Most investors want to see a product, a few customers or some revenue before they write a check. A smaller group of pre-seed funds is willing to back a founder while the company is still an idea, and a few of them say they will invest before there is a product, a co-founder or even a company name.
This guide lists 31 of the best pre-seed funds that invest at the idea stage. The list is based on data from the Everything Startups VC Funds database, which tracks newly announced funds every day.
For each fund you will find the fund size, headquarters, check size, stage focus and sector focus, along with a short note on how the firm invests. You can also open each fund's page on Everything Startups to see its team, portfolio and contact details.
If you want the full month in one place, the July 2026 new venture capital funds roundup covers every fund announced, and the list of the best pre-seed funds with fresh capital from August 2026 covers the month after.
What Does Idea Stage Mean in Pre-Seed Funding?
Idea stage describes a company that has a founder, a clear problem and a plan, but little or no working product. The first money usually pays for building a prototype, talking to customers and hiring the first few people, and it is normally raised through SAFEs or convertible notes.
According to Carta, the average pre-seed instrument reached $276,000 in Q2 2026, a 27% increase from the year before and a record high in more than four years. Carta's State of Pre-Seed report also shows that AI companies captured 49% of all pre-seed dollars in the first half of 2026.
Very few funds invest only at the idea stage, so the stage focus in each entry matters. In this list, Ruya Ventures, Tapestry VC, Kiara Ventures and Vicus Ventures describe investing before a formal round or before a company is fully formed, while other firms such as Omni Ventures, Common Ventures and Expeditions focus on pre-seed founders with an early product or a clear plan.
How We Selected These Best Pre-Seed Funds
Every fund on this list meets three criteria:
- Fresh capital. Each firm announced new capital in July 2026, which means it has money to invest and a plan for how many companies it wants to back.
- Early-stage checks. Each fund invests at pre-seed or seed. Larger firms such as Greylock, Index Ventures and 8VC start at seed, and the stage focus listed in each entry shows exactly where every fund begins so you can judge whether an idea-stage pitch fits.
- Clear details for founders. Each entry includes fund size, check size, headquarters and sector focus, so you can quickly see whether a fund fits your company.
All fund data comes from the Everything Startups New VC Funds directory.
What Investors Look for at the Idea Stage
When there is no product to evaluate, investors look closely at the founder.
They want to see why this person understands the problem better than anyone else, whether the market is large enough and whether the founder has started to collect proof, such as customer interviews, a waitlist or a working prototype.
Founders who have already built a company tend to raise earlier, which is why Tapestry VC focuses on repeat founders. Founders with deep industry experience also raise earlier, and funds such as Omni Ventures, Evidenced and Cantos look for people who have worked inside the industry they want to change.
To understand how investors read a pitch, Decoding VC Speak explains what they say in meetings and what they usually mean.
31 Best Pre-Seed Funds That Invest at the Idea Stage
1. Jump Capital
Fund Size: $350M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $250K – $1M at pre-seed, up to $15M later
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B
Sector Focus: Fintech, B2B SaaS
Jump Capital is a Chicago based firm founded in 2012 and backed by the founders of Jump Trading. Its seventh fund is 75% larger than the one before it, and the firm writes $250K to $1M pre-seed checks for exceptional teams while aiming for 15% to 20% ownership in its first investment.
2. Align Ventures
Fund Size: $125M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $2M – $10M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: Consumer
Align Ventures is a New York firm founded in 2018 that invests in consumer brands across beauty, personal care, health, wellness, pet and home. Its second fund plans to back 15 to 20 companies, usually as the first institutional investor with a seat on the board.
3. DIMENSION
Fund Size: $800M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $1M – $30M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
Sector Focus: AI, Biotech
Dimension Capital invests where AI meets biology, from drug discovery to lab automation. The firm is comfortable co-leading seed rounds in companies with no revenue and no clinical product, as long as the core asset is a strong model or dataset.
4. Chemistry
Fund Size: $500M target (reported to be oversubscribed)
HQ: United States
Check Size: $3M – $20M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: AI, Fintech
Chemistry is a San Francisco firm founded in 2024 by Mark Goldberg, Ethan Kurzweil and Kristina Shen, who previously worked at Index Ventures, Bessemer and Andreessen Horowitz. Each partner makes only a small number of investments per year so that every founder gets close attention.
5. ReefHaven Ventures
Fund Size: $10M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $500K – $1M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: Deeptech
ReefHaven Ventures is a San Diego firm founded by Garrett Smith that invests in the overlap of AI and medical technology. It finds many of its companies through the UC San Diego MedTech Accelerator, and it plans one to two new investments per quarter.
6. Tau Ventures
Fund Size: Undisclosed (the firm manages more than $93M across its funds)
HQ: United States
Check Size: $500K – $1M
Stage Focus: Seed
Sector Focus: Deeptech, AI
Tau Ventures is a Palo Alto firm founded in 2019 by Amit Garg and Sanjay Rao, who both spent years at Norwest Venture Partners. It backs applied AI companies in digital health, enterprise software and physical AI such as robots and drones, and it looks for founders whose next funding round is nine to eighteen months away.
7. AlleyCorp
Fund Size: $335M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $2M – $10M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: Deeptech, Consumer
AlleyCorp was founded by Kevin Ryan, who co-founded MongoDB, Gilt and Business Insider. Its second fund closed at $335M in July 2026, and the firm writes first checks at pre-seed and seed in healthcare, deep tech, enterprise software and consumer products.
8. 1885 Capital
Fund Size: Undisclosed
HQ: United States
Check Size: $100K – $500K
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: AI, Deeptech
1885 Capital is based in Houghton, Michigan and works with Michigan Technological University to find companies in manufacturing technology, advanced materials and energy supply chains. It offers flexible structures such as equity, revenue share and venture debt, which suits founders outside the usual startup hubs.
9. Evidenced
Fund Size: $24M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $500K – $2M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: Healthcare, Life Sciences
Evidenced is a Washington, D.C. firm founded by Sean Glass and Bryan Sivak, a former CTO of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It backs health tech founders whose business is helped by a specific government policy, and the Rockefeller Foundation is one of the investors in its first fund.
10. Greylock
Fund Size: $1.5B
HQ: United States
Check Size: $10M – $50M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: AI, Deeptech
Greylock was founded in 1965 and has backed LinkedIn, Airbnb and Facebook. Greylock 18 closed at $1.5B in July 2026, and each partner makes only one to two new investments per year, so the firm is best suited to founders with strong early momentum.
11. J-Ventures Fund
Fund Size: $36M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $500K – $2M
Stage Focus: Seed
Sector Focus: AI, Cybersecurity
J-Ventures is a Palo Alto firm that invests in the US and Israel and is backed by a community of about 600 operators and investors, each limited to $500K. That community helps find companies, review them and introduce founders to large enterprise customers.
12. Omni Ventures
Fund Size: $33M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $700K – $1M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed
Sector Focus: AI, Deeptech
Omni Ventures is the first dedicated fund for manufacturing technology, founded by former Apple engineers Simon Lancaster and Sabrina Paseman. It targets pre-seed rounds of about $2M or less, and Foxconn is one of its backers, which gives portfolio companies a route to a very large manufacturer.
13. Paradigm
Fund Size: $1.2B
HQ: United States
Check Size: $5M – $20M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
Sector Focus: Crypto, AI, Deeptech
Paradigm built its name investing in crypto and has now widened its focus to AI and robotics with its third fund. The firm has an in-house research and engineering team, and it has already backed Zipline and True Anomaly outside crypto.
14. Vermilion Cliffs Ventures
Fund Size: $25M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $500K – $1M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: AI
Vermilion Cliffs Ventures is run by solo investor Ashley Smith, who worked in marketing at Twilio, Facebook, GitHub and GitLab. Her second fund plans at least 25 companies over two and a half years, focused on AI infrastructure, security and developer tools, and she helps founders sell to technical buyers.
15. B Capital
Fund Size: $500M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $5M – $15M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
Sector Focus: AI, Defense, Deeptech
B Capital was founded by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Raj Ganguly and Howard Morgan. Its Ascent Fund III closed at $500M, has already invested in more than 20 companies and gives portfolio founders access to a partnership with Boston Consulting Group.
16. Cantos
Fund Size: $70M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $1M – $5M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: Defense, Deeptech, Space
Cantos is a pre-seed and seed firm founded in 2016 by Ian Rountree, with offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. It often leads a company's first institutional round in defense, advanced manufacturing, energy, space and robotics, and it has backed more than 40 companies over ten years.
17. Magnify Ventures
Fund Size: $46.6M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $250K – $2M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: Fintech
Magnify Ventures is a Santa Monica firm that invests only in the care economy, including maternal care, family mental health, aging and family fintech. Its second fund includes returning backer Pivotal Ventures, the organization of Melinda French Gates.
18. 8VC
Fund Size: $1.5B
HQ: United States
Check Size: $1M – $50M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
Sector Focus: Life Science, Defense, AI
8VC is an Austin firm founded by Joe Lonsdale, and its Build Program creates new companies from scratch with experts and operators, which means it can back an idea before a founding team exists. About 25% to 30% of its seventh fund is set aside for that program, and you can read more in our story on the 8VC $1.5B Fund 7.
19. Vicus Ventures
Fund Size: $55M
HQ: United States
Check Size: $2M – $5M
Stage Focus: Seed
Sector Focus: Healthtech
Vicus Ventures was founded in 2024 by brothers Raj Singh Sandhu and Sunny Singh Sandhu, with offices in New York and San Francisco. The firm gets involved before formal rounds open, and its investors include people from General Catalyst, Bain Capital and Kleiner Perkins.
20. Index Ventures
Fund Size: $2B across three funds, including a $400M seed fund
HQ: United Kingdom / United States
Check Size: $500K – $50M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
Sector Focus: AI, Fintech
Index Ventures announced $2B of new capital on July 31, 2026, including a new $400M fund focused on seed. Its seed checks start at about $500K, and the firm has backed Wiz, Figma, Revolut and Robinhood.
21. Common Ventures
Fund Size: Undisclosed
HQ: United Kingdom
Check Size: $200K – $500K
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed
Sector Focus: Generalist
Common Ventures is a London firm that backs pre-seed founders from state-educated and immigrant backgrounds in the UK. The British Business Bank is a cornerstone investor, and the firm selects founders for the journey they have been on rather than the school they attended.
22. Tapestry VC
Fund Size: $80M
HQ: United Kingdom
Check Size: Up to $3M (typically $500K – $1M)
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: AI, Deeptech
Tapestry VC backs repeat founders in Europe and North America, often before they have a product, a co-founder or a company name. Its third fund is almost three times the size of its second, and the British Business Bank invested $40M as a new anchor investor.
23. Ruya Ventures
Fund Size: $50M
HQ: United Kingdom
Check Size: $1M – $5M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed
Sector Focus: AI, Deeptech, Energy
Ruya Ventures is run by solo investor Rick Hao, who led deep tech investing at Speedinvest. He backs founders on day zero, sometimes before incorporation, and helps them move from a prototype to a product that can be manufactured. For more first-check specialists like this, see the guide to the best solo GP VC firms.
24. Italian Founders Fund
Fund Size: $114M
HQ: Italy
Check Size: $500K – $2.5M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: B2B, SaaS
Italian Founders Fund is managed by Koinos Capital in Milan and backs digital startups founded by Italians, whether they work in Italy or abroad. It reached a final close above $114M in July 2026 and has 32 companies in its portfolio.
25. Primo Capital
Fund Size: $77M raised so far, targeting $132M
HQ: Italy
Check Size: $2M – $10M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
Sector Focus: Deeptech, AI
Primo Capital is a Milan firm whose Primo Space 2 fund invests across the space economy, including defense and dual-use technology. The European Investment Fund is an anchor investor, and the first close is expected after summer 2026.
26. Lakestar
Fund Size: $300M
HQ: Switzerland
Check Size: $500K – $10M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
Sector Focus: Fintech, Deeptech
Lakestar is a Zurich firm founded by Klaus Hommels, an early investor in Spotify, Revolut and Skype. In July 2026 it announced a $300M Resilience Fund I dedicated to defense and dual-use technology in Europe and NATO-allied countries.
27. Expeditions
Fund Size: $218M
HQ: Poland
Check Size: $1M – $5M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: Deeptech, Defense
Expeditions is a Warsaw and London firm that invests in European defense technology, including autonomous systems, space and quantum. Its second fund closed at more than double its target, with BAE Systems, the NATO Innovation Fund and the European Investment Fund among its investors.
28. Climentum Capital
Fund Size: $66M (initial close, targeting up to $110M)
HQ: Denmark
Check Size: $1M – $5M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: Deeptech
Climentum Capital is a Copenhagen firm that invests in climate hard tech across energy, industry, transport and agriculture. Its second fund plans about 20 investments and is backed by the European Investment Fund and Denmark's Export and Investment Fund.
29. Kiara Ventures
Fund Size: $25M
HQ: Spain
Check Size: $320K – $550K
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: AI, Fintech
Kiara Ventures works between Valencia and the San Francisco Bay Area, and it writes first checks into technical founders connected to Stanford, Berkeley and Y Combinator before they open a round. The fund plans to back 25 to 30 companies.
30. Aleph VC
Fund Size: Undisclosed (its four earlier funds total about $850M)
HQ: Israel
Check Size: $1M – $5M
Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
Sector Focus: Generalist, Fintech
Aleph VC is a Tel Aviv firm founded in 2013 by Michael Eisenberg and Eden Shochat, and its portfolio includes Lemonade and Melio. You can read more about its newest fund in our story on Aleph V.
31. Psalion
Fund Size: $50M
HQ: Singapore
Check Size: $2M – $5M
Stage Focus: Pre-Seed, Seed
Sector Focus: Crypto, DeFi
Psalion is a Singapore based digital asset investor whose third venture fund is managed by a firm regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It backs blockchain infrastructure, real-world assets, stablecoins and DeFi, and it led a $4M round in commerce platform Beezie shortly after launch.
Idea Stage vs Pre-Seed vs Seed: What Is the Difference?
Idea stage companies have a founder and a plan, and investors judge them mostly on the person and the problem. Pre-seed companies usually have a prototype, early customer conversations or a waitlist, and their rounds generally sit between $250K and $1.5M.
Seed companies have a working product and early evidence that customers want it. Checks are larger, and investors expect a clear plan for reaching customers and a path to a Series A. Several funds in this list cover more than one of these stages, so an idea-stage pitch can lead to a relationship that continues into the seed round.
If you are further along, the guide to the best seed funds for first-time founders covers firms that focus on that next round, and the list of micro VCs writing $100K to $500K checks covers investors who write the smallest first checks.
How to Raise Money at the Idea Stage
Founders who treat an idea-stage raise as a short, organized campaign usually get better results than those who take meetings one at a time.
1. Build Your Target List
Start with 50 to 100 investors filtered by sector, stage, region and check size. Use the Everything Startups New VC Funds directory to find funds that recently closed, since new funds have money available and a plan to invest it.
Get the full database with contact details of Pre-seed to Series A investors here.
2. Explain Why You Are the Right Founder
At the idea stage the founder is the main thing an investor evaluates, so your pitch should show why you understand the problem, what you have already learned from customers and why you can build the solution. The Y Combinator Startup Library has free guidance on pitching and fundraising.
3. Show Early Proof
Investors do not expect revenue at this stage, but they do want signals such as customer interviews, a waitlist, a prototype demo or letters of intent. Any of these makes it easier for an investor to trust a first-time team.
4. Run a Tight Process
Send your outreach within a window of four to six weeks so conversations move forward at the same time. Warm introductions from portfolio founders and operator communities work best, and several funds here accept direct submissions. For a full walkthrough, read how to raise money from VCs as a startup founder, and ask your lawyer to review terms against the NVCA model legal documents before you sign.
FAQ: Best Pre-Seed Funds That Invest at the Idea Stage
What are the best pre-seed funds that invest at the idea stage?
The best fit depends on your sector and location. In this list, Ruya Ventures, Tapestry VC, Kiara Ventures and Vicus Ventures describe investing before a formal round or before a company is fully formed, while Common Ventures, Omni Ventures, Cantos and Expeditions focus on pre-seed founders.
Can I raise money with only an idea?
Yes, although it is easier if you can show some proof. Investors look at your background, your understanding of the problem and early signals such as customer interviews or a waitlist, and repeat founders and industry experts usually raise earlier than first-time founders with no track record.
How much do idea-stage funds invest?
Checks in this list start as low as $100K at 1885 Capital and $200K at Common Ventures, and they reach several million dollars at firms like Ruya Ventures and Cantos. Carta reports that the average pre-seed instrument in the US reached $276,000 in the second quarter of 2026.
Why does it matter that a fund recently announced new capital?
A fund with new capital has money available and usually a target number of companies to back over the next few years. That makes it a more useful place to start than a fund that raised several years ago and has already invested most of it.
Do these funds only invest in their home country?
Some do and some do not. Tapestry VC invests in Europe and North America and Kiara Ventures invests in Silicon Valley from Spain, while Italian Founders Fund focuses on Italian founders and Common Ventures focuses on founders in the UK, so check each fund's page before you reach out.
Where can I find more newly announced pre-seed funds?
The Everything Startups New VC Funds directory is updated regularly, and the monthly roundups of new venture capital funds list every fund announced that month.
Data sourced from the Everything Startups VC Funds database, tracking newly announced venture funds across the US, Europe, Israel and the rest of the world.
