Cosmos Ventures is a U.S.-based venture firm backing "philosopher-builder" founders creating new institutions for the AI era, spanning AI safety and assurance infrastructure, frontier and open-source AI infrastructure, human-autonomy-preserving AI products, and education. In September 2026, the firm closed its debut fund, Cosmos Ventures Fund I, at $77.6 million.
Cosmos Ventures backs founders it calls "philosopher-builders": entrepreneurs building new institutions for the AI era at the intersection of technology and the humanities.
The firm's thesis spans four areas: AI safety and assurance infrastructure, frontier AI and open-source model infrastructure, products that preserve human autonomy in an AI-saturated world, and education.
The firm invests at the pre-seed and seed stages.
In September 2026, Cosmos Ventures announced the close of its debut fund, Cosmos Ventures Fund I, at $77.6 million.
The fund was backed by a group of individual and institutional limited partners including Reid Hoffman, Fred Wilson, Joe Liemandt, Meyer "Micky" Malka, Stand Together, and the Astera Institute.
Leadership
Cosmos Ventures was co-founded by Brendan McCord, who built the U.S. Department of Defense's first applied AI organization and authored its inaugural AI strategy before founding two AI startups that were acquired for a combined $400 million, and Matt Mandel, a former investor at Union Square Ventures.
The firm grew out of the Cosmos Institute, an AI research nonprofit McCord and Mandel launched in 2024.
Investment Strategy
The firm targets pre-seed and seed founders building new institutions for the AI era, drawing on a research network spanning the U.S. and U.K. (including a hub at Oxford) to source and support "philosopher-builder" founders working across AI safety, frontier AI infrastructure, human-autonomy-preserving products, and education.
Notable Investments
Cosmos Ventures' portfolio includes AIUC (Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company), Prime Intellect, and Workshop Labs, which was acquired by Thinking Machines Lab in 2026.
Brendan McCord — Co-Founder & General Partner
Matt Mandel — Co-Founder & General Partner
matthew@cosmosventurecapital.com
United States
