F4 Champions · Season 1
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F4 Champions · Season 1
You're researching investors. We want to see what you're building.
Join the open accelerator where your standing changes with what you ship. Enrollment closes August 2.
43 VC firms investing in developer tools & infrastructure and marketing & adtech at the Pre-Seed stage.
F4 Fund tracks 43 VC firms that actively invest in developer tools & infrastructure + marketing & adtech at the Pre-Seed stage, with check sizes ranging from $25K – $100M (median: $1.6M – $1.6M). As of July 2026, and 93% lead or co-lead rounds. Rankings are based on F4's proprietary analysis of 1,544+ researched VC firms, scored by data completeness, portfolio depth, investment recency, and stage alignment.
| # | Firm | Check Size | Portfolio | Leads? | Activity | Decision | Intro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ▶ Play Ventures Play Ventures invests globally at pre-seed to Series A in game studios, playable consumer apps, and B2B/AI infrastructure and services that help games and consumer apps acquire, retain, and monetize users. | $500K – $15M | 111 | Leads | Active | N/A | Open |
| 2 | ▶ The New Normal Fund Partner with B2B AI founders by functioning as fractional COO and go-to-market architect. Scale your AI startup by putting humans first. Combine AI capabilities with operational excellence and proven go-to-market strategy. San Francisco | $400K – $1M | 27 | Both | Active | ~1 wk | Req'd |
| 3 | ▶ InReach Ventures AI and data science can dramatically improve venture capital decision-making. We use proprietary software to discover, evaluate, and support the most promising European startups while providing hands-on operational support. | $250K – $3M | 42 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 4 | ▶ Storm Ventures Storm Ventures backs early-stage B2B enterprise software companies with a focus on AI-native applications, cybersecurity, and cloud infrastructure. They employ a 'paddling to surfing' growth methodology and have deep expertise in taking companies from inception to $100M+ ARR. Their philosophy: 'the interface layer will disappear. The infrastructure layer will compound.' Menlo Park | $1M – $15M | 67 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | N/A |
| 5 | ▶ Ascend Ascend backs the most active pre-seed founders in the Pacific Northwest building SaaS 3.0 (vertical AI agents), Gen AI 2.0 (fast-follower infrastructure), and Frontier AI (AI applied to the physical world). Seattle has one in four of the U.S.'s AI engineers — Ascend captures that alpha as the first institutional check. Seattle | $250K – $750K | 60 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Req'd |
| 6 | ▶ Boldstart Ventures 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. Miami | $250K – $15M | 27 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Open |
| 7 | ▶ Mischief Diverse industry experience enables superior pattern recognition about which founders can succeed. Operational support from founders-turned-investors is more valuable than just capital. Markets have seasons - breakthrough companies can emerge from unexpected places. San Francisco | $500K – $5M | 25 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 8 | ▶ Flex Capital Founders backing founders. Flex Capital backs exceptional technical founders at pre-seed and seed with capital from operators who have personally built and exited category-defining companies. Every GP has sat in the founder's seat. San Francisco | $500K – $2M | 38 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 9 | ▶ Fusion VC Israel's leading pre-seed platform, backing first-time Israeli founders tapping into non-traditional industries. Invests $150K for 7.5% equity per company (up to $500K in the Digital Health track), paired with a 10-week intensive bootcamp and a 300+ person mentor network. Tel Aviv | $150K – $500K | 99 | Leads | Active | N/A | Open |
| 10 | ▶ Acurio Ventures Partner with visionary European founders at seed and Series A, leveraging the team's own operator experience and a network of 150+ international co-investors. Sector agnostic (excluding life sciences and crypto) with ~50 companies per fund. Strong focus on capital efficiency, unit economics, and realistic paths to profitability. Co-investor by default; will lead when it adds value. Bilbao, Spain | $100K – $3M | 95 | Both | Active | N/A | Open |
| 11 | ▶ f7 Ventures We identify exceptional operators with proven track records at scale (ex-Facebook, Google, Stripe) and catalyze their transition into founders. Periods of rapid societal behavior change spur dramatic innovation. We invest in the future of work and consumer utility, providing not just capital but operational expertise, network access, and proven playbooks from building at Facebook/Meta scale. San Francisco | $500K – $5M | 46 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Open |
| 12 | ▶ Hustle Fund Hilariously early pre-seed/seed investing. We back hustlers at concept stage—fast, scrappy, first-principles founders who act before market consensus. San Francisco | $25K – $500K | 25 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Open |
| 13 | ▶ 8-Bit Capital Network-powered startups connecting people and businesses through software tools and platforms | $250K – $3M | 55 | Both | Active | N/A | N/A |
| 14 | ▶ Pathlight Ventures 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. New York City | $250K – $3M | 39 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Open |
| 15 | ▶ 42CAP Backing seed-stage, tech- and data-driven B2B software companies across Europe with global ambition. Focus on Agility Drivers (verticalized, consumerized, XaaS solutions) and Seductive Solutions with genuine product-market fit. Invest in AI-first and AI-enabled businesses as well as frontier tech (BioIT, Space, DLT, Quantum Computing). Munich | $500K – $3M | 56 | Leads | Active | N/A | N/A |
| 16 | ▶ Capitalize VC Emerging tech and AI are changing the commerce landscape. We power the future of commerce by investing in cutting-edge enablement technologies that support retailers, brands, creators, and manufacturers serving Black and Latinx founders and consumers. We pair platform investments with CPG investments with explicit racial equity mandate. Chicago | $100K – $200K | 19 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Open |
| 17 | ▶ ISAI ISAI identifies capital-efficient French tech startups early—often as the first VC—backing SaaS and marketplace models with progressive ambition, blue ocean positioning, and category-leader potential. Increasingly an AI-focused investor using it as an enabling lens across all verticals. Their edge: a community of 500+ tech entrepreneur-LPs who open doors, advise, and validate. Paris | $110K – $3.3M | 52 | Leads | Active | ~1 mo | Open |
| 18 | ▶ HF0 Repeat and high-performing technical founders build faster when every non-essential decision is subtracted from their lives. HF0 runs a fully-serviced 12-week residency in San Francisco, writing an uncapped $1M SAFE for 5% equity, then continues investing alongside syndicate partners through follow-on rounds. San Francisco | $1M – $5M | 12 | Both | Active | N/A | Req'd |
| 19 | ▶ Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company 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. London | $200K – $250K | 45 | Follows | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 20 | ▶ Point Nine Invest in the future of software built on AI. We partner with technical founders to provide capital, unfair shortcuts, and operational support to accelerate their learning and help them reach their potential. We position ourselves as the first institutional investor for v0.9 stage founders. Berlin | $1M – $10M | 37 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Req'd |
| 21 | ▶ Story Ventures Story invests in the building blocks of automated systems across three interconnected layers: sensory systems (data capture), data processing (organization and structure), and machine intelligence (applications and decision-making). We believe the most impactful problems require the most innovative solutions, and we partner with founders pursuing audacious, challenging businesses because that's what it takes to create lasting impact. New York | $500K – $5M | 44 | Both | Active | ~1 mo | Req'd |
| 22 | ▶ Bling Capital The hardest thing in seed is finding product-market fit. We help you find it. If you already have product-market fit, we will help you scale. We partner with exceptionally ambitious founders for the long run and provide capital combined with operational expertise through our 100+ member Product Council. San Francisco | $500K – $3M | 33 | Leads | Active | ~2 mo | Open |
| 23 | ▶ Bowery Capital Backs early-stage B2B founders building vertical AI solutions that automate administrative and operational workflows in underserved industries. Focuses on seed-stage companies with strong founder-market fit and clear unit economics. New York | $250K – $5M | 20 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 24 | ▶ SciFi VC Partner with exceptional founders solving hard technical problems in fintech, AI, and science that require intense curiosity, intellectual depth, and scientific innovation. Focus on defensibility through hard technical feats, network effects, and solutions in complex, highly regulated industries. San Francisco | $100K – $1M | 25 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 25 | ▶ Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA) NYC has tremendous entrepreneurial talent but lacked a structured environment for early-stage founders. ERA provides capital, intense mentorship, and network access to help founders build market-leading companies. Every sector deserves innovation. New York | $150K – $150K | 39 | Leads | Active | ~2 mo | Open |
| 26 | ▶ Liquid 2 Champions exceptional founders to build lasting companies through experience, community, and capital. Generalist technology investor whose edge is network depth — Joe Montana's unmatched rolodex and 800+ portfolio company network enables introductions that most seed funds cannot provide. San Francisco | $250K – $5M | 27 | Follows | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 27 | ▶ FirstMark We back disruptive founders building category-defining companies. Our approach is founder-first, long-term, and deeply operational. We take the longest view in the room, operate with excellence and integrity, stay curious at the bleeding edge, and invest heavily in building community. New York | $250K – $10M | 32 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 28 | ▶ IA Ventures Data is the defensible moat in technology. We invest in companies that build proprietary data assets, analytics capabilities, or machine learning advantages to dominate their categories. Founded on 'information arbitrage' thesis - applying hedge fund quantitative discipline to early-stage venture. New York | $250K – $750K | 16 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 29 | ▶ Firsthand VC Inception-stage VC backing experienced founders building B2B autonomous agentic AI from day zero. Leverages Salesforce alumni network to provide portfolio companies with enterprise distribution and operational support. New York | $100K – $2M | 19 | Follows | Active | ~1 mo | Open |
| 30 | ▶ ZhenFund 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. Beijing | $250K – $3M | 27 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 31 | ▶ LOI Venture Back the brightest early-stage founders under 30. We provide capital, mentorship, and network access to accelerate ambitious young entrepreneurs who graduate from our League of Innovators program or demonstrate exceptional founder quality. Vancouver | $100K – $1M | 35 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 32 | ▶ SignalFire Data and technology combined with sector expertise and operational support unlock unfair advantages for early-stage startups. We build venture capital like a tech company. San Francisco | $250K – $100M | 17 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 33 | ▶ node.vc We back visionary technology founders in the Nordic region driven by disruptive forces. Our thesis centers on three areas: New Experiences (gaming, new media, health tech), Platform Technologies (developer tools, infrastructure, fintech, IoT, machine intelligence), and Smarter Workplaces (productivity, developer tools, digital workplaces). As founders and operators ourselves, we bring hands-on operational mentorship to help mitigate risks and navigate building at scale. | $750K – $2.7M | 21 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 34 | ▶ Kima Ventures Back ambitious teams with strong learning and execution capacities across all sectors, stages, and geographies. Technology-enabled businesses preferred. Volume-based, founder-centric investment philosophy. Paris | $100K – $200K | 25 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 35 | ▶ Rainfall Ventures We invest in world-class founders solving significant problems. We prioritize founder quality, founder-problem fit, and values-aligned partnerships. We help exceptional founders become category leaders early, before they become obvious trends. Los Angeles | $500K – $5M | 41 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
| 36 | ▶ Mucker Capital Mucker Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology companies from pre-seed through Series B. We partner closely with founders building scalable businesses, often providing a company’s first institutional check and continuing to support them through later stages. Mucker has offices in Venice, California, Austin, and Toronto, and primarily invests across the United States and Canada, with the ability to back exceptional founders in other markets. Venice | $100K – $15M | 22 | Leads | Active | ~2 mo | Open |
| 37 | ▶ Laconia Serious founders building must-have technology for mission-critical industries. We focus on B2B software companies digitizing legacy industries and transforming established workflows. Specializing in seed-stage, where hands-on operational support, sales acceleration, and capital strategy matter most. New York | $250K – $1M | 20 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Open |
| 38 | ▶ Streamlined Ventures Visionary founders are the true catalysts of transformation and progress. We partner with exceptional founders at the seed stage to help them build extraordinary companies through intensive operational support, structured tools, and candid guidance. Palo Alto | $250K – $10M | 26 | Leads | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 39 | ▶ Tunitas Ventures Category creating companies with few to no competitors, defensible business models, and unit economics that are starting to work. Invest across all technology sectors except healthcare. Require 50x return potential. Primary value-add is helping raise Series A from the best possible investor. Menlo Park | $500K – $1.5M | 19 | Both | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 40 | ▶ Evolution Venture Capital Partners Culture-Tech companies that disrupt and define how we live, work, play, and interact with the world every day. We invest in passionate founders building transformative products that change cultural behaviors. New York | $500K – $6M | 28 | Leads | Active | ~1 wk | Open |
| 41 | ▶ Stout Street Capital 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. Denver | $100K – $500K | 26 | Both | Active | ~2 wks | Open |
| 42 | ▶ Praetura Ventures Praetura backs ambitious northern founders building software, health, life sciences, fintech, cybersecurity, robotics, and other high-growth businesses where operator support and regional conviction matter. The firm positions itself as a more-than-money investor and emphasizes practical support from experienced operators, not just capital. Manchester, United Kingdom | $200K – $8M | 16 | Both | Active | N/A | Open |
| 43 | ▶ TheoryForge 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. | $200K – $500K | 38 | Both | Active | ~2 wks | Req'd |
Investors on this page also frequently invest in these sectors
What other stages do these firms also invest in?
What other sectors do these firms also invest in?
Firms that frequently co-invest with investors on this page
F4 Fund tracks 43 VC firms that actively invest in developer tools & infrastructure + marketing & adtech at the Pre-Seed stage. These firms are ranked using a composite score that weighs data completeness (30%), portfolio depth (30%), investment recency (25%), and stage alignment (15%).
Based on F4's analysis, the median check size for pre-seed developer tools & infrastructure + marketing & adtech investors is $1.6M – $1.6M, with a full range from $25K – $100M. The distribution breaks down as: 8 firms in the <$500K range, 6 firms in the $500K-$1M range, 12 firms in the $1M-$2M range, 9 firms in the $2M-$5M range, 7 firms in the $5M-$10M range, 1 firms in the $10M+ range.
Among the 43 firms tracked, 93% lead or co-lead rounds, and 7% typically follow. Founders seeking a lead investor should filter for firms marked "Leads" or "Both" in the rankings table above. Lead investors typically set deal terms and anchor the round.
The best pre-seed developer tools & infrastructure + marketing & adtech investors combine domain expertise with an active portfolio in the space. Among these firms, 28% prefer warm introductions, and the average firm has 37 portfolio companies. Look for firms whose check size matches your raise, whose stage preference aligns with yours, and who have a track record of supporting companies in your sector through multiple growth phases.
Firm profiles are continuously updated through F4's research pipeline, which combines LLM-powered web research, portfolio analysis, and transcript extraction. The ranking data refreshes every 12 hours. Editorial analysis is reviewed weekly. Individual firm profiles are re-researched on a 30-day cycle or when new information surfaces.