Robot Ventures

Invests in exceptional fintech and blockchain startups led by ambitious founders with contrarian worldviews.

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Jan 22, 2026 ·

About

Robot Ventures is a (pre-)seed investor in exceptional fintech and blockchain companies led by founders with big ambitions, and contrarian worldviews.

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Nov 1, 2025	Self Protocol	$9.0M Seed	—	Polygon, Casey Neistat
Oct 1, 2025	Limitless Labs	$10.0M Seed	—	10100, 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Brainchild, Divergence Ventures, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, New Form Capital, Polychain Capital, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Thrive Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Diego Berdakin, Dylan Field, Mark Pincus, Sahin Boydas, Stani Kulechov, Vitalik Buterin
Oct 1, 2025	Glue	$20.0M Series A	—	10100, 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Brainchild, Divergence Ventures, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, New Form Capital, Polychain Capital, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Thrive Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Diego Berdakin, Dylan Field, Mark Pincus, Sahin Boydas, Stani Kulechov, Vitalik Buterin
Sep 1, 2025	Belfort	$6.0M Seed	—	10100, 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Brainchild, Divergence Ventures, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, New Form Capital, Polychain Capital, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Thrive Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Diego Berdakin, Dylan Field, Mark Pincus, Nicolas Pinto, Sahin Boydas, Stani Kulechov, Vitalik Buterin, Willem Delbare
Sep 1, 2025	Divine Research	$7.0M Seed	—	Blockchain Capital, Lisa Cuesta
Aug 1, 2025	STARK	$62.0M Venture Round	—	Aleph VC, Founders Fund, MizMaa Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Zeev Capital
Aug 1, 2025	Hyperbeat	$5.0M Seed	—	Blockchain Capital, Blockchain Coinvestors AngelList Syndicate, Broadway Angels, Craig Shapiro, Daffy, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Summit Partners, The Hit Forge, Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Charles Goldman, Eric Wu, Fidji Simo, Henry Kravis, Julie Zhuo, Stani Kulechov, Stanley Druckenmiller
Jul 1, 2025	XMTP	$20.0M Series B	—	Alchemy Ventures, Ambush Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Awesome People Ventures, Bailhe, Batalion Capital, Broadstone, Capital Factory, Form Capital, FTX Ventures, Haun Ventures, HawksHead Capital, IDEO CoLab Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Multicoin Capital, Not Boring Capital, Ben Huh, Pantera Capital, Pharos Capital Group, Redpoint Ventures, Scalar Capital, Sequoia Capital, Seven Seven Six, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Timespan Ventures, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Union Square Ventures, Wave Financial, White Loop Capital, Anthony Pompliano, Balaji Srinivasan, Bobby Goodlatte, Chris Kurdziel, Courtney Guertin, Ethan Beard, Fernando Martinelli, Itamar Lesuisse, Jess Sloss, Joe Stump, Michael Dunworth, Narendra Rocherolle, Paul Stamatiou, Reggie James, Ricky Engelberg, Scott Belsky, Shishir Mehrotra, Stani Kulechov, Tegan Kline, William Boebel
Jul 1, 2025	Subzero Labs	$20.0M Seed	—	Blockchange Ventures, Hashed, Multicoin Capital, Pantera Capital
Jul 1, 2025	Polymarket	$150.0M Series C	—	10100, 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Brainchild, Darling Ventures, Divergence Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, EQT Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, iNovia Capital, New Form Capital, Operator Collective, Polychain Capital, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Thrive Capital, Tiger Global Management, Triatomic Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Diego Berdakin, Dylan Field, Mark Pincus, Sahin Boydas, Stani Kulechov, Vitalik Buterin
Jun 1, 2025	Netic	$20.0M Seed	—	10100, 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Alumni Ventures, Amino Capital, AngelList, Bling Capital, Brainchild, C2 Investment, Kevin Ding, Divergence Ventures, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Goat Capital, Greenoaks Capital, Greylock, Hanabi Capital, Helium-3 Ventures, Jigsaw VC, Kleiner Perkins, LGF, Longtail Ventures, Madrona Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Ann Bordetsky, New Form Capital, Polychain Capital, Primitive Ventures, Quiet Capital, Saga, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Thrive Capital, Tribe Capital, UpHonest Capital, Y Combinator, Balaji Srinivasan, Diego Berdakin, Dylan Field, Elad Gil, Mark Pincus, Matt Bellamy, Mike Vernal, Sahin Boydas, Samvit Ramadurgam, Sohail Prasad, Stani Kulechov, Sue Xu, Vitalik Buterin
Jun 1, 2025	OneBalance	$20.0M Series A	—	Blockchain Capital, Lisa Cuesta
Jun 1, 2025	Avantis Labs	$8.0M Series A	—	468 Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Rocketship.vc, Sherpalo Ventures, Baris Gultekin, Biz Stone, Gokul Rajaram, Josh Elman, Kunal Shah, Othman Laraki
May 1, 2025	Snorkel AI	$100.0M Series D	—	01 Advisors, Abstract Ventures, Accel, Addition, Andreessen Horowitz, B8, Bessemer Venture Partners, Blossom Capital, Felicis Ventures, ff Venture Capital, General Catalyst, Greylock, Hemi Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lobby Capital, Lux Capital, Scott Sandell, QBE Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, SoftBank Investment Advisers, South Park Commons, Tiger Global Management, Vouch Insurance, Y Combinator, Fidji Simo, Greg Brockman, Jim Pitkow, Matt Mazzeo, Scott Belsky, Stacy Brown-Philpot
Apr 1, 2025	Fourier	$19.0M Series A	—	Blockchain Capital, Blockchain Coinvestors AngelList Syndicate, Broadway Angels, Craig Shapiro, Daffy, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Electric Capital, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Summit Partners, The Hit Forge, Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Charles Goldman, Eric Wu, Fidji Simo, Henry Kravis, Julie Zhuo, Stani Kulechov, Stanley Druckenmiller
Apr 1, 2025	Roam	$12.0M Series A	—	Blockchain Capital, Blockchain Coinvestors AngelList Syndicate, Broadway Angels, Craig Shapiro, Daffy, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Electric Capital, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Pareto Holdings, Slow Ventures, Summit Partners, The Hit Forge, Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Charles Goldman, Eric Wu, Fidji Simo, Henry Kravis, Julie Zhuo, Stani Kulechov, Stanley Druckenmiller
Mar 1, 2025	Peregrine Technologies	$190.0M Series C	—	Friends & Family Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, Alex Adelman
Feb 1, 2025	SuruS	$8.0M Seed	—	Cadenza Capital Management, Castle Island Ventures, Cygnus Capital, Draper Associates, NXTP Labs, David Marcus, Robert Witoff
Dec 1, 2024	Bluenote Health	$10.0M Venture Round	—	468 Capital, 7wire Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Artichoke Capital, Catalio Capital, Cherubic Ventures, Dragonfly Capital Partners, Electric Capital, Lux Capital, Paradigm, Placeholder, Refactor Capital, Rocketship.vc, Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures, The Hit Forge, XFactor Ventures, Ameet Patel, Amjad Masad, Andy Coravos, Anne Wojcicki, Balaji Srinivasan, Baris Gultekin, Biz Stone, Dylan Field, Gokul Rajaram, Josh Elman, Kunal Shah, Varsha Rao
Nov 1, 2024	Cytonic	$8.0M Seed	—	AirAngels, Andreessen Horowitz, Archetype, Audacity, Awesome People Ventures, Battery Ventures, Chapter One Ventures, CoinFund, Divergence Ventures, Electric Ant, Electric Capital, Ethereal Ventures, Future Perfect Ventures, Hack VC, Hashed, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Kearny Jackson, Kleiner Perkins, M34 Capital, Makers Fund, Nascent, Not Boring Capital, Seed Club Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Seven Seven Six, SID Venture Partners, Solana Ventures, Sound Ventures, Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund, Version One Ventures, Weekend Fund, WPP Ventures, Adam Jackson, Alex Pack, Aliaksandr Hudzilin, Alice Lloyd George, Anastasia Andrianova, Andrew Steinwold, Balaji Srinivasan, Biz Stone, Bo Shao, Brad Holden, David Nage, Do Kwon, Eric Wu, Imran Khan, Jeff Morris, Jess Sloss, Luis Cuende, Nathaniel Whittemore, Rene Reinsberg, Scott Belsky, Sina Habibi, Stani Kulechov, Steve Weinstein, Tegan Kline, Trevor McFedries, Tyler Scott Ward
Nov 1, 2024	New Lantern	$19.0M Series A	—	Alt Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark, Craft Ventures, Flex Capital, Floodgate, Founder Collective, Greylock, LGF, Lobby Capital, Scott Sandell, Next Level Ventures, Saga, Sequoia Capital, SmartStart Fund, SNR, Tiger Global Management, Aston Motes, DJ Patil, Greg Brockman, Guillermo Rauch, Harry Hurst, Jim Pitkow, Leore Avidar, Matt Mazzeo, Oleg Rogynskyy, Sam Altman, Scott Belsky, Stacy Brown-Philpot
Oct 1, 2024	Braintrust	$36.0M Series A	—	Andreessen Horowitz, Ballistic Ventures, Chapter One Ventures, Conviction Partners, First Round Capital, Gradient Ventures, Greylock, Insight Partners, Lobby Capital, Menlo Ventures, Scott Sandell, NXTP Ventures, Preston-Werner Ventures, Third Point Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Alex Sok, Andrew McKinzie, Guillermo Rauch, Jeff Morris, Jim Pitkow, Marc Benioff, Matt Mazzeo, Sahin Boydas, Scott Belsky, Stacy Brown-Philpot
Oct 1, 2024	kpk	$7.0M Seed	—	A Capital, AppWorks, Kevin Ding, Ethereal Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Insight Partners, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Fernando Martinelli, Stani Kulechov, Stefan George
Oct 1, 2024	Socket	$40.0M Series B	—	Abstract Ventures, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, Atomico, BITKRAFT Ventures, Bond, Connect Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Greylock, Lobby Capital, Scott Sandell, NFX, Notion Capital, Preface Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Sand Hill Angels, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Adam Gross, Charles Zedlewski, Charlie Cheever, Greg Brockman, Jim Pitkow, Johnny Boufarhat, Louis Jonckheere, Manik Gupta, Matt Mazzeo, Nkechi Iregbulem, Ott Kaukver, Pieterjan Bouten, Robert Witoff, Saxon Baum, Scott Belsky, Spencer Kimball, Stacy Brown-Philpot, Thomas Dohmke
Sep 1, 2024	Limitless Labs	$3.0M Seed	—	10100, 1confirmation, Abstract Ventures, Kevin Hartz, Brainchild, Divergence Ventures, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, New Form Capital, Polychain Capital, Sound Ventures, The Hit Forge, Thrive Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Diego Berdakin, Dylan Field, Mark Pincus, Sahin Boydas, Stani Kulechov, Vitalik Buterin

Financial History

Total Raised

N/A

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Robot Ventures.

Leadership Team

Key people at Robot Ventures.

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Robot Ventures is a venture capital firm specializing in pre-seed and seed investments in fintech and blockchain startups, particularly those led by ambitious founders with contrarian worldviews and innovative economic designs. Their mission centers on backing early-stage companies that have the potential to redefine financial services and decentralized technologies. The firm focuses primarily on fintech, cryptocurrency, Web3, and blockchain sectors, supporting startups that push boundaries in decentralized finance (DeFi), enterprise blockchain solutions, consumer crypto applications, and infrastructure projects. Robot Ventures has built a reputation for investing in transformative companies such as Aleo, Argent, Axelar, and Blockfolio, demonstrating significant impact on the startup ecosystem by nurturing pioneering technologies that shape the future of finance and digital assets[1][2][3].

Origin Story

Founded in 2019 by Robert Leshner, known for creating Compound (a leading DeFi protocol), and Tarun Chitra, founder of Gauntlet Network, Robot Ventures emerged from the founders’ deep involvement in the DeFi and blockchain space. Their combined expertise and hands-on experience with building and scaling decentralized financial products shaped the firm’s focus on startups with unique economic models and contrarian perspectives. Early on, Robot Ventures secured funding from prominent backers like Bain Capital Ventures and Ripple’s Xpring, enabling it to invest in promising startups such as Coinmine and Point. Over time, the firm has evolved to manage a $75 million fund and expanded its portfolio across various fintech and crypto verticals, maintaining a strong emphasis on early-stage innovation[2][3][4].

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Focuses on pre-seed and seed rounds, targeting founders with industry-defining economic designs and contrarian worldviews.
Founders as Peers: Co-founders actively engage with portfolio companies, leveraging their own experience building major DeFi projects to provide mentorship and strategic guidance.
Network Strength: Backed by influential investors like Bain Capital Ventures, Ripple Xpring, Galaxy Digital, and Paradigm, providing startups with access to a powerful ecosystem.
Track Record: Early investments in high-profile projects such as Compound, Aleo, Axelar, and Blockfolio (acquired by FTX) highlight a successful history of identifying transformative startups.
Operating Support: Offers hands-on support beyond capital, helping startups navigate technical, economic, and market challenges in the rapidly evolving blockchain and fintech landscape[1][2][3].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Robot Ventures rides the wave of decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3, and blockchain innovation, sectors experiencing rapid growth due to increasing demand for decentralized, transparent, and programmable financial services. The timing is critical as these technologies move from niche experiments to mainstream adoption, driven by market forces such as growing institutional interest, regulatory clarity, and expanding consumer use cases. By investing early in foundational projects, Robot Ventures influences the broader ecosystem by accelerating innovation, fostering interoperability, and supporting the development of infrastructure that underpins the next generation of financial products and services[1][2][3].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Robot Ventures is poised to continue its leadership in early-stage fintech and blockchain investing, likely expanding its portfolio to include emerging trends such as layer-2 scaling solutions, decentralized identity, and cross-chain interoperability. As the blockchain ecosystem matures, the firm’s influence may grow through deeper operational involvement and strategic partnerships, helping startups overcome scaling challenges and regulatory hurdles. The continued evolution of DeFi and Web3 will shape Robot Ventures’ journey, reinforcing its role as a catalyst for innovation in financial technology and decentralized systems, staying true to its mission of backing contrarian founders who challenge the status quo[1][2][3].

Sources

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Unique Investment Model: Focuses on pre-seed and seed rounds, targeting founders with industry-defining economic designs and contrarian worldviews.
Founders as Peers: Co-founders actively engage with portfolio companies, leveraging their own experience building major DeFi projects to provide mentorship and strategic guidance.
Network Strength: Backed by influential investors like Bain Capital Ventures, Ripple Xpring, Galaxy Digital, and Paradigm, providing startups with access to a powerful ecosystem.
Track Record: Early investments in high-profile projects such as Compound, Aleo, Axelar, and Blockfolio (acquired by FTX) highlight a successful history of identifying transformative startups.
Operating Support: Offers hands-on support beyond capital, helping startups navigate technical, economic, and market challenges in the rapidly evolving blockchain and fintech landscape[1][2][3].