Best Pre-Seed Security & Cybersecurity + Robotics & Automation Investors 2026

Seed-stage Enterprise AI and intelligent software investor partnering with ambitious founders at the earliest stages. Distinctive Silicon Valley + India model: backing Indian-origin founding teams building for global enterprise markets. Hands-on support for product-market fit, GTM strategy, and scaling — 4 of 5 backed companies achieve strong PMF.

Exceptional founders building unrivaled aerospace, defense, and national security companies. Silent Ventures takes a contrarian bet on defense tech at the earliest stages — concept, pre-seed, and seed — when most institutional capital is unavailable. The firm believes the next generation of great defense companies will be built by mission-driven startup founders combining private-sector speed with national security urgency.

Point72 Ventures backs ambitious founders building for big outcomes across critical domains. Going deep, not wide—the firm focuses on specialized investment theses in AI, Consumer, and Defense Tech, bringing deep sector insights, partnership, and hands-on support from seed to pre-IPO.

Security technology is a necessity independent of economic cycles. We back technical experts who have seen over the horizon as security practitioners across commercial, military, or intelligence sectors. We invest in entrepreneurs who are on a mission to secure our freedom.

Scout invests in frontier technologies built by founders from military, intelligence, and national research labs. The team provides capital, operational partnership, government network access, and non-dilutive capital leverage. Focus on dual-use technologies with both commercial and defense applications.

Technology and capital solutions for the global energy transition. We partner with entrepreneurs to build and scale innovative companies that power a better energy future, supported by collaborations with utilities and industrial incumbents.

Third Prime invests in companies rewiring how capital, assets, and operations move through the economy. We focus on three intersecting 'real-economy infrastructure' verticals—fintech, proptech, and crypto/blockchain—backing platforms that enable paradigm shifts in these sectors. We believe technology should serve real economic activity, not replace it.

Global venture capital firm investing in lifestyle consumer brands and technology companies that positively disrupt large and growing markets. Great investments require deep industry expertise, hands-on operational support, and access to strategic partners.

Extraordinary things are possible when great teams come together around technology. K9 invests at the pre-seed stage with founders, betting on vision and execution. Money is a commodity; reputation and time are the currencies that matter. We provide not just capital but active operational support, hands-on mentorship, and board governance.

We invest in bold technical founders building the autonomous enterprise. Before you build your team, before you write your first line of code—that's when boldstart gets to work. We collaborate with technical founders at Inception, lead pre-product rounds, and help turn bold ideas into category-creating companies.

We back bold, ambitious, and resilient founders driving breakthrough innovations in HealthTech, CleanTech, and AgriFoodTech. Female-led and gender-mixed teams deliver superior returns and drive meaningful impact. Over five decades of combined experience navigating financial cycles enables us to partner authentically with founders, providing not just capital but strategic guidance and operational support.

Partner with technical operators and SMB owners to execute technology-led middle-market buyouts. Capture outsized economic value from AI at the ownership layer of services providers rather than pure-play tech.

AI represents a fundamental platform shift, reshaping how companies build products, scale and compete. Reduced innovation costs and advanced tooling enable small Nordic teams to challenge incumbents rapidly. Back founders who believe in paradigm-shifting breakthroughs requiring tectonic shifts in technology or market dynamics. Focus on Nordic early-stage companies with strong software components and at least one technical co-founder.

The first investor for ambitious and relentless technology founders building transformative B2B companies. Kearny Jackson partners with founders at the moment of greatest conviction and product clarity, providing capital, strategic guidance, founder coaching, and access to deep networks.

Back technical founders bringing AI to the physical world — manufacturing, logistics, construction, defence, energy, and infrastructure. Bridge the gap between AI pilots and production-deployed systems generating enterprise revenue.

We invest in technically sophisticated founding teams solving breakthrough problems in deep-tech. We believe the next generation of transformational companies will be built by scientists and engineers with deep domain expertise tackling problems at the frontier of AI, cybersecurity, quantum, robotics, space, synthetic biology, and bioengineering. We provide patient capital and technical partnership to help these teams achieve escape velocity.

Invest in only two kinds of technologies: those that move humanity toward utopia, and those that hold the line against oblivion. Back n-of-1 visions for an era of Black Swans—unconventional companies solving civilization-scale problems that others dismiss as too early, too risky, or too misunderstood.

We are extremely early in translating powerful AI models into products that transform industries. Startups have the speed and unruliness to build transformative AI-native companies; big companies are too slow. There has never been a better time to start a startup.

We invest in brilliant people who bring ideas that matter to life. We focus on AI-native founders building companies with strong founder-product fit, aligned on mission and meaning, seeking creative freedom and psychological safety. Great companies are built by diverse teams supported and empowered to be maximally creative.

Investing in founders building critical software that addresses the decay of Western infrastructure, institutions, and industrial base. Ravelin backs software-defined transformation of aerospace, defense, manufacturing, energy, and industrial sectors.

Network-powered startups connecting people and businesses through software tools and platforms

We back the most ambitious founders building for enterprise, providing them with capital, confidence, and credibility. We believe exceptional founders with unrivaled tenacity and imagination can engineer exceptional futures in enterprise software, AI, and infrastructure.

Building transformational companies requires more than capital—it demands deep operational expertise, consistent partnership, and genuine commitment to founders' success. Costanoa backs visionaries solving big, hard problems across data infrastructure, applied AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and national security. The firm centers on the 'missing middle' of early-stage investing: providing unusually intensive, hands-on support to founder teams during their most critical growth phases.

Back ambitious and unique technology startups as early as possible — ideally from day one. High volume, small checks (~€200-250K), primarily European pre-seed and seed. No board seats, no round leadership. Value-add through a 900+ founder community.

Deep technology and hard tech company investing at inflection points. Partner with technical founders building infrastructure-level solutions for global scale. Founded 2010 on belief that next generation of transformative companies require deep technical expertise, not just capital.

Low volume, high conviction early-stage investing in 10 thematic areas where vertical AI is reshaping regulated, complex industries: healthcare, fintech, capital markets, industrial operations, security, and government. Back strongly opinionated founders building category-defining companies with direct operator support from a team with deep fintech and growth scaling experience.

We democratize venture capital by providing individual accredited investors with professional-grade access to elite venture opportunities. We leverage our massive 850,000+ community network and 11,000+ investors to create unique value for founders, sourcing and diligencing deals alongside top-tier VCs (a16z, Sequoia, Khosla) without leading rounds. Our network is our competitive advantage—it compounds value for all stakeholders.

Backs inception-stage technical founders across Europe and Israel building solutions for hard markets including AI infrastructure, space/aerospace, advanced manufacturing, energy, biology, and other deep-tech verticals.

Breakthrough technologies that stretch the imagination — deep tech with the potential to create new product categories. We bring company-building skills and operating expertise to help founders find product-market fit.

Venture capital is the most powerful economic engine the world has ever seen. We back audacious founders solving humanity's hardest challenges through category-creating innovations. We embrace big risks and reject short-termism, committing to 15+ year partnerships with founders who have long-term vision and relentless determination.

World-class technology companies can be built anywhere. Greatness is in our backyard. We invest in market-defining companies across the Driveway region (Hudson River to Rocky Mountains), partnering with founders from idea to IPO. Build where your talent is. Build where your customers are. Build where you're strongest.

Pax Technica: The next era of American global leadership will emerge from physical-world technological superiority — reinventing defense, energy, manufacturing, aerospace, and critical infrastructure. Backs mission-driven founders tackling the hardest industrial-scale problems.

Back technical teams working on breakthrough products. We invest in seed stage companies that demonstrate technical differentiation - meaning technical or product-level superiority is a major reason for future success. We pursue investments from application layer (AI/ML) through software infrastructure to hardware layers (semiconductors, photonics).

We invest in companies that make business work better, backed by a commitment to understanding profound changes in how business operates. We seek founders with the potential to build extraordinary, outlier companies through transparency, founder-first principles, and patient capital from our investor Bloomberg L.P.

u.ventures backs local entrepreneurs who dare to build exciting global ventures. The firm focuses on early-stage technology startups with world-class founding teams from Ukraine and Eastern Europe with global market ambitions, scalable products, and competitive advantages.

Back exceptional entrepreneurs building enduring companies that defy expectations. Value authenticity and tenacity to turn daring ideas into lasting impact. One life-altering investment can lead to industry-wide transformation.

Transformative national security solutions emerge from early-stage private-sector startups developing frontier technologies. IQT identifies, evaluates, and leverages innovations to accelerate government adoption while enhancing commercial success. As of May 2026, IQT is emphasizing mission investing through fewer larger bets in autonomy, contested logistics, critical infrastructure, and technologies that can move to mission use quickly.

New and powerful AI systems will give rise to transformative startups. We back exceptional engineers, designers, researchers, and product builders using AI to solve critical problems in healthcare, law, education, energy, sciences, and enterprise. We provide capital, operational support, talent expertise, and conviction follow-on investing.

Be the first check in for founders building America's next era of critical technologies. Invest in audacious founders across Defense, Aerospace, Energy, AI, Manufacturing, Cybersecurity, and Health+Bio solving problems critical to national security and American technological leadership. Provide capital ($250K-$1M), unmatched government access, mentor network, and go-to-market acceleration.

We invest in startups and venture funds, creating a symbiotic network that propels innovation. Our approach is characterized by long-term thinking and a 'give first' philosophy.

Exceptional founders backed at pre-seed and seed with both capital and hands-on operational support—talent, GTM, fundraising—build the most enduring companies. Pear is founder-first: founders-and-operators turned investors who have been in founders' shoes.

Back the quirky underdog pursuing seemingly impossible ideas. Frontier tech (aerospace, biotech, climate, robotics, crypto, AI, VR/AR) will create the next generation of legendary companies. Technical founders with deep domain expertise can solve the hardest problems in physics, chemistry, and computing.

Repeat founders have an unfair advantage. We specialize in supporting experienced operators launching their next venture with operational partnership, patient capital, and optimized founder networks.

Technological innovation is unevenly distributed. The hottest, most visible sectors attract talent and capital, while overlooked industries hide massive value creation opportunities. We back unconventional founders disrupting unglamorous, technology-inefficient, long-standing industries.

Backing exceptional people at the very start of their journey. We support founders from inception to scale through our global residency programs, providing capital, mentorship, and access to a network of 1,500+ companies across six continents.

ffVC invests in driven problem-solvers building high-potential companies in emerging industries: AI, Manufacturing, Energy, Robotics, and Security. We provide capital alongside deep operational expertise, board participation, and access to a 35,000+ founder and investor ecosystem. We bet on founders with industry expertise, clear paths to $100M+ revenue, and defensible competitive advantages.

Corporate-advantage seed investing. We identify promising AI and deep tech startups early, then leverage our hundreds of relationships with corporate venture capital arms to de-risk investments, accelerate time to exit, and create curated dealflow where both founders and corporates benefit from strategic alignment.

Amplify founder impact through capital paired with deep expertise in government market access, federal R&D funding capture, and government contracting strategy. Focus on dual-use technologies addressing national security, defense, energy, and infrastructure challenges.

Partner with exceptional founders building from 0 to 1, with focus on AI applications, developer tools, SaaS, and healthcare. Believe in founders who have succeeded once or have deep domain expertise.

RRE backs visionary early-stage founders leveraging technological breakthroughs to reshape industries. Systematic focus on Physical AI (AI that touches atoms) and Decentralized AI (bridging web3 and AI infrastructure). Boutique model enables direct partnerships with founders vs. large portfolio strategies. 30+ years of multi-cycle experience.

Believe in innovation, risk-taking, and young talent. Best entrepreneurs are rare and precious. Provide quick capital, friendly terms, genuine commitment. Help but don't complicate. Monthly founder support.

HOF Capital invests in relentlessly ambitious founders building world-changing technologies that accelerate abundance: sustained technological progress that expands access to opportunity, health, and economic prosperity. Its current public thesis emphasizes AI and agentic systems as amplifiers of discovery, engineering, and knowledge creation, alongside frontier infrastructure and applications that can shorten scientific and technological invention timelines.

The only early-stage deep tech VC in CEE focusing on resilient technologies. We invest in founders building breakthrough technologies with proprietary IP in deep tech, MedTech, cleantech, autonomous vehicles/robotics, industrial, and resilient-tech. Technology must be genuinely unique and address real problems.

Sand Hill Angels backs seed-stage, high-tech companies with large and growing markets, well-defined problems, disruptive solutions, defensible technology, and strong teams with demonstrated ability to execute. The group leverages 145+ experienced angels to provide capital, mentorship, and network access across the Silicon Valley ecosystem.

A majority of the data our brains analyze is visual. Therefore, the majority of the data AI will analyze will also be visual, spanning the light and electromagnetic spectrums across all sectors. We thrive on collaborating with deep technical teams who leverage computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence to analyze visual data.

Investing in the picks and shovels of volatility caused by convergent forces (AI, Web3, Deep Science) intersecting with demographic shifts and climate change. We seek to create venture-scale returns by backing bold founders building more equitable, beneficial, transparent, and accessible structures.

Exceptional entrepreneurs building critical national security, space, and industrial infrastructure at day zero deserve capital and strategic support from founders who've scaled before. We provide capital, industry network introductions, capital connections to Series A leads, and ecosystem access.

We are a stage-agnostic venture capital firm investing in exceptional founders building the companies that shape our world.

Rule30 uses a fully algorithmic decision engine to identify outlier founders at pre-seed and seed stages across Europe and North America. The fund removes human bias by analyzing founder experience, educational background, network evolution, and career trajectory — excluding names and photos. The algorithm ranks founders into top 10%, 3%, and 0.1% tiers. An index-style strategy of 75-85 bets targets ≥3x minimum returns with 97.5% confidence.

Great startups can be built anywhere. We believe in founder-centric investing with operational support from a team of successful founders. We serve undernetworked geographic regions.

Equity of access and representation in venture capital delivers positive returns. Diverse and underrepresented (including LGBTQ+) leaders of high-growth companies deserve capital access. When these founders succeed, they influence ecosystems and open doors for historically excluded groups.

Operator-led fund investing in ambitious founders building transformative AI applications. We partner with technical founders who understand AI/ML deeply and are solving real customer problems with capital efficiency. Great product is always the best marketing.

Investing in the Post-AGI World. Back founders building essential infrastructure, automation, robotics, energy, education, AI security, and biology applications in a world shaped by AI. The fund leverages deep OpenAI insider knowledge to identify where the market is wrong about AI's trajectory.