Nava Ventures

Nava Ventures Research

Overview

Nava Ventures is a modern, early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2021 and headquartered in San Francisco, CA (Jackson Square office). The firm was built on more than a decade of combined venture capital experience, founded by Freddie Martignetti and Cory Rellas. Nava targets companies that endeavor to create new markets, change industries, and positively impact the world.

Investment Thesis

Nava Ventures focuses on early-stage technology and innovation companies with a strong emphasis on vertical AI applications, health tech, developer infrastructure, fintech, and legacy industry modernization. The firm's thesis is centered on backing 'problem-obsessed' founders who are building transformative businesses capable of creating significant market outcomes.

Cory Rellas — co-founder and former CEO of Drizly (sold to Uber for $1.1B in 2021) — brings deep operator expertise specifically in AI applications within commerce, health tech, and the modernization of legacy industries. Freddie Martignetti brings over a decade of early-stage venture experience from Highland Capital Partners and Suffolk Equity Partners (where early bets included Warby Parker and FIGS Scrubs).

The firm positions itself as a relationship-first investor: connecting founders with people who can have a unique, disproportionate impact on their companies beyond just capital.

Stage Focus

Nava Ventures invests across the earliest stages of the venture lifecycle:

• Pre-Seed: Initial capital for prototype/concept development
• Seed: Core focus — working product and early team in place
• Seed+: Bridge rounds for momentum companies
• Series A: Follow-on and new investments at growth inflection

They have demonstrated a willingness to lead rounds (led Knot API Series A with Plaid and American Express Ventures; led Grifin $11M Series A with TTV, Draper Associates, Gaingels) as well as participate in larger rounds (Hydrolix $80M Series C, AeroVect).

Check Size

Check size is not publicly disclosed by Nava Ventures. Based on portfolio evidence, their investments range from early seed checks (likely $250K–$1M) to larger Series A lead positions ($2M–$5M+). Given the fund is Nava Ventures I (2021 vintage), a first fund for an emerging manager, check sizes are likely in the $500K–$3M range for initial investments.

Portfolio Highlights

Nava Ventures has invested in approximately 15 companies across AI, developer tools, fintech, health tech, proptech, and robotics:

• Open Loop (openloophealth.com) — End-to-end telehealth platform; digital health
• Hydrolix (hydrolix.io) — Elastic cloud data platform for observability; raised $80M Series C in April 2025 (investors: QED, Blumberg Capital, Frontline Ventures, + others)
• Legion (legionintel.com) — Secure AI for mission-critical government/defense teams
• Knot API (knotapi.com) — API for managing card data, subscriptions, and passwords; Nava led Series A alongside Plaid and American Express Ventures
• Union (union.ai) — Converged AI, data, and analytics platform
• Superscript (superscript.nyc) — Healthcare's first pricing protocol
• GrowthBook (growthbook.io) — Open source feature flags and A/B testing platform; most recent Nava investment (June 2025)
• AeroVect (aerovect.com) — Automation technology for airport ground support equipment; raised $27.1M total
• OpenStudio (openstudio.ing) — AI creative suite
• Grifin (grifin.com) — 'Stock Where You Shop' consumer fintech app; Nava led $11M Series A
• True Footage (truefootage.tech) — AI-powered real estate appraisals (proptech)
• Relief App (relief.app) — App for debt destruction/management
• Taut (taut.co) — AI-powered tool (acquired by Vercel)
• Gel — Open-source database addressing SQL ergonomics
• Lang AI (lang.ai) — Customer journey and support AI

Notable exit: Taut acquired by Vercel.

Team

• Freddie Martignetti, Founder & General Partner — Harvard College + Harvard MBA. Started venture investing in 2011 at Suffolk Equity Partners (early bets on Warby Parker, FIGS Scrubs). Later joined Highland Capital Partners as early-stage investor. Co-founder of Mezcal Rosaluna. Former football coach at Phillips Andover; eight-year Big Brother volunteer. Email: [email protected]

• Cory Rellas, Co-Founder — University of Notre Dame (Finance). Co-founder and CEO of Drizly, which raised $120M before selling to Uber for $1.1B in 2021. Post-acquisition joined Uber's Senior Leadership Team. Previously at Bain Capital Credit. Focuses on AI applications in commerce, health tech, legacy industry modernization. Based in San Francisco. Email: [email protected]

• Kevin Chenault, Partner — Harvard College + Harvard Business School. Worked at Nickelodeon on Gen Z campaigns and at DraftKings on product and sales. Co-President of HBS Black Investment Club. Co-founded Anti-Racism Fund. Email: [email protected]

• Rollins Stallworth III, Partner — Stanford B.S. (Management Science & Engineering) + M.A. (Communication). Former Head of DEI at T3 Advisors. Board member at BUILD.org. Email: [email protected]

• Tiantian Fang, Investor — Stanford CS B.S. + M.S. (Terman Engineering Award). Previously interned at ByteDance and Binance; scouted investments for VC and angel syndicates. Email: [email protected]

• Blake Patterson, Investor — Harvard B.A. (History of Science). Early VC experience at age 16 with Qiming Ventures in Shanghai. Former PM at Pillar.io (YC). Three years at Cambridge Associates as Investment Associate. Email: [email protected]

• Chris Cross, CFO & Head of Operations — UNH B.S. + M.S.A., CPA. Former VP of Finance at Highland Capital Partners. Previously at Accomplice VC and Atlas Venture. Email: [email protected]

• Laura Roias, Office Manager — CSUF B.A. in Public Administration. Manages San Francisco Jackson Square office. Previously at SoftBank Group International. Email: [email protected]

Decision Process

Nava operates as a small partnership. The founding partners (Freddie Martignetti and Cory Rellas) are the primary decision-makers with the broader investment team supporting sourcing and diligence. The firm does not publicly describe a formal investment committee structure, suggesting a more nimble partnership model typical of emerging manager first funds.

Geographic Focus

Nava Ventures invests primarily in U.S.-based companies, with concentration in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York. Portfolio companies span both coasts.

Anti-Thesis / What They Avoid

No explicit anti-thesis is publicly stated. Given their portfolio composition, they appear to focus on software-first or software-enabled businesses rather than pure hardware or deep biotech plays.

Recent Activity

• June 2025: Invested in GrowthBook (open-source feature flags/A/B testing) — most recent known investment
• April 2025: Participated in Hydrolix $80M Series C (led by QED Investors) alongside Blumberg Capital, Frontline Ventures, Pruven Capital, Sozo Ventures
• Earlier: Led Grifin $11M Series A (with TTV, Draper Associates, Gaingels, Nevcaut Ventures, Alloy Labs)
• Earlier: Led Knot API Series A (with Plaid, American Express Ventures)

Fund I (2021 vintage) appears to be largely deployed, with the most recent activity suggesting they may be investing from continuation capital or a new fund vehicle. Active as of mid-2025.

Frequent Co-Investors

Based on portfolio data: QED Investors, Plaid, American Express Ventures, TTV Capital, Draper Associates, Blumberg Capital, Wing Venture Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures.