Arkane Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Arkane is a San Francisco deep tech venture fund whose stated rule is to invest when breakthrough science solves civilizational problems. Rather than picking markets, the firm starts from what it calls hidden needs: large, underserved problems that most investors overlook until science makes them solvable. Its homepage frames the idea as nine outcomes, such as expanding our capacity to learn and grow, giving us power wherever we need it, shrinking the distance between us and the world, and helping us stay ourselves for longer. The firm currently works three hidden needs, each tied to a venture partner who is a domain specialist.
- Non-invasive neuromodulation. Precise access to deep brain structures without surgery, aimed at mental health and neurodegenerative disease. Venture partner: Richard Silberstein.
- Resilient logistics. Supply chains and delivery methods built to anticipate shocks and keep operating, with an emphasis on hardware for logistics. Venture partner: Serguei Netessine.
- Decentralized energy. Reliable local power generation, from off-grid communities to data centers in space. Venture partner: Pete Jarvis.
Third-party profiles describe the method as AI-assisted mapping of a scientific problem space, producing long reports (400 to 500 pages per VC Sheet) covering patents, papers, government interest and founders, then backing many companies around one need so that one or two can break out. The firm's own blog says it built an agentic AI system in 2025, closed its first system-sourced deals in 2026, and is now fine-tuning proprietary models on NVIDIA (Nemotron 3 family), reporting 11x lower data-markup cost than GPT-4.1 and 18x more data available for founder search.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed and seed, with a preference for the very first institutional round. In a podcast, Kulik said the firm invests in the very first rounds founders raise, including friends-and-family rounds, and wants to be the first VC check.
Check Size
About $300K to $500K for a first check, per Kulik on the Fun Raising podcast. VC Sheet and Deep Tech Dirt cite an average of $350K from a roughly $21M fund. Reported portfolio construction is 17 to 20 companies per thesis area, which implies a high-volume, small-check model. The $21M fund size comes from secondary sources, not the firm's site.
Lead Tendency
Kulik says he wants to lead a founder's first round. VC Sheet marks the firm as able to lead.
Recent Activity
Arkane appears to have launched publicly in August 2026. LinkedIn posts from that month say the firm goes live with first checks in neuro, energy and logistics, and an investor in the firm's first fund posted on 10 August 2026. PitchBook lists the firm as founded in 2025. The firm's blog says its first AI-sourced deals closed in 2026, but no portfolio company has been named publicly. The firm has no portfolio page, and the homepage images are illustrative scenes, not portfolio logos.
Portfolio Highlights
None disclosed. Kulik previously ran rpv, a scientifically intensive deep tech fund (since 2022 by his account), and was reportedly a COO at VK.com; those are prior vehicles, not Arkane holdings.
Team
- Arkady Kulik, Managing Partner: physics-trained, INSEAD MBA, three-time founder and two-time restructuring CEO.
- Richard Silberstein, Venture Partner (Neuroscience): built the first neuromarketing company, 150+ scientific papers.
- Pete Jarvis, Venture Partner (Decentralized Energy): founder, operator and innovation network builder.
- Greg Horowitt, Venture Partner (Venture and Strategy): 20+ years in venture and 20+ in operating leadership.
- Serguei Netessine, Venture Partner (Resilient Logistics): Wharton Senior Vice Dean, 100+ papers on operations and supply chains.
- Vasily Fadeev, CTO: more than a decade building large-scale data and software systems.
- Joe Turner, CFO: Blackstone and Citi alumnus, CFO leadership to early-stage deep tech.
Decision Process
Kulik describes a fast, time-boxed process. He reads the deck first, runs a first call that screens for deal breakers (valuation, proprietary technology, market understanding), then sends a questionnaire. A scientific partner and a business partner on the deal each speak with the founder, then Kulik holds a final call and fills out an internal scorecard. He says a non-fit costs a founder under 30 minutes and a fit no more than about 3.5 hours of net founder time. This reads as a partnership process led by the managing partner.
Founder Preferences
Founders who have understood something nobody else has and who are deep in a real problem space; honesty and humility over polish; cold emails that show homework (for example, referencing his LinkedIn posts on non-invasive neuromodulation). He does not want a competition slide at pre-seed, and dislikes manufactured FOMO. The firm explicitly does not invest in crypto or pure software.
Geographic Focus
Based in San Francisco. No stated geographic restriction; Kulik's network and background span the US, Europe, Australia and Canada.
Gaps
No named portfolio companies, no confirmed fund close or LP list, no warm-intro requirement stated. Contact is [email protected].