Zero Index

Zero Index Research

Overview

Zero Index (zeroindex.vc) is a seed-stage venture firm that launched publicly on June 15, 2026 with the essay "Introducing Zero Index." It is run by Managing Partner Mike Stachowiak, a three-time founder with three exits and a YC alum, who has angel invested since 2010. The firm describes itself as "an early-stage venture firm" that invests "in ambitious founders at the very start" and calls itself "AI-native from day one, with agents working across sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support" (Stachowiak's LinkedIn launch post). The tagline is "Every important company starts at zero." Partners are listed in Seattle, San Francisco and San Diego. A Form ADV (exempt reporting adviser) was filed for ZERO INDEX on October 23, 2026; no AUM or fund size has been disclosed.

Investment Thesis

The launch essay makes three arguments. First, AI is bigger than software: AI does the work rather than selling tools, so it competes for the services market, which the firm sizes at six dollars of services for every dollar of software. Second, the returns of this era are accruing in private markets because companies stay private longer. Third, seed outperforms every other stage because of entry price, and seed stays inefficient because large funds cannot deploy small checks. The conclusion is "a broad portfolio of investments, each made at the start of a company."

The portfolio page organizes the thesis into five themes:

• Power and compute: new power sources, faster data center design and siting, and AI hardware markets (Apollo Atomics, Atomarine, Path Power, Marengo, Stoa, Exosat).
• Data and environments: training data and RL environments for models (Hub.xyz, PerfectBit, Arga Labs, Petrarch, Ooak Data).
• Agent economy: identity, payments, memory, security and rails for AI agents (Fire Wallet, Nebula Security, Mastra, Context.dev, Inkbox, AgentPhone, Proliferate, Superlog).
• Machines: robots, sensing and the software around them (Applied Electrodynamics, Agency Tool Company, Aktoria Robotics, Waddle Labs).
• Applied AI: founders with deep industry knowledge rebuilding a vertical around AI (Avoca Systems, PLAN0 AI, Voquill, Dayjob, Allia Health, Arzana, Rudus, Rex, LunaBill).

A second essay, "Price the Work, Not the Software" (July 22, 2026), tells founders to price on outcomes rather than seats or tokens, which matches the services-replacement thesis.

Stage Focus

Pre-seed and seed. The about page says "We invest at the start. We are often the first investor in a company, and we invest again as it grows." The homepage says "Day zero is not too early." The firm reserves for follow-on investment.

Check Size

Not disclosed. The launch essay implies small seed checks spread across a broad portfolio. Treat check size as unknown.

Lead Tendency

Unknown. The firm says it is often the first investor, but public rounds show it participating rather than leading (for example Mochatrade's $4.9M seed in October 2026, where CoinFund is listed as the lead and Zero Index as a participant).

Recent Activity

• Fund launch announced June 15, 2026.
• Investment in Adialante (YC P26), announced by Zero Index on LinkedIn in mid-2026.
• Investment in RonanRx (YC S26), announced on the Zero Index LinkedIn page.
• Participation in Mochatrade's $4.9M seed (week of October 25-31, 2026) alongside CoinFund, Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund and Coinbase Ventures.
• Form ADV filed October 23, 2026.
• The firm is actively deploying, with many YC 2026 batch companies on its portfolio page.

Portfolio Highlights

The "Every company we've backed" list on the portfolio page names 65 companies, and it includes Mike Stachowiak's prior angel investments. Notable names: Zapier, Anduril, Clever (acquired by Kahoot!), Omaze, Guesty, AirGarage, Rockbot, Mastra, Brightback (acquired by Chargebee), Balance Financial (acquired by TaxAct), Prototyping.io (acquired), and MyVR (acquired by Guesty; co-founded by Stachowiak and Nordvik). The YC page says the partners also recommended Fivetran to YC.

Team

• Mike Stachowiak, Managing Partner: University of Michigan, Computer Engineering. Co-founded 4INFO and MyVR, three companies with three exits, holds patents in search, and wrote early checks into Zapier and Clever. YC alum.
• Markus Nordvik, Venture Partner: Stanford, Symbolic Systems. Co-founded MyVR through its acquisition by Guesty, then ran Global Host Solutions at Guesty. Led engineering on the founding team at 4INFO.
• Justin Durack, Venture Partner: three Stanford degrees (computer science, systems, MBA). Founder, and led product at Collective Health (pre-customer to 120,000 members) and Aurora Solar.

Decision Process

A small partnership led by the managing partner. For YC founders the firm says "one conversation about what you're building is usually enough" and promises "a clear decision from us, and our reasons." The process appears fast; no formal committee is described.

Founder Preferences

"Engineers, scientists, and operators building the companies that will define the next decade." Strong preference for technical founders and for Y Combinator companies: the firm has a dedicated YC page, helps founders before they apply, and has separate addresses for applicants and in-batch founders. Founders do not need a warm introduction ("Tell us what you are building. You do not need an introduction"). The firm offers customer intros, hiring help and later-round investor intros.

Geographic Focus

The partners are on the US West Coast (Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego), but the portfolio is global through YC: companies from Tunisia (Asendia AI, Callab AI), Japan (Jinba), India (Mochatrade), the UK, France, Turkey and Indonesia (Saudara AI). Treat as US-centered with global YC reach.

Gaps

Fund size, AUM, check size and headquarters city are not disclosed. Stages and dates for individual portfolio companies are not given on the site. Many of the older companies are Stachowiak's personal angel investments made before the fund existed.