot: $3M (across all partners)
Individual Partner Investment Ranges:
- Kevin Hartz: $100K-$10M range, $3M sweet spot
- Gautam Gupta: $100K-$10M range, $3M sweet spot
- Bennett Siegel: Similar range given partnership structure
- Vikram Ramakrishnan (Partner): Active in sourcing and deployment
- Jordan Windmueller (Partner): Portfolio support
The fund's flexible check sizing allows participation in diverse round structures from pre-seed through Series A.
Lead Tendency & Decision Process
Lead Tendency: Both leads and participates
A* explicitly positions itself as willing to lead rounds where conviction is high, particularly in seed rounds where their operational support provides significant value. However, they also participate in co-led and syndicated rounds, as evidenced by their participation in Decagon's Series A (alongside a16z and Accel) and other portfolio companies. This balanced approach reflects their philosophy of being available when founders need capital, at various round stages.
Decision Process: Partnership model
With three co-founders and two additional partners, the firm uses a partnership-driven approach. The founding partners (Kevin, Gautam, and Bennett) all bring specialized expertise: Kevin in founder psychology and operator networks, Gautam in finance and operations, and Bennett in growth and scaling. Additional partners like Vikram Ramakrishnan and Jordan Windmueller contribute to sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support.
Decision Timeline: 1-2 weeks (estimated based on firm size and activity level)
Recent Activity & Fund Status
Fund Status: Actively deploying
A* Capital demonstrates strong recent activity with continued deployment from Fund II:
Recent Notable Investments (2024-2025):
- December 2025: Vybe (Seed round participation) - Recent teen founder investment
- August 2025: Vigil Labs (Seed, $5.7M) - AI trading systems, founded by Stanford dropout Kole Lee
- June 2025: Decagon Series C participation ($1.5B valuation) - Conversational AI platform
- Ongoing: Active deployment across seed and Series A stages
Emerging Investment Thesis: Teenage Founders
Kevin Hartz has identified an emerging pattern in A* Fund II: over 20% of the fund's capital is now invested in teenage founders. Rather than a social experiment, this reflects a genuine thesis that exceptional outlier founders often emerge young, with founders like Kole Lee (Vigil Labs co-founder) dropping out of Stanford to build. This represents an unconventional conviction play that leverages A*'s operator-heavy team to support young, ambitious founders.
Portfolio Highlights & Notable Companies
A* Capital's portfolio spans multiple sectors with strong focus on software, fintech, and emerging technologies:
High-Profile Portfolio Companies:
- Decagon (Conversational AI Agents) - Series A with a16z and Accel, Series B with Bain Capital Ventures, Series C at $1.5B valuation (June 2025), Series D at $4.5B valuation (latest)
- Vigil Labs (AI Trading Systems) - Seed investment August 2025, $5.7M raise from Lux Capital and Pantera Capital
- Vybe - December 2025 seed round participation
Portfolio Companies (from website): The firm displays strong angel and early-stage positions in:
- Airbnb (pre-IPO angel investment)
- Square (pre-IPO)
- Uber (early stage)
- Pinterest (early stage)
- Slack (early stage)
- Notion (early stage)
- Carte (Ownership management platform)
- DoorDash (pre-IPO, co-founder Bennett Siegel invested at Coatue)
- Ramp (Finance automation)
- Apollo (Sales engagement)
- Faire (Wholesale marketplace)
- Flock Safety (Public safety operating system)
- Krea (AI creative tools)
- Mercor (AI labor marketplace)
- PayPal (early stage, co-founder Kevin Hartz invested early)
- Palantir (pre-IPO)
- Trulia (acquired by Zillow)
- SpaceX (early stage)
- Whop (eCommerce platform)
Investment Team & Leadership
Kevin Hartz, Co-Founder & General Partner
- Co-founder and former CEO of Eventbrite (IPO)
- Co-founder of Xoom (sold to PayPal for $1.09 billion)
- Early angel investor in Airbnb, Uber, Pinterest, Slack, and dozens of other unicorns
- Career spanning 30 years in technology and investing
- Known for identifying exceptional outlier founders and supporting them through early stages
- Recently focused on backing teenage founders as emerging thesis
Gautam Gupta, Co-Founder & General Partner
- Former Head of Finance at Uber (2009-2017), served as de facto CFO during critical growth years
- Head of Finance for General Catalyst, where he joined at age 18 and helped scale from small firm to global operation
- Chief Operating Officer at Opendoor (real estate tech startup)
- Deep expertise in financial operations, scaling, and company building
- Brings operational rigor and financial acumen to investment decisions
Bennett Siegel, Co-Founder & General Partner
- Former Partner at Coatue Management, where he backed high-profile companies including Peloton, DoorDash, and Instacart
- Extensive experience in identifying growth-stage opportunities and supporting company scaling
- Brings growth expertise and network from years at premier growth-focused firm
- Known for his full-stack background spanning operations and investing
Vikram Ramakrishnan, Partner
- Active in sourcing and portfolio company support
- Contributes to partnership decision-making
Jordan Windmueller, Partner
- Active in sourcing and portfolio company support
- Works closely with founders on operational challenges
Additional Team:
- Michael Oravitz (CFO) - Handles fund operations and financial management
- Peterson Conway (Head of Talent) - Leads recruiting support for portfolio companies
- Kim van Rensburg (Talent) - Supports hiring for portfolio companies
- Rebecca Galdos (Senior Executive Assistant) - Operations and administrative support
Geographic Focus
Primary: United States, with emphasis on San Francisco and Silicon Valley
Secondary: National coverage across major tech hubs (Bay Area, NYC, Austin, etc.)
International: Selective, though less prominent in public positioning
Headquarters: San Francisco, California (900 Kearny Street area based on web presence)
Sector & Model Focus
A* Capital invests across multiple sectors with particular strength in:
Primary Sectors:
- Enterprise Software & SaaS: B2B software solutions (Ramp, Apollo, Carte)
- Developer Tools & Infrastructure: Open-source and infrastructure plays (emerging focus)
- Fintech & Payments: Financial software and payment systems (Vigil Labs, Ramp)
- Marketplaces & eCommerce: Two-sided marketplace platforms (Whop, Faire)
- AI/ML Applications: Conversational AI agents (Decagon), AI trading (Vigil Labs), AI creative tools (Krea)
- PropTech: Real estate technology (Opendoor investment, Trulia)
- Public Safety & Operations: Government tech (Flock Safety)
Model Preferences:
- B2B SaaS with strong unit economics
- Marketplace models with dual-sided growth potential
- AI-powered software platforms
- Infrastructure and developer tools
- Fintech and payments
- Mission-driven software (public safety, operations)
Technology Focus:
- AI/ML (strong and growing focus, especially conversational AI and agentic systems)
- Backend infrastructure and systems
- Developer tools and platforms
- Financial software
Founder Preferences & Sourcing
A* Capital seeks founders with:
- Conviction and outlier thinking - Ability to see opportunities others miss and execute with confidence
- Exceptional talent - Top-tier technical and operational skills
- Grit and resilience - Ability to navigate challenges and persist through adversity
- Young/emerging founders - Specific new thesis around backing teenage founders as outliers
- Customer obsession - Deep focus on solving real problems for customers
- Operator mindset - Founders who have built before or demonstrate builder mentality
Notable Sourcing Patterns:
- Strong angel networks and personal relationships (Kevin Hartz's extensive network)
- Top university programs (Stanford, etc. - Vigil Labs founder was Stanford dropout)
- Operator communities and founder networks
- Industry-specific expertise (growth founders through Bennett's Coatue network, fintech through Gautam's expertise)
- Referral-based (strong founder community reputation)
Application Process: Direct outreach encouraged, though specific application process not published on website (contact: [email protected])
Engagement & Support Model
Typical Involvement: Advisor + operational support
A* positions itself distinctly from traditional VCs in terms of engagement model:
- Operational partnership - Active involvement in hiring, finance, go-to-market strategy
- Executive network - Access to A* partners' networks of operators and executives
- Recruiting support - Help with team building through Peterson Conway (Head of Talent) and Kim van Rensburg
- Financial guidance - Deep financial expertise from Gautam's background at Uber and General Catalyst
- Board participation: Likely board seats for lead investments, more advisory for participations
The founding partners explicitly position themselves as founder partners willing to jump in on operational challenges, reflecting their backgrounds as operators rather than pure investors.
Fund Economics & Recent Developments
Fund Size: Fund II = $315M (closed June 2024, oversubscribed) Previous Fund: Fund I = $300M (2021) AUM: Approximately $615M across active funds
Investment Range: $100K to $10M per check, $3M sweet spot
Competitive Positioning
A* Capital differentiates through:
- Operator-Heavy Founding Team - Kevin (Eventbrite founder), Gautam (Uber CFO), and Bennett (Coatue partner) bring operational depth rare for seed VCs
- Conviction-Led - Willing to make bold bets on outlier founders (teenage founder thesis)
- Founder-Centric Partnership - Emphasizing partnership and operational support over just capital
- Multi-Domain Expertise - Kevin in founder psychology, Gautam in finance/operations, Bennett in growth
- Strong Portfolio Track Record - Backed unicorns and exceptional exits across multiple sectors
- Seed to Scale Support - Willing to lead seed rounds and double down at Series A
Unique Positioning
A* Capital represents a modern take on seed investing:
- Operational depth from founding partners who have built and scaled companies
- Founder-first approach emphasizing partnership and support
- Conviction-based decision making rather than trend following
- Emerging thesis on outlier founders including teenage founders as contrarian bet
- Financial and operational rigor from Gautam's background
- Network and growth expertise from Bennett's Coatue background
- Proven ability to back breakout companies across multiple cycles
The firm positions itself as "guiding outliers from idea to IPO"—a thesis that aligns with their founding team's track records of identifying and supporting exceptional founders who go on to massive outcomes.