Oceans

Oceans Research

Investment Thesis

Oceans (formerly branded "Oceans Ventures") is an operator-led venture firm built in New York, founded in 2018 by Steven Rosenblatt, Josh Rahn, and Glenn Handler. The firm's thesis is that at the earliest stages, talent is the only variable that compounds, and 25 years of combined operating experience at companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google gives the partners an edge in spotting it. Oceans invests where "technical depth and data-driven moats meet real market timing," concentrating on AI Infrastructure, AI Agents, and AI Verticals; Space and Defense; Robotics; and Spatial computing. Every founder works with the full partner group on meaningful decisions (recruiting, go-to-market, capital, operations) rather than a single deal partner, a structure the firm summarizes as "when you get one of us, you get all of us."

Stage Focus

Oceans leads and co-leads Pre-Seed and Seed rounds and co-invests at Series A. The firm explicitly positions itself as wanting to be the first institutional check and stay engaged through the earliest, highest-touch phase of a company's life.

Check Size

The firm does not publish specific check-size ranges. Given a debut fund of $11M (Oceans Ventures Fund I, closed October 2020) and public filings indicating an Oceans Ventures III entity registered in February 2026 (final size undisclosed), Oceans operates as a compact, concentrated early-stage vehicle rather than a multi-stage mega-fund. Check size is not confidently inferable and is omitted here rather than guessed.

Lead Tendency

Oceans leads or co-leads at Pre-Seed and Seed, and co-invests (follows) at Series A — a mixed lead tendency that shifts by stage.

Recent Activity

Oceans has been highly active across 2026, primarily visible through the activity of its portfolio companies rather than firm-level fund announcements:

• Etched (AI inference chips) raised a widely covered $700M round; co-founder Josh Rahn appeared on NYSE to discuss its significance (August 2026), and Etched separately drew investment from Jane Street and a TSMC-linked VC (June 2026).
• Foundational Industries (AI-run factories) was profiled by Fortune (July 2026).
• Nebex (space economy market infrastructure) raised a $30M seed (June 2026).
• Star Catcher Industries (space-based power grid) raised $65M for its space grid buildout (May 2026).
• Observable Space (space-based lasercom/observation infrastructure) had extensive media activity in June 2026, including CEO Dan Roelker's NYSE Opening Bell and Bloomberg Technology appearances, and an Ars Technica feature.
• Iconic (AI-enabled M&A advisory) was featured for "unlocking $5 trillion in small business wealth" (June 2026).

Fund status reads as actively deploying: CB Insights lists 66 total investments with the latest tracked investment (Helogen) dated September 3, 2026.

Portfolio Highlights

Oceans' portfolio spans roughly 38 active companies concentrated in AI infrastructure/agents, space and defense, robotics, and vertical AI applications, including: Etched (frontier inference hardware), Star Catcher Industries and Observable Space (space infrastructure), Foundational Industries (autonomous factories), Nebex (space market infrastructure), David Energy (clean-energy retail power), Ro (telehealth), Tulip (frontline manufacturing operations), Teal (career growth), Arya Health and Exer AI (healthcare/clinical AI), and Iconic (M&A advisory platform). No public exits or acquisitions were identified in this pass.

Team

• Steven Rosenblatt, Co-Founder & General Partner — sold Quattro Wireless to Apple (the product became iAd); later President of Foursquare through scale and acquisition; one of a16z's first checks in New York; leads investments and partners on go-to-market/strategy.
• Josh Rahn, Co-Founder & General Partner — opened Facebook's New York office in 2007 and spent nine years scaling the platform; leads investments with a product-focused operator lens.
• Glenn Handler, Co-Founder & Chief People Officer — Sheryl Sandberg's first business-side recruiter at Facebook; opened Google offices worldwide; leads hands-on hiring support for portfolio founders.
• Sara Barek, Founding Partner, Operations — built and scaled multiple startups including Clearforest (acquired by Thomson Reuters); helps founders pressure-test product and build compounding operations.
• Brian Lew, Founding Partner, Finance — two-plus decades in tech and media, including sourcing and structuring enterprise acquisitions/investments at Time Warner.

Decision Process

Oceans runs a small, tight partnership (five named partners) in which the full partner group engages on every meaningful founder decision rather than routing through a single deal lead — a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo GP or formal investment committee.

Founder Preferences

The firm explicitly targets three founder archetypes: the Repeat Founder (multiple prior exits, wants a sparring partner who picks up the phone); the Pedigreed First-Timer (ex-DARPA, SpaceX, DoorDash, etc., building for the first time); and the Frontier Builder (very early-career, technically fearless, working in white space before consensus forms).

Geographic Focus

Oceans prioritizes NYC, SF, and LA, describing its approach as bringing "New York DNA" — grit, commercial discipline, industry depth — to founders wherever they build. It is open to US-based technically oriented or repeat founders more broadly via its public application form.