
C2 Investment
Investment firm
About
Investment firm
Financial History
Leadership Team
Key people at C2 Investment.

Investment firm
Investment firm
Key people at C2 Investment.
C2 Ventures (C2V) is a US-based early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on investing in legacy industries often described as "dull, dirty, and dangerous," such as robotics and SaaS productivity tools for old economy sectors. The firm deliberately avoids investing in crypto, web3, consumer companies, and Silicon Valley startups, instead targeting opportunities in flyover states like Cleveland, Chicago, and Charlotte. Their mission centers on providing more than just capital—offering hands-on support, technical due diligence, and operational guidance to help startups succeed. With over 30 portfolio companies and multiple exits, C2V aims to disrupt traditional industries through technology innovation, thereby impacting the startup ecosystem by fostering growth in underinvested regions and sectors[1][3][4].
Founded in 2014, C2 Ventures launched its first institutional fund in 2019. The firm was co-founded by Chris Cunningham and Matt Olivo, who sought to address the high failure rate of startups by providing not only capital but also time, experience, and operational support. Their focus evolved to emphasize early-stage investments in SaaS and robotics tools that improve productivity in legacy industries. This approach reflects their belief that many startups fail due to lack of hands-on guidance rather than just funding. The firm has grown to manage over $30 million in assets, supported by a network of over 125 investors including notable operators and athletes who contribute to technical and strategic support[1][3].
C2 Ventures rides the trend of technological disruption in legacy industries that have traditionally been underserved by venture capital. By focusing on sectors like robotics and SaaS tools for old economy businesses, the firm capitalizes on market inefficiencies and the growing need for automation and productivity improvements outside the typical tech hubs. This timing is critical as many legacy industries face pressure to modernize, and C2V’s investments help accelerate this transformation. Their geographic focus on flyover states also supports regional economic diversification and innovation outside coastal tech centers, influencing the broader ecosystem by expanding the reach of venture capital and technology adoption[1][3][4].
Looking ahead, C2 Ventures is likely to continue expanding its portfolio in legacy sectors with a strong emphasis on operational support and regional diversification. Trends such as increased automation, SaaS adoption in traditional industries, and the decentralization of startup ecosystems will shape their journey. Their influence may grow as they demonstrate the viability of investing outside Silicon Valley and in sectors often overlooked by mainstream venture capital. This positions C2V as a catalyst for innovation in the "dull, dirty, and dangerous" spaces, potentially redefining how and where impactful technology investments are made[1][3].
Key people at C2 Investment.
| Date | Company | Round | Lead Investor(s) | Co-Investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2025 | Basis Theory | $33.0M Series B | — | Costanoa Ventures, Uncork Capital |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Deel | $300.0M Series E | — | Andreessen Horowitz, Cambrian Ventures, Coatue, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, Franklin Templeton Investments, General Catalyst, Gradient Ventures, Green Bay Ventures, Incisive Ventures, LGF, Ribbit Capital, Roosh Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Spark Capital, Y Combinator, Alexandre Scialom, Ben Lang, Elad Gil, Jeffrey Wilke, Justin Mateen, Vinay Hiremath, William Hockey |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Magic | $10.0M Seed | — | Aglae Ventures, Jana Messerschmidt, Earl Grey Capital, Hyper, Innovation Endeavors, KRM Interests LLC, Lerer Hippeau, Northzone, Placeholder, Redpoint Ventures, Sarona Ventures, Seven Seven Six, The Hit Forge, Volt Capital, Weekend Fund, Y Combinator, Balaji Srinivasan, Ben Davenport, Ben Porterfield, Casey Neistat, DROdio - Daniel R. Odio, Florian Huber, Fredrik Hjelm, Guillermo Rauch, Paul Yacoubian, Sahil Lavingia, Sahin Boydas, Scott Belsky, Varsha Rao |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Sumble | $30.0M Series A | — | AIX Ventures, Marc Benioff |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Tensormesh | $5.0M Seed | — | AIX Ventures, DTCP, Flex Capital, Innovation Endeavors, IVP, Maven Ventures, The Hit Forge, Y Combinator, Amjad Masad, Balaji Srinivasan, Bob Muglia, Dylan Field, Jeff Bezos, Mattia Astori, Shane Neman, Stanley Druckenmiller, Tobias Lutke, Yann LeCun |
| Oct 1, 2025 | 1001 AI | $9.0M Seed | — | Axiom Partners, Contrary Capital, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Goodwater Capital, LGF, Lux Capital, Target Global, Venture Highway, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Amjad Masad, Arash Ferdowsi, Balaji Srinivasan, David Petersen, Eoghan McCabe, Gerald Parloiu, Gokul Rajaram, Manik Gupta, Oliver Jung |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Harvey | $59.0M Series E | — | Afore Capital, Array Ventures, Chingona Ventures, Conviction Partners, DST Global, Innovation Endeavors, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Open AI Startup Fund, Propeller VC, Saga, Sequoia Capital, Verified Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Elad Gil, Jeff Bezos, Karim Atiyeh, Mei Z., Reshma Saujani, Scott Belsky |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Vercel | $300.0M Series F | GIC | Accel, Adams Street Partners, BlackRock, Cedar Capital Group, General Catalyst, GV, Khosla Ventures, Notable Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Schroders, StepStone Group, Tiger Global Management, 2xN, CRV, Forerunner Ventures, FPV Fund, Menlo Ventures, Resolute Ventures, The Hit Forge, Adam Marchick, Tom Williams |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Baseten | $150.0M Series D | — | 01 Advisors, Gautam Gupta, Kevin Hartz, Accel, Acrew Capital, Alt Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Ventures, Bond, Conviction Partners, DTCP, Forerunner Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Greylock, Sangeen Zeb, Infinite Capital, IVP, LGF, Liquid 2 Ventures, Pioneer Fund, Plaid, Predictive VC, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, Jarrod Dicker, The General Partnership, Y Combinator, Aaron Levie, Charles Zedlewski, Cristina Cordova, DJ Patil, Dylan Field, Frederic Kerrest, Greg Brockman, Howie Liu, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Peter Reinhardt, Ron Pragides, Scott Belsky, Will Gaybrick, Zachary Sims |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Skope | $500K Seed | — | Axiom Partners, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Amjad Masad, Arash Ferdowsi, Balaji Srinivasan, David Petersen, Eoghan McCabe, Gokul Rajaram |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Polars | $21.0M Series A | — | Accel, Khosla Ventures, Pareto Holdings, Akshay Kothari, Dharmesh Shah, Elad Gil |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Standard Fleet | $13.0M Series A | — | 8VC, Canvas Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Paradigm, Thrive Capital, Uncorrelated Ventures, Y Combinator, Elad Gil, John Collison, Patrick Collison |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Medra AI | $11.0M Seed | — | Axiom Partners, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Amjad Masad, Arash Ferdowsi, Balaji Srinivasan, David Petersen, Eoghan McCabe, Gokul Rajaram |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Inbox Health | $20.0M Venture Round | — | Adverb Ventures, Chloe Sladden, Catapult Capital, Commerce Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Convective Capital, Expa, Greylock, Healthy Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, Kleiner Perkins, Quiet Capital, Softbank Group, Thrive Capital, TY, Aaron Levie, Bradley Horowitz, Jim Pitkow, Marc Benioff |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Distyl AI | $180.0M Series B | — | Altimeter Capital, FirstHand Alliance, Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Composite | $6.0M Seed | — | Mei Z. |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Console | $23.0M Series A | — | Jetstream, True Ventures, Adrian Aoun, Arash Ferdowsi, Ben Uretsky, Christina Cacioppo, Immad Akhund, Matteo Franceschetti, William Hockey |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Inkeep | $13.0M Seed | — | Axiom Partners, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Amjad Masad, Arash Ferdowsi, Balaji Srinivasan, David Petersen, Eoghan McCabe, Gokul Rajaram, Guillermo Rauch |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Keplar | $3.0M Seed | — | Hanabi Capital, Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital |
| Sep 1, 2025 | Aria Protocol Labs | $15.0M Seed | — | Accel, Ada Ventures, Hashed, OODA Ventures, Paladin Capital Group, Bradley Horowitz, Charlie Songhurst, Christian Faes, Ivan Mazour, Mandeep Singh |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Paradigm | $5.0M Seed | — | Axiom Partners, Bee Partners, Blue Bear Capital, Contrary Capital, General Catalyst, Erik Nordlander, Next Play Ventures, Play Ventures, Sequoia Capital, UP.Partners, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Amjad Masad, Arash Ferdowsi, Balaji Srinivasan, Bradley Horowitz, David Petersen, Drew Houston, Dylan Field, Elad Gil, Eoghan McCabe, Gokul Rajaram, Jonathan Wasserstrum, Kyle Vogt, Marc Benioff, Sahin Boydas, Sam Altman, Spencer Kimball |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Chai Discovery | $70.0M Series A | — | 8VC, Alkeon Capital, Gaingels, Indeed.com, Innovation Endeavors, LGF, Menlo Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Paradigm, Stellar Capital, Thrive Capital, Y Combinator, Elad Gil, John Collison, Konstantin von Unger, Patrick Collison |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Trepa | $420K Seed | — | Axiom Partners, Y Combinator, Akshay Kothari, Amjad Masad, Arash Ferdowsi, David Petersen, Eoghan McCabe, Gokul Rajaram |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Develop Health | $18.0M Series A | — | Afore Capital, Alt Capital, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, MKT1 Capital, Plaid, Ribbit Capital, Scalar Capital, Susa Ventures, Wing Venture Capital, Chase Gilbert, Derrick Li, Matt Macinnis, Parker Conrad |
| Aug 1, 2025 | Medallion | $43.0M Series C | — | Acrew Capital, Craft Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Sangeen Zeb, GV, Infinite Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, MS&AD Ventures, Night Capital, Pioneer Fund, Predictive VC, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, Stellar Capital, Jarrod Dicker, Thirty Five Ventures, Breon Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Mark Pincus, Matthew Dellavedova, Mitch Garber, Odell Beckham Jr., Peter Reinhardt, Steve Aoki, Will Gaybrick, Zachary Sims |