Calibrate Ventures

This venture capital firm invests in early-stage start-ups, leveraging a partner-only model with a community-driven approach to deliver powerful results.

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Updated: Jan 22, 2026 ·

About

Calibrate Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in start-ups. The firm is a partner-only firm with no junior investment professionals. It leverages a community of investors, founders, and partners who help deliver powerful results. Jason Schoettler and Kevin Dunlap co-founded it in 2016 in Pasadena, California.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Sep 1, 2025	Vibranium Labs	$5.0M Seed	—	Kleiner Perkins, Oak HC/FT, Techstars, TenOneTen Ventures, Drew Houston
Dec 1, 2024	Gentrace	$8.0M Series A	—	Kevin Hartz, Alpaca VC, Alven, Banana Capital, Blackbird Ventures Australia, Coinbase Ventures, Craft Ventures, Essence VC, Jett Fein, Headline (formerly e.ventures), K9 Ventures, Operator Collective, Pioneer Fund, QED Investors, Square Peg Capital, SV Angel, Top Tier Capital Partners, Y Combinator, Alexis Bonillo, Antoine Martin, Cecilia Stallsmith, Claire Hughes Johnson, Guillaume Luccisano, Julius Genachowski, Khaled Helioui, Marco Palladino, Pierre-Yves Ricau, Surahbi Gupta, Ty Smith, Wayne Chang
Dec 1, 2024	Tractian	$120.0M Series C	—	Cedar Capital Group, DGF Investimentos, General Catalyst, Latitud, Lead Edge Capital, monashees, Scott Sandell, Next47, Sapphire Ventures, Soma Capital, Stage Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Immad Akhund, Parker Treacy
Oct 1, 2024	Bifrost AI	$8.0M Series A	—	Airbus Ventures, Carbide Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Neotribe Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Outrun Ventures, Anandamoy Roychowdhary, Rajan Anandan, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA), Sentiero Ventures, Techstars, TenOneTen Ventures, Charlie Songhurst, Drew Houston
Jun 1, 2024	GrayMatter Robotics	$45.0M Series B	—	Browder Capital, Cloud Apps Capital Partners, Company Capital, Dig Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Jackson Square Ventures, January Ventures, Next47, Operator Collective, Saga, Stage Venture Partners, Third Point Ventures, Thomson Reuters Ventures, Peter Kazanjy
Jun 1, 2024	Regard	$61.0M Series B	—	BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, CVS Health, Evergreen Climate Innovations, Kleiner Perkins, Oak HC/FT, Sandbox Industries, Shield Capital, Techstars, TenOneTen Ventures, Drew Houston, Scot Wingo, Sue Bird
Apr 1, 2024	Dune Security	$2.0M Seed	—	Alumni Ventures, Craft Ventures, Drive Capital, Jett Fein, MassMutual Ventures, Summit Partners, Top Tier Capital Partners, Julius Genachowski, Mark Cuban, Wayne Chang, Yusuf Sherwani
Jan 1, 2024	Albedo	$35.0M Series A	—	8VC, Afore Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Cubit Capital, General Catalyst, Initialized Capital, NightDragon, Marc van den Berg, Sequoia Capital, Shield Capital, Elad Gil, Scot Wingo, Sue Bird, Thomas Tull
Oct 1, 2023	AgentSync	$50.0M Series B	—	Alumni Ventures, Craft Ventures, Jett Fein, Top Tier Capital Partners, Julius Genachowski, Wayne Chang
Sep 1, 2023	Deduce	$9.0M Series B	—	Costanoa Ventures, Foundry Group, Freestyle Capital, G20 Ventures, Galaxy Digital, LDV Capital, M13, March Capital, RRE Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Tribe Capital, True Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures
Aug 1, 2023	Trellis Research	$15.0M Series B	—	Kevin Hartz, Adverb Ventures, Alt Capital, Costanoa Ventures, Craft Ventures, Foundry Group, Jett Fein, Headline (formerly e.ventures), K9 Ventures, March Capital, NextView Ventures, RRE Ventures, Top Tier Capital Partners, Toyota Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, Adrian Aoun, Christina Cacioppo, Julius Genachowski, Khaled Helioui, Mathilde Collin, Tellef Thorleifsson, Tom Blomfield, Wayne Chang
Aug 1, 2023	Tractian	$45.0M Series B	—	Alex, Atman Capital, C2 Investment, Cedar Capital Group, DGF Investimentos, General Catalyst, Global Founders Capital, Latitud, Lead Edge Capital, monashees, Scott Sandell, Next47, Picus Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Scale-Up Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Soma Capital, Stage Venture Partners, Tola Capital, Y Combinator, Alex Anton, Benjamin Gleason, Brandon Deer, Immad Akhund, Parker Treacy
Jul 1, 2023	Koop	$4.0M Seed	—	Costanoa Ventures, Foundry Group, March Capital, Outlier Ventures, RRE Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, Virta Ventures, WestRiver Group, WestWave Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Liu Jiang
May 1, 2023	Leap	$15.0M Venture Round	—	Andreessen Horowitz, Avalanche VC, Bling Capital, BR Capital, Costanoa Ventures, Dunce Capital, Equal Ventures, Foundry Group, High Alpha, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Lazerow Ventures, March Capital, Maven 11 Capital, Not Boring Capital, Ravelin Capital, RRE Ventures, Runa Capital, Toyota Ventures, Tusk Venture Partners, Ubiquity Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Village Global, Y Combinator, Aaron Rankin (Sprout Social), Bradley Horowitz, Kyle Vogt, Trent McConaghy
Apr 1, 2023	aiXplain	$8.0M Seed	—	Goodwater Capital
Nov 1, 2022	Parallel Domain	$30.0M Series B	—	8VC, Andreessen Horowitz, Cisco Investments, Costanoa Ventures, Cota Capital, Foundry Group, Giant Ventures, Haystack, Hyperplane Venture Capital, Insight Partners, Madrona Ventures, March Capital, NextView Ventures, Root Ventures, RRE Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Tekfen Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ubiquity Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Clark Landry, George Hu
Oct 1, 2022	Imbue	$20.0M Series A	—	Alt Capital, Arrive, Ascend Vietnam Ventures, Basis Set Ventures, Bond, Coatue, CRV, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Liquid 2 Ventures, Hans Tung, Oak HC/FT, Outcast Ventures, Peterson Partners, SciFi VC, Soma Capital, Techstars, TenOneTen Ventures, Bernard Arnault, Claire Hughes Johnson, Frederic Kerrest, Jenna Hannon, Mathilde Collin, Sahin Boydas, Theresa Johnson, Tony Xu
Sep 1, 2022	Howso	$25.0M Series A	—	Costanoa Ventures, Foundry Group, Shield Capital, Scot Wingo, Sue Bird
Sep 1, 2022	Albedo	$48.0M Series A	—	Afore Capital, Amasia, Anthemis Group, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, CapitalX, Matt Ocko, Dreamers VC, Elkstone, Greycroft, Initialized Capital, Jetstream, No Label Ventures, Marc van den Berg, Paradigm, Pareto Holdings, Rajan Anandan, RTP Global, Sequoia Capital, Shield Capital, SNR, Streamlined Ventures, Taurus Ventures, Trajectory Ventures, Venture Highway, Village Global, Y Combinator, Ali Moiz, Alison Engel, Arash Ferdowsi, Gokul Rajaram, Ilya Kondrashov, Immad Akhund, Kiran Bhatraju, Mike Giampapa, Munish Varma, Sahin Boydas, Scot Wingo, Sue Bird, Sumon Sadhu, Viral Bajaria
Aug 1, 2022	GrayMatter Robotics	$20.0M Series A	—	Next47, Stage Venture Partners
Jun 1, 2022	Regard	$15.0M Series A	—	Fin Capital, Goat Capital, GSR Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Mantis VC, Oak HC/FT, Point72 Ventures, Shield Capital, Techstars, TenOneTen Ventures, What If Ventures, Drew Houston, Scot Wingo, Sue Bird
May 1, 2022	Tractian	$15.0M Series A	—	Ascend Venture Capital, Cedar Capital Group, Electric Capital, monashees, Scott Sandell, Next47, Stage Venture Partners
Mar 1, 2022	Brimstone	$55.0M Series A	—	50 Partners, Alt Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, DCVC (Data Collective), Fifth Wall, LAUNCH, Ulu Ventures, Andrew Maywah, Romain Afflelou
Jan 1, 2022	PortalOne	$60.0M Series A	—	305 Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Accel, Arrive, Benchmark, Bling Capital, Guy Vidra, Craft Ventures, Curie.Bio, DST Global, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, FinTech Collective, Floodgate, Founders Fund, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Greylock, Jett Fein, Inspired Capital, Khosla Ventures, LGF, Long Journey Ventures, Mayfield, Hans Tung, Oak HC/FT, Openspace Ventures, Operator Partners, Operator Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital, Signia Venture Partners, Smash Capital, SNR, Square Peg Capital, Streamlined Ventures, Talis Capital, Techstars, Thrive Capital, Tiger Global Management, Top Tier Capital Partners, TQ Ventures, Tribe Capital, Trust Fund, Volition Capital, Y Combinator, Aaron Rankin (Sprout Social), Adrian Aoun, Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Amadeo Brenninkmeijer, Baron Davis, Bradley Horowitz, Cato Sælid, Daniela Binatti, Eugene Wei, Gautam Gupta, George Morrison, Hannah Bronfman, Jannick Malling, Jim Lanzone, Julius Genachowski, Justin Mateen, Kevin Lin, Leif Abraham, Louis Beryl, Mato Peric, Samvit Ramadurgam, Scott Banister, Sergio Jimenez, Sohail Prasad, Steve Chen, Sujata Bhatia, Wayne Chang, Xen Lategan
Dec 1, 2021	AgentSync	$75.0M Series B	—	Alumni Ventures, Craft Ventures, Jett Fein, Top Tier Capital Partners, Julius Genachowski, Wayne Chang

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Calibrate Ventures.

Kevin Dunlap

Managing Partner

Aimee (LaFont) Leifer

Leadership Team

Key people at Calibrate Ventures.

Kevin Dunlap

Managing Partner

Aimee (LaFont) Leifer

Deep Dive

Calibrate Ventures is a Pasadena-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests in early-stage startups specializing in deep tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation. Their mission is to back visionary technical founders who are developing transformative technologies with scalable commercial potential, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and agriculture. Calibrate employs a partner-only investment model combined with a community-driven approach, providing hands-on operational support and leveraging a powerful network of entrepreneurs and investors to accelerate growth and commercialization. Their focus on companies generating under $5 million in recurring revenue allows them to guide startups through critical scaling phases, driving industrial transformation through AI and robotics[1][2][5].

The firm’s portfolio includes innovative companies like FarmWise (AI-enabled agricultural technology), GrayMatter Robotics (automation for manufacturing), and aiXplain (no-code AI development), reflecting their commitment to solving major market needs with deep tech solutions. Calibrate Ventures also fosters ecosystem collaboration through industry events such as Edge of Now (EON), which convenes leading AI minds to explore future innovations[1][6].

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Origin Story

Calibrate Ventures was founded in 2017 in Pasadena, California, by co-founders Jason Schoettler and Kevin Dunlap, who bring over 45 years of combined experience in investing and building deep tech companies. The firm evolved with a clear focus on early-stage investments in deep tech sectors that are poised for large-scale industrial impact, including AI, computer vision, autonomy, and robotics. Over time, Calibrate has raised multiple funds, including a recent $97 million fund, and has developed a reputation for partnering closely with technical founders to drive growth and commercialization. Notable milestones include successful exits such as the acquisition of TruckLabs in 2023, which followed significant revenue growth[1][2][4].

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Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Calibrate operates a partner-only model emphasizing deep collaboration with founders rather than passive investment.
Network Strength: The firm leverages a robust network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to support portfolio companies.
Track Record: With 37 investments and notable exits, Calibrate has demonstrated success in scaling early-revenue deep tech startups.
Operating Support: Beyond capital, Calibrate provides hands-on guidance during critical scaling phases, helping startups commercialize and grow efficiently.
Community-Driven Approach: Organizes events like Edge of Now to foster innovation and collaboration within the AI and automation ecosystem[1][2][5].

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Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Calibrate Ventures rides the wave of the current industrial revolution driven by AI and robotics, focusing on deep tech solutions that address pressing global challenges such as labor shortages in manufacturing, sustainability in logistics and agriculture, and healthcare inefficiencies. The timing is critical as industries face increasing pressure to adopt automation and AI to improve productivity and sustainability. Market forces such as growing freight activity, food demand, and healthcare needs create large-scale opportunities for the technologies Calibrate backs. By investing early in scalable deep tech, Calibrate influences the broader ecosystem by accelerating the adoption of transformative technologies and fostering a community of innovation around AI and automation[1][5].

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Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Calibrate Ventures is positioned to continue shaping the next generation of AI and automation leaders by expanding its portfolio and deepening its operational support. Trends such as increased industrial automation, AI integration across sectors, and sustainability imperatives will likely drive their investment focus. Their influence is expected to grow as they help startups navigate commercialization challenges and scale breakthrough technologies that redefine industries. Calibrate’s community-driven and partner-centric model will remain a key differentiator, enabling them to maintain a leading role in the evolving deep tech venture capital landscape[1][2][5].

Sources

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Origin Story

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Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Calibrate operates a partner-only model emphasizing deep collaboration with founders rather than passive investment.
Network Strength: The firm leverages a robust network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to support portfolio companies.
Track Record: With 37 investments and notable exits, Calibrate has demonstrated success in scaling early-revenue deep tech startups.
Operating Support: Beyond capital, Calibrate provides hands-on guidance during critical scaling phases, helping startups commercialize and grow efficiently.
Community-Driven Approach: Organizes events like Edge of Now to foster innovation and collaboration within the AI and automation ecosystem[1][2][5].

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Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

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