Kindred Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture firm founded in 2014 by Steve Jang. The firm is led by Jang and Managing Partner Kanyi Maqubela, and is built on a concentrated, high-conviction model that prioritizes being a founder's first call — offering hands-on, coaching-oriented partnership rather than passive capital. Kindred backs roughly 25 companies per fund cycle, taking meaningful initial ownership and actively supporting founders through follow-on fundraising and company building. The firm's track record includes early positions in Uber, Coinbase, Postmates, and Blue Bottle Coffee, category-defining, contrarian bets that define Kindred's pattern recognition. With the announcement of $355M across two new vehicles in June 2026, Kindred has completed its largest raise to date.
Kindred Ventures invests at the earliest stages, primarily pre-seed and seed.
Kindred invests across what it calls the age of intelligence;, a thesis that AI, compute, energy, and novel models are simultaneously reshaping search, video, voice, physics, biology, health, and money. The firm backs frontier companies where intelligence extends beyond human capability rather than simply automating existing tasks.
Current portfolio activity spans robotics, AI agents, compute, inference, new biology, legal AI, and commerce infrastructure. Kindred is US-focused and headquartered in San Francisco.
Kindred announced $355M across two vehicles on June 8, 2026: Kindred Ventures IV, its core early-stage fund, and Kindred Selector II, a dedicated early-growth vehicle designed to concentrate follow-on capital into the firm's highest-conviction portfolio companies as they scale.
Fund IV operates at pre-seed and seed; Selector II enables Kindred to preserve ownership through later rounds without diluting early-stage discipline. LP composition is not publicly disclosed.
Known limited partners in prior funds have included Bracket Capital and SK Networks, reflecting institutional backing and corporate relationships.
Leadership
Steve Jang is Founder and Managing Partner. He co-founded music platforms Imeem and Soundtracking, served as an early advisor and investor in Uber from its founding, and was an early backer of Coinbase, Blue Bottle Coffee, Postmates, Zymergen, and Expa. He is a Midas List investor.
Kanyi Maqubela is Managing Partner. He previously served as General Partner at Collaborative Fund, where he was an early advisor to companies including Tala and Walker & Co., and brings an operator and builder sensibility to Kindred's hands-on investment model.
Investment Strategy
Kindred pursues a high-conviction, concentrated portfolio strategy centered on early ownership. The firm often invests at pre-seed or seed, building close relationships with founders at inception. Its strategy emphasizes frontier technologies and mission-driven entrepreneurs tackling large structural opportunities. With the addition of a selector vehicle, Kindred can extend its capital support to companies demonstrating strong breakout potential.
Notable Investments
Kindred Ventures has invested at early stages in companies such as:
The portfolio reflects a consistent focus on founders building in high-impact and emerging technology categories.
Notable Exits
Kindred’s early investment in Uber and Coinbase represent two of its most prominent liquidity events, underscoring the firm’s strategy of backing transformative companies at inception and holding through scale.
Other
Kindred Ventures positions itself as a partner for founders pursuing unconventional or frontier ideas that may not fit traditional market narratives. The firm favors bold theses and technical founders operating at the edge of major technology shifts. With two active funds and a history of early entry into category leaders, Kindred offers both early conviction capital and the ability to support companies as they mature.
United States
