AI First Fund
Be FIRST to the Future
FUND THESIS:
The next generation of iconic companies won’t be built with conventional software—they’ll emerge from AI-first foundations. This fund invests in startups that harness artificial intelligence not as a feature, but as the core of their business model, infrastructure, and value proposition. We back bold founders leveraging AI to transform industries, invent new categories, and solve high-stakes problems at scale—because the future will be built by those who think AI first.
WHY NOW:
We’re at a historic inflection point: foundation models are maturing, infrastructure is democratizing, and talent is surging into AI from every sector. The cost of intelligence is dropping while demand for AI-native solutions is exploding. This fund captures the moment—supporting visionary builders who are turning generative breakthroughs into enduring companies, and seizing the outsized opportunity in this AI-first era.
Access Our Award-Winning Content
- HomeFree access to content on innovation, tech and VC
- HomeAccess award-winning educational webinar series
- HomeVenture trends from our team of 40 investing professionals
- HomeSign up to access for free
Invest in the Fund
Let our expert team handle it for you.
Our award-winning venture investing professionals will build a diversified portfolio of venture-backed companies for you.
Questions?
📱 Text (650) 410-8600 for Info
📞 Short Intro Call
Invest Deal-by-Deal
You select individual companies to invest in.
Join our AI First Syndicate to review deals one at a time. We’ll share diligence materials for informed decision making.
Questions?
📱 Text (650) 410-8600 for Info
📞 Short Intro Call
Investment Areas of Interest
AI Copilots for Every Profession →
From Productivity to Partnership. Fine-tuned AI copilots embedded in professional workflows—drafting, coaching, and decision-support that feels like magic.
Portfolio companies: Haven, Toma
Always‑On AI Workforce→
Bots on the Clock. Always-on agents handling scheduling, invoicing, procurement, and more—delivering enterprise capability without the enterprise overhead.
Portfolio companies: Lily AI
AI Discovered R&D Platforms →
R&D on Fast-Forward. Platforms fusing data, models, and labs to accelerate discovery in biotech, materials, and climate science.
Portfolio companies: Yoneda Labs
AI Enhanced Human Brain →
Think to Type. Merging human cognition and computation with next-gen neural interfaces and precision multimodal wearables.
Portfolio companies: Precision Neuroscience
AI Generated Digital Worlds →
Pixels with Purpose. AI engines that create realistic 3D worlds, products, and content—powering simulation, storytelling, and commerce.
Portfolio companies: OpusClip
AI-Wrapped Service Firms →
Software in the Backroom. Client-facing experts paired with behind-the-scenes AI agents that research, draft, and scale high-touch services.
Portfolio companies: Patlytics
Enterprise Specific AI Operating Systems →
Built for the Job. Domain-specific AI trained on proprietary workflows—offering accuracy, auditability, and real business outcomes.
Portfolio companies: Altera, CompScience
AI Infrastructure and Services →
The AI Stack, Simplified. Tools and infrastructure to build, train, deploy, and monitor AI—reliably and at scale.
Portfolio companies: Turing, Ceramic AI
Micro AI on the Edge →
Ultra-lightweight AI models embedded in wearables, sensors, and everyday devices — enabling real-time insights without sending data to the cloud.
Portfolio companies: Oura
Awards & Recognition
Fund Overview
- HomeInvest in AI‑first teams and technologies shaping what comes next
- Home~15-20 venture investments made over ~12-18 months — diversified by stage, sector, geography, lead investor
- HomeReserves ~20% to pursue follow-on opportunities in the most promising portfolio investments
- HomeInvestments sourced by a team of dedicated investing professionals, our network of handpicked Scouts, AV’s 750k+ supporters, and other AV funds
- HomePart of Alumni Ventures, America's Largest Venture Firm for Individuals and a "Top 20 Venture Firm" (CB Insights '24)
See video policy below.
AV Co-Invests with Experienced Venture Firms
250+ investments with leading VCs and many with other top-quartile firms.
These leading venture firms have backed some of the most successful companies in the world.
Co-investors are shown for illustrative purposes only, do not represent all co-investors with which Alumni Ventures as invested, and are not necessarily indicative of future co-investors. The identity of a co-investor does not guarantee investment quality or performance.
50 ventures from the Alumni Ventures portfolio that we’re excited about for 2025
Invest in Startups Like the Apex 20
Accredited investors can invest in startups like the Apex 20 with Alumni Ventures. Talk with a Senior Partner about our portfolio of over 1,400 companies to learn more about becoming an investor.
Or simply text us with your question for fast response
650-410-8600
Fundraise Timing & Loyalty Rewards
The fundraise deadlines of current and upcoming fund vintages are published below to help our investors with their personal venture allocation planning strategies. Read more about our Loyalty Rewards, Performance, and Fees.
About Alumni Ventures
We are a venture capital firm that provides accredited investors & institutions with access to professionally-managed, diversified venture portfolios. Our network is among the largest and most well-connected in the industry.
- Home#1 most active venture firm in the U.S., #3 in the world (PitchBook '22 & '23)
- Home$1.3B+ capital raised since founding in 2014
- HomeDiversified historical portfolio of 1,400+ venture-backed companies, adding ~250 / year
- Home10,500 individual accredited investors already trust us with their venture investing
- HomeTop 20 Venture Firm (CB Insights '24)
- HomeTop-quartile performance*
- HomeNetwork of 850k+ investors, entrepreneurs, & community members
- Home5 national offices & ~40 full-time venture investors
2022 Pitchbook Global League Tables, 2023 Pitchbook Global League Tables
The Top 20 venture investors in North America
*Top-Quartile for AV Fund vintages 2016-2020 as of September 30, 2024. Top Quartile ranking against Cambridge Associates’ peer group for venture capital, according to the Distributions to Paid-in Capital (DPI) metric. Top-Quartile for 2016 vintage was .77 for Cambridge Associates peer group and .72 for Alumni Ventures funds. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
AI First Fund News
Content at the intersection of entrepreneurship, venture capital, and specific industry sectors.
Meet Our Investing Team
This group brings exceptional vertical expertise to AI First venture investing. Combining decades worth of experience, our team has deep relationships within the industry that gives AV, and our investors, the upper-hand in deal access and investment opportunities.
- Fund Team
- AV Support Team
Sample AV AI First Fund Deals
These investments, from AV's existing portfolio, are examples of the AI First Fund's investing strategy.*
Opus Clip
Auto-Transforms Videos Into Social Clips
Rigetti
Quantum Computing Infrastructure
Gatik
Autonomous Middle-Mile Logistics
Ghost Robotics
Autonomous, Legged Robots
Sahara AI
Platform for AI Builders
Lambda
AI Cloud Infrastructure
Toma
AI Workforce for Auto Retail
Haven
AI CFO for Startups
*For illustrative purposes only. No representation is intended that any AV fund or investor has or would experience outcomes similar to those described. Example investments are not available to future investors except potentially in the case of follow-on investments. Venture capital investing involves substantial risk, including risk of loss of all capital invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Access Fund Materials
- HomeFund information
- HomePerformance data
- HomeSpeak with our team
Review on your own, chat online, or speak with our team.