New Stack Ventures

Chicago-based pre-seed/seed VC investing in the Outsiders with 7x growth from Fund 1 to Fund 2

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Updated: Dec 5, 2025 ·

About

Chicago-based pre-seed/seed VC investing in the Outsiders with 7x growth from Fund 1 to Fund 2

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Sep 1, 2024	Mbue	$2.0M Seed	—	Cupule Ventures, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund)
Sep 1, 2024	Besolo	$2.0M Seed	—	Cupule Ventures, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund), Founder Collective, Kindred Ventures, Stellar Capital
Sep 1, 2023	Mentra	$4.0M Seed	—	9Yards Capital, Acrew Capital, Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Energize Ventures, Felicis Ventures, FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, Greylock, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LombardStreet Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Operator Collective, Otherwise Fund, Sarah Smith Fund, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Andrew Jones, Christian Reber, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, JD Ross, Karim Atiyeh, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Sam Corcos, Scott Belsky, Steven Alan, Thibaud Elziere
Aug 1, 2023	SATIM	$2.0M Seed	—	Berkeley Angel Network, Blank Ventures, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund), NextGen Venture Partners, Antoine Nivard, Nitay Joffe, Ron Pragides
Mar 1, 2023	Paiv (formerly Gamify)	$3.0M Seed	—	Broadway Angels, Court Lorenzini, Rudy Gadre
Sep 1, 2022	Flair	$8.0M Series A	—	Active Impact Investments, Carao Ventures, Great Wave Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, SOSV, Third Sphere, Ulrich Gall
Apr 1, 2022	Livegistics	$6.0M Seed	—	Black Ops Ventures, First Round Capital, LvlUp Ventures, Newlin, Osney Capital, Quake Capital, Refinery Ventures, Grant Newlin
Apr 1, 2022	SATIM	$1.0M Seed	—	Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund)
Mar 1, 2022	Rabot	$2.0M Seed	—	Advisors Fund LLC, Alumni Ventures, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, BootstrapLabs, DCM, Xuhui Shao, Mayfield, NewFund, Oak HC/FT, Proton Enterprises, R42 Group, SOSV
Dec 1, 2021	Airbyte	$150.0M Series B	—	Accel, Afore Capital, AirAngels, Benchmark, Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Chapter One Ventures, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, Contrary Capital, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, Otherwise Fund, Pioneer Fund, Sapphire Ventures, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, South Park Commons, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Y Combinator, Alex Adelman, Amber Feng, Christian Reber, Dylan Field, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Jeff Morris, Kevin Lin, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere, William Hockey
Dec 1, 2021	neu	$280K Seed	—	Broadway Angels, Court Lorenzini, Rudy Gadre
Sep 1, 2021	Smartwyre	$11.0M Series A	—	Anterra Capital, High Alpha, Revolution, Andrew Bialecki, Jamie Sutton, Ron Pragides
Aug 1, 2021	equipifi	$3.0M Seed	—	Army Venture Capital Corp., Hoxton Ventures, KCRise Fund, Montage Ventures, Newlin, Origin Ventures, Refinery Ventures, Revolution, Silicon Badia, Telescope Partners, The Community Fund, TNT Venture, Tribe Capital, Grant Newlin, Jacob Chapman
Apr 1, 2021	Flair	$2.0M Venture Round	—	Active Impact Investments, Carao Ventures, Great Wave Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, SOSV, Third Sphere, Ulrich Gall
Jan 1, 2021	Xplore	$9.0M Seed	—	Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Christian Reber, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere
Oct 1, 2020	neu	$720K Seed	—	Broadway Angels, Great Wave Ventures, SOSV, Court Lorenzini
Oct 1, 2020	Lightning AI	$15.0M Series A	—	Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Christian Reber, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere
Aug 1, 2020	Klima	$6.0M Seed	—	Bowery Capital, Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Cherry Ventures, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Jonathan Becker, Headline (formerly e.ventures), Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Point Nine Capital, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, Target Global, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Chris Schagen, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Jeremy Yap, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Philipp Freise, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere, Tobias Balling
Jul 1, 2020	Hummingbird	$8.0M Series A	—	Altari Ventures, Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Flourish Ventures, Grace Beauty Capital, Harrison Metal, Highbury Group, Homebrew, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Rick Lewis, Christian Reber, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere
Jul 1, 2020	Abacus.AI	$13.0M Series A	—	468 Capital, Adverb Ventures, Alkeon Capital, Altimeter Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Chloe Sladden, Benchmark, Bono, Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Caffeinated Capital, Cedar Capital Group, CMFG Ventures, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, Decibel Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, Footwork, General Catalyst, Hanabi Capital, Hardware Club, Heretic Ventures, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, Innovation Endeavors, InterWest, Kindred Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Tony Florence, Operator Collective, Otherwise Fund, Quiet Capital, Redpoint Ventures, SciFi VC, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia Capital China, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, South Park Commons, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Work-Bench, Y Combinator, Aaron Levie, Ben Davenport, Bill Tai, Christian Reber, Drew Houston, Elad Gil, Evan Williams, J.D. Fagan, Jeff Bezos, Julia Hartz, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Moisey Uretsky, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere, Yan-David Erlich
Jun 1, 2020	RenoFi	$6.0M Series A	—	Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Canaan Partners, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, Comcast Ventures, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, MTech Capital, Otherwise Fund, Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, SOSV, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Tola Capital, Christian Reber, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere, Thompson Hutton (Thompson Hutton)
Jun 1, 2020	Atmos	$2.0M Seed	—	01 Advisors, 10100, 20VC, 8VC, Accel, Afore Capital, Alex, Alumni Ventures, Audacious Ventures, Avanta Ventures, Awesome People Ventures, Backend Capital, Basecamp Fund, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Bora&Sons, Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Chemistry VC, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, Commerce Ventures, Convective Capital, Daffy, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, Flourish Ventures, Flucas Ventures, Footwork, Founders Fund, Geodesic Capital, Goat Capital, Gradient Ventures, Christian Leybold, Hercules Capital, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, Infinite Niches, Intuition Capital, JLL Spark, Kima Ventures, L Catterton Growth, LGF, Ligature, Lobby Capital, LombardStreet Ventures, Matrix, Menlo Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Ed Mathers, NextView Ventures, NFX, Otherwise Fund, Pear VC, Picus Capital, Prototype Capital, QED Investors, Ravelin Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Runway Growth Capital, Sandalphon Capital, Scribble Ventures, Script Capital, Serena Ventures, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, Shrug Capital, SignalFire, Sound Ventures, South Park Commons, Stellation Capital, SV Angel, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Tusk Venture Partners, Underscore VC, Vibe Capital, Vouch Insurance, Weekend Fund, WorkLife Ventures, Y Combinator, Adam D'Angelo, Alper Kiresepi, Anna Patterson, Chad Nitschke, Christian Reber, Drew Houston, Dylan Field, Elad Gil, Emmett Shear, Eric Wu, Francisco Larrain, Greg Brockman, Howard Charney, Ian Hogarth, James Beshara, J.D. Fagan, Jesse Leimgruber, Joe Greenstein, John M. Mueller, Jonathan Gheller, Julie Zhuo, Kevin Weil, Kyle Vogt, Marissa Mayer, Matt Gibstein, Matt Macinnis, Mike Krieger, Mike Vernal, Moshe Lifschitz, Paul Yacoubian, Peter Hunn, Rudra Peram, Sahin Boydas, Sam Altman, Scott Belsky, Steve Schlafman, Sung ho Choi, Thibaud Elziere, Tikhon Bernstam, Trevor Blackwell, Tyler Willis, Yagiz Sozmen, Zach Segal
Jan 1, 2020	SkyWatch	$8.0M Series A	—	BioAdvance, Bullpen Capital, Catapult Capital, Space Capital, Streamlined Ventures, Alexander Lavin, Charlie Songhurst, Paul Holliman
Dec 1, 2019	RenoFi	$750K Seed	—	Brewer Lane Ventures, C2 Investment, Coatue, Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, DNX Ventures, Drummond Road Capital, eFounders, Electric Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Highbury Group, Index Ventures, LGF, LombardStreet Ventures, Otherwise Fund, Sherpalo Ventures, Shine Capital, The Hit Forge, Third Kind Ventures, Christian Reber, Elad Gil, J.D. Fagan, Matt Macinnis, Mike Vernal, Scott Belsky, Thibaud Elziere
Dec 1, 2019	Mechasys	$950K Seed	—	SOSV

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at New Stack Ventures.

Head of Dealflow, Senior Associate

Leadership Team

Key people at New Stack Ventures.

Head of Dealflow, Senior Associate

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

New Stack Ventures is a Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in founders often overlooked by traditional VCs, particularly those outside Silicon Valley's insider network. Their mission centers on backing "Outsider" founders who challenge the status quo, focusing on startups in under-capitalized markets and geographies. The firm invests primarily at the pre-seed and seed stages, targeting sectors such as IoT, deep tech, smart hardware, vertical AI, B2B SaaS, fintech, healthcare, and legacy industries like manufacturing and supply chain. New Stack Ventures has demonstrated significant growth, expanding from a $6 million first fund to a $42.6 million second fund, enabling support for more startups and reflecting a 7x growth in fund size. Their founder-friendly and proactive approach has earned them recognition as one of the most active and engaged early-stage investors, with a portfolio including companies like Draftbit, Curv, and Flamingo[1][6].

Origin Story

Founded in 2015 by Nick Moran, New Stack Ventures emerged from his diverse background spanning software development, M&A, product management, and venture capital. Moran’s experience includes developing a successful analytical device at Danaher and founding "The Full Ratchet," a popular VC podcast. The firm evolved with a clear focus on supporting founders outside the traditional Silicon Valley ecosystem, emphasizing inclusivity and diversity in entrepreneurship. Key partners include Nate Pierotti, Luke Skertich, and Ariella Frank, who bring operational and investment expertise from startups and venture capital. Over time, New Stack Ventures has refined its focus on early-stage investments in underrepresented sectors and geographies, growing its fund size and portfolio accordingly[1][3][6].

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Focus on "Outsider" founders often overlooked by traditional VCs, investing in pre-revenue, pilot, or early commercialization stages.
Network Strength: Facilitates connections with Tier 1 venture capitalists to enhance portfolio companies’ visibility and growth potential.
Track Record: Rapid fund growth from $6 million to $42.6 million, with over 70 investments including notable startups like Draftbit and Curv.
Operating Support: Partners bring deep operational experience from startups and product management, providing hands-on guidance.
Geographic Focus: Strong commitment to markets outside Silicon Valley, primarily in the U.S., especially Chicago.
Sector Focus: Emphasis on IoT, deep tech, smart hardware, vertical AI, fintech, healthcare, and legacy industries.
Founder-Friendly Approach: Known for proactive engagement and collaborative investment processes[1][3][6].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

New Stack Ventures rides the trend of decentralizing venture capital away from Silicon Valley, capitalizing on the growing recognition that transformative startups emerge globally and from diverse founder backgrounds. The timing is critical as technology adoption spreads across industries and regions previously under-capitalized, such as manufacturing, energy, and supply chain sectors. Market forces favor firms like New Stack that provide early-stage capital and operational support to startups in these spaces, helping to democratize access to venture funding. By backing "outsider" founders, New Stack Ventures influences the broader ecosystem by expanding the diversity of innovation and fostering startups that might otherwise be neglected by traditional VC models[1][6].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, New Stack Ventures is poised to continue scaling its impact with its larger Fund II, enabling investments in more startups and deeper support at early stages. Trends such as vertical AI, fintech innovation, and digital transformation in legacy industries will likely shape their portfolio focus. As the venture capital landscape increasingly values geographic and founder diversity, New Stack’s role as a champion for outsiders will grow, potentially influencing other firms to broaden their investment horizons. Their continued success will depend on maintaining their founder-centric approach while leveraging their expanding network to accelerate portfolio company growth[1][6]. This trajectory ties back to their core mission of empowering transformative startups beyond Silicon Valley’s traditional boundaries.

Sources

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Focus on "Outsider" founders often overlooked by traditional VCs, investing in pre-revenue, pilot, or early commercialization stages.
Network Strength: Facilitates connections with Tier 1 venture capitalists to enhance portfolio companies’ visibility and growth potential.
Track Record: Rapid fund growth from $6 million to $42.6 million, with over 70 investments including notable startups like Draftbit and Curv.
Operating Support: Partners bring deep operational experience from startups and product management, providing hands-on guidance.
Geographic Focus: Strong commitment to markets outside Silicon Valley, primarily in the U.S., especially Chicago.
Sector Focus: Emphasis on IoT, deep tech, smart hardware, vertical AI, fintech, healthcare, and legacy industries.
Founder-Friendly Approach: Known for proactive engagement and collaborative investment processes[1][3][6].