186 Ventures

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Dec 4, 2025 ·

About

186 Ventures is a Boston-based venture capital firm founded in 2021 that provides pre-seed and seed-stage funding to founders, primarily investing thematically across software sectors. The firm closed its inaugural fund at $37 million and emphasizes a "founder-first" approach, offering operational and strategic support.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
May 1, 2025	Theo Ai	$4.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Beat Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Collide Capital, Founder Collective, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Akash Garg, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Sahin Boydas, Scott Belsky, Wayne Chang
Mar 1, 2025	Trellis Air	$7.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Founder Collective, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky
Nov 1, 2024	Theo Ai	$2.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Beat Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Collide Capital, Founder Collective, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Akash Garg, Cory Levy, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Sahin Boydas, Scott Belsky, Wayne Chang
Oct 1, 2024	Zip	$190.0M Series D	—	Accomplice VC, AirAngels, Angelic Ventures, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Bond, Boston Seed Capital, CapitalG, Cedar Capital Group, Chemistry VC, Comal Ventures, CRV, Impellent Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Northside Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, Principia Growth Equity, The Hit Forge, Trajectory Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Tribeca Venture Partners, Vendep Capital, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Balaji Srinivasan, David Chang, Derrick Li, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky
Sep 1, 2024	Sepal AI	$500K Seed	—	Global Founders Capital, One Way Ventures, Village Global, Y Combinator
Jun 1, 2024	Ability.ai	$1.0M Seed	—	—
Mar 1, 2024	Kidsy	$1.0M Seed	—	2048 Ventures, Accomplice VC, Arrive, Bain Capital Ventures, Baseline Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Boston Seed Capital, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund), Founder Collective, gener8tor, Goat Capital, Impellent Ventures, LifeX Ventures, Menlo Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Trucks Venture Capital, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Volition Capital, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jason Robins, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky, Travis May, Wayne Chang
Mar 1, 2024	The New Club	$3.0M Seed	—	20VC, Accomplice VC, Afore Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Antiportfolio Ventures, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Better Capital, Boston Seed Capital, C2 Investment, Caffeinated Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Crossbeam Venture Partners, GSV Acceleration, Heretic Ventures, Impellent Ventures, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Manresa Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Overlooked Ventures, Precursor Ventures, Predictive VC, Right Side Capital Management, SciFi VC, Seven Seven Six, Stone Mountain Ventures, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Weekend Fund, WorkLife Ventures, Y Combinator, Anthony Pompliano, Baron Davis, David Chang, Evan Moore, Fidji Simo, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Jeremy Yap, John Collison, Kevin Lin, Kunal Shah, Mike Krieger, Scott Belsky, Steve Chen
Feb 1, 2024	Evergrowth	$3.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky
Dec 1, 2023	Machinery Partner	$8.0M Series A	—	Armory Square Ventures, Global Founders Capital, One Way Ventures, UpVentures Capital, Village Global, Y Combinator
Dec 1, 2023	Excarta	$3.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Founder Collective, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky, Wayne Chang
Dec 1, 2023	Extropic AI	$14.0M Seed	—	7BC Venture Capital, Accomplice VC, Alchemy Ventures, Alt Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Arrive, Audrey Capital, Bain Capital, Baird Capital, Baseline Ventures, Bold Capital Partners, Boston Seed Capital, CRV, E1 Ventures, FirstHand Alliance, foobar.vc, Founder Collective, General Catalyst, Global Founders Capital, Goat Capital, Gradient Ventures, Greenoaks Capital, Grotech Ventures, Haun Ventures, Christian Miele, HOF Capital, Impellent Ventures, Index Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Initialized Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Kima Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, monashees, Motier Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Polychain Capital, Predictive VC, Preston-Werner Ventures, Quassar Capital, Safar Partners, Saga, Samsung NEXT Ventures, Sarona Ventures, Sequoia Capital, The Hit Forge, Union Square Ventures, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Ameet Patel, Amit Agarwal, Amjad Masad, Anjney Midha, Arash Ferdowsi, Balaji Srinivasan, Bob Young, Bradley Horowitz, David Chang, Drew Houston, Eric Wu, Guy Podjarny, Immad Akhund, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Lukas Biewald, Mathilde Collin, Sam Altman, Scott Belsky, Stanley Tang, Tim Griffin, Tobias Lutke, Vivek Patel, William Hockey
Dec 1, 2023	Blink	$2.0M Seed	—	500 Startups, Global Founders Capital, One Way Ventures, Shkuri Ventures, Village Global, Y Combinator
Nov 1, 2023	Anon	$5.0M Seed	—	Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Accomplice VC, AirAngels, Altimeter Capital, Alumni Ventures, Arrive, Avalanche VC, Baseline Ventures, Benchmark, Blockchain Capital, Boston Seed Capital, C2 Investment, Energy Revolution Ventures, FirstHand Alliance, Greylock, Haun Ventures, Impellent Ventures, Initialized Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, NFX, Operator Collective, Otherwise Fund, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Tiger Global Management, Uncork Capital, Union Square Ventures, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Weekend Fund, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Arash Ferdowsi, Bob Young, David Chang, Gokul Rajaram, Jeff Hammerbacher, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Kanjun Qiu, Paul Yacoubian, Scott Belsky, Siqi Chen, Stanley Druckenmiller, Suhail Doshi
Oct 1, 2023	ViaBot	$5.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, Boston Seed Capital, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, SOSV, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky
Aug 1, 2023	Grit	$7.0M Seed	—	8VC, 9Yards Capital, Abstract Ventures, Accomplice VC, Alumni Ventures, Anti fund, Arrive, Bam Ventures, Baseline Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Betaworks Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Founder Collective, Founders Fund, Friends & Family Capital, General Catalyst, Haystack, Kamran Ansari, Impellent Ventures, Insight Partners, Khosla Ventures, Multicoin Capital, NextGen Venture Partners, Next Play Capital, NextView Ventures, OMERS Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sherpalo Ventures, SRB Ventures, The Hit Forge, Ulu Ventures, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Konstantin von Unger, Matteo Franceschetti, Max Mullen, Ron Pragides, Ryan Holiday, Scott Banister, Siqi Chen, Sri Batchu, Wayne Chang, Zander Lurie, Guillermo Rauch
Jul 1, 2023	Nomic AI	$17.0M Series A	—	20VC, Accomplice VC, Air Street Capital, Alumni Ventures, Arrive, Bain Capital Ventures, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Conviction Partners, Greycroft, Impellent Ventures, Invariantes Fund, K2 Global, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, Spark Capital, The Hit Forge, Trajectory Ventures, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Walden International, Y Combinator, Adam D'Angelo, David Chang, Georges Harik, Greg Brockman, Jeff Hammerbacher, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Sahin Boydas, Scott Belsky, Thomas Tull
Jul 1, 2023	Zelt	$3.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Adapt Ventures, Alpine Ventures, Angels of Many, Arrive, Atomico, Banana Capital, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Concept Ventures, Episode 1 Ventures, Founder Collective, Goodwater Capital, Impellent Ventures, Iris Capital, Nauta Capital, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Playfair Capital, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, XX, Y Combinator, Arash Ferdowsi, Charlie Songhurst, Chris Schagen, Christian Reber, David Chang, Evan Moore, Immad Akhund, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Mandeep Singh, Niklas Jansen, Scott Belsky
Jul 1, 2023	Ambient	$7.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky
Jun 1, 2023	Invalidate	$4.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, ALLVP, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Berkeley Angel Network, Boston Seed Capital, Canaan Partners, Cortical Ventures, Curious Capital, DGF Investimentos, Jenny Fielding, Firework Ventures, Founder Collective, Homebrew, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, Root Ventures, Rumbo Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, The Hit Forge, The Hive, Rick Lewis, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Mo El-Bibany, Pierpaolo Barbieri, Scott Belsky, Wayne Chang
Jun 1, 2023	Patented.ai	$5.0M Seed	—	10100, Accomplice VC, Amino Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Arrive, Bain Capital Ventures, Baseline Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Boston Seed Capital, BoxOne Ventures, Browder Capital, Cloud Apps Capital Partners, Company Capital, Cota Capital, Craft Ventures, DCM, Dig Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Founder Collective, Gecad Ventures, General Catalyst, Global Founders Capital, HDC Ventures, Impellent Ventures, Jackson Square Ventures, January Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, MBX Capital, New North Ventures, Next47, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, NFX, One Way Ventures, Operator Collective, Pear VC, Plug & Play Ventures, Predictive VC, Redpoint Ventures, S28 Capital, Saga, SignalFire, Slack Fund, SNR, The Hit Forge, Third Point Ventures, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Tribe Capital, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Aaron Rosenson, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Anne Wojcicki, David Chang, Ed Baker, Gokul Rajaram, Javier Olivan, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Joshua Webster, Madhu Chamarty, Mattia Astori, Matt Mazzeo, Paul Graham, Peter Kazanjy, Sathvik Bilakanti, Scott Belsky, Sue Xu, Vinay Hiremath, Wayne Chang
Jun 1, 2023	Infringements	$4.0M Seed	—	01 Advisors, 20VC, Accomplice VC, Adverb Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Chloe Sladden, Jana Messerschmidt, Arrive, Bain Capital Ventures, Bam Ventures, Baseline Ventures, B Capital Group, Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Blackbird Ventures Australia, Boston Seed Capital, C2 Investment, Conversion Capital, Daffy, Endure Capital, Fifth Wall, Founder Collective, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Goat Capital, Impellent Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, New North Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Polaris Partners, Predictive VC, QED Investors, Ravelin Capital, SOSV, Techstars, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Will Ventures, Y Combinator, Aaron Levie, Adrian Aoun, David Cancel, David Chang, Elad Gil, Eric Wu, Jason Robins, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Joshua Reeves, Kevin Weil, Merlin Kauffman, Ric Fulop, Scott Belsky, Wayne Chang, Zak Kukoff
Jun 1, 2023	1Fort AI	$2.0M Seed	—	Accomplice VC, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Boston Seed Capital, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, David Chang, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky
May 1, 2023	Pilot.Life	$2.0M Seed	—	Monta Vista Capital, NOMO Ventures, Rob May
May 1, 2023	Zip	$100.0M Series C	—	Accomplice VC, AirAngels, Arrive, Baseline Ventures, Bond, Boston Seed Capital, Cedar Capital Group, Chemistry VC, Comal Ventures, CRV, Impellent Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, Northside Ventures, Operator Collective, Predictive VC, The Hit Forge, Village Global, VitalStage Ventures, Y Combinator, Balaji Srinivasan, David Chang, Derrick Li, Jeff Seibert, Jennifer Lum, Scott Belsky

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at 186 Ventures.

Leadership Team

Key people at 186 Ventures.

Deep Dive

186 Ventures is a Boston-based seed-stage venture capital firm focused on backing founders and startups with high growth potential, primarily in software sectors such as fintech, SaaS, developer tooling, blockchain, healthtech, property tech, and AI. Their mission centers on providing not just capital but also deep operational and strategic support, leveraging a strong local network to help early-stage companies scale effectively. They invest mainly in the Northeast US but also deploy capital selectively in other major tech hubs like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Their portfolio includes companies like Causal Labs, Swivvel, Solon, Centaur Labs, and Monitaur, reflecting a thematic approach to disruptive technology across consumer, enterprise, and emerging tech spaces[1][2][3].

Founded in 2021 by Julian Fialkow and Giuseppe Stuto, with Sophie Panarese as Head of Platform, 186 Ventures emerged with a clear focus on founder alignment and value-add beyond funding. The firm’s name references the speed of light (186,000 MPH), symbolizing their commitment to accelerating startup growth. Their founding came at a time when many founders faced challenges due to the post-ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) economic environment, emphasizing the need for experienced investors who understand the ups and downs of economic cycles. This experience-driven approach aims to support founders through both good and tough times, differentiating them in the early-stage VC landscape[1][3].

Core Differentiators

Founder-First Investment Model: 186 Ventures emphasizes transparent, clear communication and alignment with founders, providing candid feedback to enable decisive action.
Operational & Strategic Support: Beyond capital, the firm offers hands-on assistance with product, go-to-market strategies, and investor introductions.
Strong Local Network: Deep roots in the Boston ecosystem with the ability to connect startups to key resources and follow-on investors.
Focused Thematic Investing: Concentration on software-driven sectors with a broad but strategic scope including fintech, AI, blockchain, and healthtech.
Experienced Team: Founders and partners bring operational and investment experience, guiding startups through various economic cycles[1][3].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

186 Ventures rides the wave of increasing demand for early-stage capital that is coupled with operational expertise, especially in software and disruptive technologies. Their timing is critical as startups face more scrutiny and need investors who can provide more than just funding—those who understand market cycles and can help navigate uncertainty. By focusing on the Northeast US, they strengthen a regional ecosystem that is growing as a complement to traditional tech hubs. Their approach supports structural change in legacy industries through technology, positioning them as catalysts for innovation and growth in sectors undergoing digital transformation[1][3].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, 186 Ventures is poised to expand its influence by continuing to back high-potential startups with a founder-centric approach. As technology sectors like AI, blockchain, and healthtech evolve rapidly, their thematic focus aligns well with emerging market opportunities. Their commitment to operational support and network building will likely deepen their impact on the Boston and broader US startup ecosystems. The firm’s ability to navigate economic cycles and provide clear, actionable guidance to founders will remain a key advantage, potentially enabling them to scale their early-stage investment platform and attract more diverse LPs and strategic partners[1][3].

Sources

Core Differentiators

Founder-First Investment Model: 186 Ventures emphasizes transparent, clear communication and alignment with founders, providing candid feedback to enable decisive action.
Operational & Strategic Support: Beyond capital, the firm offers hands-on assistance with product, go-to-market strategies, and investor introductions.
Strong Local Network: Deep roots in the Boston ecosystem with the ability to connect startups to key resources and follow-on investors.
Focused Thematic Investing: Concentration on software-driven sectors with a broad but strategic scope including fintech, AI, blockchain, and healthtech.
Experienced Team: Founders and partners bring operational and investment experience, guiding startups through various economic cycles[1][3].