Pax VC is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2026 by Michelle Volz, formerly a Partner on the American Dynamism team at Andreessen Horowitz. Fund I closed at $50 million in March 2026, oversubscribed, raised in approximately 12 months by a solo GP. The firm is built around a thesis the firm calls Pax Technica: that the next era of American global leadership will be rooted in technical superiority of the physical world, not software-on-software optimization. Pax backs founders building in defense, energy, manufacturing, aerospace, robotics, logistics, space, and critical infrastructure, sectors that represent the largest portions of GDP but have historically been avoided by venture because of regulatory complexity and long development cycles.
Pax invests at the pre-seed and seed stage in companies building at the intersection of software and the physical world, with a focus on foundational industries that underpin American sovereignty, stability, and economic strength.
Core sectors include defense technology, energy (including nuclear), advanced manufacturing, aerospace, cybersecurity, space infrastructure, critical minerals, and dual-use technology serving government and commercial markets.
The firm explicitly avoids B2B SaaS optimization layers and AI tools for knowledge workers in favor of companies whose technologies are relevant to broad society, a service member, a factory worker, or a household in any zip code.
Pax Fund I closed at $50 million in March 2026, raised over approximately 12 months and oversubscribed at final close. The fund is Michelle Volz's debut vehicle as a solo GP. LP composition is not publicly disclosed.
Michelle Volz is Founder and Managing Partner of Pax VC. She began her career at Palantir, working on the government product, before moving to venture-backed startups in cybersecurity, real estate tech, and dual-use technology.
She then joined Andreessen Horowitz as a Partner on the American Dynamism team, where she focused on the intersection of software and hardware in sectors where government is a major stakeholder, including defense, aerospace, and energy. At a16z she backed Method Security at seed (Pax subsequently led the Series A).
She holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, where she co-founded the Defense Technology Club and worked with the Defense Innovation Unit, and a BS from the University of Minnesota, where she competed in NCAA Division I cross country and track. She currently invests solo, with plans to grow the partnership over time.
Investment Strategy
Pax takes a conviction-first, people-first approach, Volz describes backing people who want to work on the hardest, most important problems over those chasing hot markets. The firm operates at pre-seed and seed, writing first checks into companies in non-consensus, operationally complex, and highly regulated sectors where venture capital has historically underinvested. The firm leverages a network rooted in the Palantir, Anduril, SpaceX, Tesla, and government operator communities, an ecosystem defined by mission-driven culture and low ego, to connect founders to relevant operators, customers, and procurement pathways.
Notable Investments
United States
