Atoms & Bits Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Atoms & Bits Capital describes itself as a growth-stage venture capital firm backing companies at the intersection of the digital and physical worlds. Its homepage tagline is "Investing in the people behind material intelligence." The firm partners with founders who use advances in AI, software and computation to build transformative products and infrastructure in the physical world. The portfolio spans biomanufacturing, defense hardware, industrial robotics and brain-computer interfaces, which fits that framing: software-defined control applied to atoms.
Stage Focus
The firm calls itself growth-stage. Its one disclosed 2026 lead is a Series B2 extension at Prolific Machines. Other portfolio names on the site (Mach Industries, Standard Bots, Science Corporation) are all late-venture companies with large rounds, which is consistent with a Series B and later focus. The firm has not published a formal stage range, so stage preferences are inferred from the portfolio.
Check Size
Not disclosed. The Prolific Machines Series B2 was a $50M initial close co-led with Nant Capital, so the firm's check there is a fraction of that. No range is stated anywhere and none is recorded here.
Lead Tendency
The firm led or co-led its most visible deal. The October 2026 press release names Atoms & Bits and Nant Capital as co-leads of Prolific Machines' $50M Series B2, and the website says "Lead investor, 2026." It also took a board seat (James Stewart). Lead tendency is recorded as both, since only one lead is documented and the others are unclear.
Recent Activity
- October 2026: Co-led Prolific Machines' $50M Series B2 with Nant Capital. Existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield, SOSV and Fonterra's venture arm also participated. Total Prolific funding is now over $100M.
- The firm's site lists Mach Industries, Standard Bots and Science Corporation as recent transactions. The site gives no dates, round sizes or roles for these, so they are recorded without stage detail.
- Fund size, vintage and close status are not published. The site carries a standard disclaimer that offers are made only through definitive offering documents to eligible investors.
Portfolio Highlights
- Prolific Machines (biomanufacturing): optogenetic control of cells, founded by Deniz Kent. Lead investor, 2026.
- Mach Industries (defense): founded by Ethan Thornton.
- Standard Bots (robotics): founded by Evan Beard.
- Science Corporation (brain-computer interfaces): founded by Max Hodak.
The homepage portfolio section is text-only. The captioned read returned three images (the firm mark twice and a Prolific bioreactor photo), none of which is a company logo.
Team
- Andrew Stewart, General Partner: previously at Point72, then Level One Fund, where he works closely with founders on scaling.
- Bart Meyer, General Partner: Founding Partner; co-founder of Primal Capital.
- David Wills, General Partner.
- James Stewart, General Partner: founder of Level One Fund; joined the Prolific Machines board in October 2026.
The firm was founded by the teams behind Level One Fund and Primal Capital. Offices are in Sydney and Miami. General contact is [email protected].
Decision Process
Four general partners, so a partnership model. No decision timeline or process is published.
Founder Preferences
The tagline points to founders building physical-world products with AI and computation at the core: technical, category-defining, and already past the earliest stage. The portfolio founders (Kent, Thornton, Beard, Hodak) are all deep technical founders running capital-intensive companies.
Geographic Focus
Not stated. The portfolio is US-centred (Emeryville CA for Prolific), while the firm has offices in Sydney and Miami. Note: an Altss profile for "Atoms and Bits" in Seattle (atomsandbits.co) is a different firm and was not used.
Gaps
- No fund size, AUM, check size or stage range is published.
- No portfolio dates or stage data for three of four companies.
- Warm intro requirement is unknown.