MVP Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
MVP Ventures partners with elite, early-stage teams building differentiated and defensible technology. Founded in 2020 by Andre De Baubigny and Weston Moyer, MVP stands for "Most Value Per dollar on our founders' cap tables." The firm combines capital deployment with deep operational support—approximately one-third of their team dedicates resources to post-investment value creation including go-to-market acceleration, talent recruitment, and future funding facilitation.
Sector & Technology Focus
MVP Ventures invests at the intersection of AI, hardware, and software, with particular emphasis on:
Primary Focus Areas:
- AI Infrastructure & Machine Learning applications
- Hardware robotics and automation solutions
- Aerospace and defense technology
- Space technology and launch services
- Semiconductors and advanced hardware
- Fintech and financial infrastructure
- Climate and clean energy technology
Investment Philosophy: The firm targets "highly technical software solving significant problems across large markets." They explicitly look for companies solving deep technical challenges with defensible IP, focusing on early-stage founders addressing billion-dollar problems.
Stage Focus
MVP Ventures is a true early-stage investor, committing to companies from pre-seed through Series A and occasional follow-ons:
- Pre-seed: Prior to traditional seed funding
- Seed: $1M typical check size
- Series A: $2-3M typical check size
The firm emphasizes being among the first institutional investors and actively leads or co-leads rounds.
Check Size & Fund Details
Fund II: $125 million (closed November 2025) Total AUM: $300+ million across both funds Typical Check Sizes:
- Seed rounds: ~$1 million
- Series A rounds: $2-3 million
The firm maintains significant reserves for follow-on investments and value-add activities.
Recent Activity & Fund Performance
Fund II Performance:
- 1.45x Total Value to Paid-In Capital (TVPI)
- Top 5% performance among early-stage venture funds in its vintage
- Actively deploying from Fund II
Recent Investment Activity:
- 2025: 11 investments
- 2026 (through Feb): 2 investments
- 175% year-over-year increase in deal activity
Portfolio Highlights
MVP Ventures has built a strong portfolio of 75+ companies with 9 unicorns including:
Defense & Security:
- Anduril Industries (AI-powered defense systems, surveillance, drone defense)
Aerospace & Space:
- Stoke Space (fully reusable rockets, 20x cost reduction at scale)
- Loft Orbital (space technology)
Industrial Robotics:
- Gecko Robotics (wall-climbing inspection robots, cloud platform for infrastructure management)
Intelligence & Data:
- Dataminr (early-stage data/intelligence platform)
Fintech & Enterprise:
- Neon (AI/ML infrastructure, acquired by Databricks)
- LayerZero (infrastructure)
Other Notable Companies: Saronic, Erebor, Axiom, Lumilens, Upscale AI, Triumph, Cobot
Team & Decision Process
MVP Ventures operates with a partnership-based decision-making model featuring 10+ senior partners with specialized expertise across investments, operations, technology, and government relations. Leadership includes technical experts (CTO Jason Mintz), operator-focused team members (Chief Portfolio Officer Grayson Kinsella), and specialized partners dedicated to government relations and capital markets.
Geographic Focus
MVP Ventures maintains offices across multiple global hubs:
- Menlo Park, CA (headquarters)
- Chicago, IL (operations)
- London, UK
- Paris, France
- New York, NY
This geographic distribution enables sourcing and supporting investments across US and European markets.
Value Creation & Post-Investment Support
Approximately 33% of MVP Ventures' team dedicates resources to post-investment value creation, including go-to-market acceleration, technical talent recruitment, and follow-on funding facilitation.
Founder Preferences
MVP Ventures seeks elite technical founders with deep domain expertise addressing defensible problems in massive markets. Preference for teams with shipped products, relevant experience, and novel approaches to billion-dollar problems.
Fund Performance
MVP Ventures Fund II has achieved 1.45x TVPI since inception, placing the firm in the top 5% of early-stage venture funds in its vintage, demonstrating strong fund performance and deal selection.