Feld Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Feld Ventures is a Toronto-based early-stage fund led by founder and General Partner Shane Feldberg. Its site describes "early capital for category-defining founders" and says it backs "technical founders with clear insight, in markets too important to ignore." The stated thesis has five areas: AI and automation (intelligence layers and workflow automation), frontier systems (autonomy, robotics and defense), fintech infrastructure (payments, lending, embedded finance), enterprise software (mission-critical operations and revenue tools), and commerce and logistics (distribution and movement of goods). The hero messaging leans hard on defense and AI, led by Shield AI.
Stage Focus
The firm calls itself early capital and says it backs founders "from first check through scale." Public evidence points to pre-seed and seed. The one disclosed round it participated in was Autolane's $7.4M seed in December 2025. Several portfolio names (Replit, Shield AI, Loop, Aescape) are later-stage companies, so the firm either invested early and holds through, or joined later rounds. The site gives no stage on any individual company.
Check Size
No check size is published. An older LinkedIn bio for Shane Feldberg mentions equity-free growth capital for e-commerce and SaaS businesses from $10K to $10M, which reflects an earlier revenue-based finance practice and is not treated as the current venture check size. A September 2026 report says the firm filed $3.08M for its FV/C5 series, which suggests small special-purpose vehicles or syndicates rather than a large flagship fund.
Lead Tendency
Autolane's seed was led by Draper Associates and Hyperplane, with Feld Ventures participating. Founder testimonials praise Shane's conviction and speed. With one verified data point showing follower participation, lead tendency is recorded as unknown.
Recent Activity
- December 2025: participated in Autolane's $7.4M seed (curbside OS for autonomous vehicle logistics), led by Draper Associates and Hyperplane.
- 2025: portfolio company Carbon 6 was acquired by SPS Commerce for CAD $301M.
- September 2026: reported $3.08M filing for the FV/C5 series.
- Crunchbase-style trackers list only a handful of investments, while the firm says it has backed more than 50 companies, so public data undercounts activity.
Portfolio Highlights
The site lists 35 companies across five sectors. Defense and frontier: Shield AI, Firestorm, North Vector Dynamics, Orbital, Peregrine Space, Prime Minute, Fleet Defender, Toka, Aescape. AI and data: Replit, Vectara, Menten AI, Study Dojo, Carelink AI, Xenops, Electrokare, Revyl, Otis, Stretch. Fintech and enterprise: Headcount365, Canopy, SOLO, Tripkicks, Keypr, Dosable. Commerce and logistics: Autolane, Carbon 6 (acquired), Haven Sauna, The Commodity Corporation, Stag, Loop, Coldcart, Everytable, The Convoy, MakeHeroes. The one exit shown is Carbon 6.
Team
- Shane Feldberg, Founder and General Partner. Says he has backed 50+ companies and helped scale Clearco into a fintech unicorn across growth and capital strategy.
- John Lema, Venture Partner. Operator with 25+ years scaling and turning around venture-backed companies, strongest in SaaS, real estate and fintech, with multiple exits.
Decision Process
Shane appears to be the sole decision maker, with a venture partner for operating input. The firm promises fast decisions and a founder-first approach. Inbound goes through a deck submission form and [email protected].
Founder Preferences
Technical founders, large markets and a clear go-to-market strategy. Shane has spoken publicly about backing conviction over pedigree and polish.
Geographic Focus
The firm is based in Toronto. The portfolio spans Canada, the US (Palo Alto, Bay Area defense and AI) and beyond; no explicit geographic restriction is stated.
Gaps
No fund size, AUM, check size or per-company stage and date information is published. The portfolio page is a single-page table on the homepage. Portfolio entries carry no stage because the site does not name one.