8VC is an Austin, Texas-based early-stage venture firm founded in 2015 by Joe Lonsdale, Drew Oetting, and Alex Kolicich, three partners who collectively built or co-founded Palantir, Addepar, OpenGov, Epirus, and Saronic. The firm describes itself as "a different kind of VC firm" and operates both as a traditional investor and an internal venture studio, co-founding companies from scratch through its Build Program rather than waiting to back them.
8VC invests in technology and bioscience companies across AI, defense, advanced manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, enterprise software, and frontier infrastructure.
The firm's thesis, rooted in what Lonsdale calls the "American AI Industrial Revolution", emphasizes companies that strengthen national capability, increase productivity, and rebuild physical and technological infrastructure for the next generation of American competitiveness.
8VC Fund 7 closed at $1.5B in July 2026, the firm's largest fund to date, up from $998M for Fund VI (closed 2025) and $880M for Fund V.
Approximately 25–30% of capital is reserved for the Build Program, through which 8VC co-founds companies alongside domain experts, operators, and veterans. LP composition is not publicly disclosed.
Leadership
Joe Lonsdale is Founder and Managing Partner. He co-founded Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR), Addepar, and OpenGov, and has been an early investor in Anduril, Oculus, Guardant Health, Joby Aviation, and dozens of others.
Drew Oetting is Founding Partner, known for backing Deliverr (acquired by Shopify), Quince, and MeritFirst.
Alex Moore is Defense Partner, leading 8VC's defense technology investment vertical and its international defense portfolio including Terra Industries (Africa's first modern defense prime).
Alex Kolicich is Founding Partner.
Investment Strategy
8VC deploys capital across two tracks: direct early-stage investments from seed through Series B, and the Build Program, an internal venture studio that co-founds companies from scratch, typically spending 12–18 months assembling the team, validating the concept, and securing initial customers before launching.
The Build Program has created 28+ companies including Saronic, Epirus, Affinity, and Resilience. 8VC writes checks ranging from $500K to $50M, with the largest checks typically reserved for Build companies or follow-on rounds in existing portfolio companies.
The firm operates from Austin and maintains an active community platform including engineering events, CTO dinners, and a Campus Associates program across top US universities.
Notable Investments
Notable Exits
Joe Lonsdale — Founder & Managing Partner
Drew Oetting — Founding Partner
Alex Moore — Defense Partner
United States
