AI startups captured 53% of all global venture capital in H1 2025.
The concentration is unprecedented. Five companies took one-third of all U.S. venture dollars in Q2. OpenAI raised $40 billion. Scale AI secured $14.3 billion.
But early-stage opportunities remain abundant. Specialized AI funds emerge weekly. Application layer startups find seed funding. Vertical AI solutions attract investors.
This guide lists 30 active AI investors. Their focus areas, check sizes, and contact information.
Let's start.
Track Your AI Pitch Deck
AI model built. Metrics validated. But investors don't respond.
PDFs get lost. You can't track engagement. Partners miss key slides.
Use trackable links. See who opens your deck. Monitor time per slide.
Ellty simplifies pitch deck tracking for AI startups.
Top AI Investors 2025
1. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Leading Silicon Valley VC with $42 billion AUM and dedicated AI funds.
Investment focus: AI infrastructure, applications, generative AI, enterprise AI
Investment range: Pre-seed to growth, flexible check sizes
Notable investments: OpenAI, Databricks, Anthropic, Character.AI, Mistral AI
Contact: a16z.com
2. Sequoia Capital
Legendary VC firm with deep AI expertise since 1972.
Investment focus: AI across all sectors, infrastructure to applications
Investment range: Seed to growth, typically Series A first check
Notable investments: OpenAI, Nvidia, Scale AI, Harvey, Notion
Contact: sequoiacap.com
3. Google Ventures (GV)
Alphabet's venture arm leveraging Google's AI expertise.
Investment focus: AI-native startups, ML infrastructure, applied AI
Investment range: Pre-seed to Series E
Notable investments: Perplexity, Anthropic (early), AI21 Labs
Contact: gv.com
4. Insight Partners
Growth-stage investor with $90+ billion AUM focused on AI transformation.
Investment focus: Enterprise AI, SaaS with AI, AI infrastructure
Investment range: Series B to pre-IPO, $10M-$1B+
Notable investments: DeepL, Synthesia, Jasper AI
Contact: insightpartners.com
5. Lightspeed Venture Partners
Multi-stage global VC actively investing in AI since early days.
Investment focus: Consumer AI, enterprise AI, developer tools
Investment range: Seed to growth, $1M-$100M+
Notable investments: xAI, Anduril, Stability AI
Contact: lsvp.com
6. Y Combinator
Premier accelerator with strong AI focus in recent batches.
Investment focus: Early-stage AI startups across all verticals
Investment range: $500K standard deal for 7%
Notable investments: OpenAI (early), Retell AI, numerous AI startups
Contact: ycombinator.com
7. Kleiner Perkins
Silicon Valley pioneer actively investing in AI transformation.
Investment focus: AI-first companies, healthcare AI, enterprise AI
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: Desktop Metal, Synthesia, AI healthcare companies
Contact: kleinerperkins.com
8. Data Collective (DCVC)
Deep tech specialist focused on AI and ML since 2011.
Investment focus: AI infrastructure, applied AI in healthcare/agriculture
Investment range: Seed to Series B
Notable investments: AI-driven deep tech companies
Contact: dcvc.com
9. Accel
Global VC with dedicated AI practice and 40+ years experience.
Investment focus: AI applications, infrastructure, enterprise solutions
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: Scale AI, numerous AI startups
Contact: accel.com
10. Index Ventures
European-US VC investing heavily in AI transformation.
Investment focus: AI-native companies with global potential
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: Cohere, Scale AI, AI infrastructure
Contact: indexventures.com
11. Bessemer Venture Partners
Century-old firm with modern AI focus.
Investment focus: AI cloud services, enterprise AI, vertical AI
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: AI SaaS companies, infrastructure
Contact: bvp.com
12. Coatue Management
Crossover investor with massive AI allocation.
Investment focus: Late-stage AI, AI infrastructure
Investment range: Series B+, $50M-$500M+
Notable investments: OpenAI, Anthropic, Scale AI
Contact: coatue.com
13. NEA (New Enterprise Associates)
One of the largest VCs with significant AI portfolio.
Investment focus: Healthcare AI, enterprise AI, consumer AI
Investment range: Seed to growth, up to $100M+
Notable investments: CHARM Therapeutics, AI healthcare companies
Contact: nea.com
14. Greylock Partners
Early LinkedIn and Facebook investor now deep in AI.
Investment focus: AI infrastructure, enterprise AI, consumer AI
Investment range: Seed to Series B primarily
Notable investments: AI startups across verticals
Contact: greylock.com
15. Microsoft Ventures (M12)
Microsoft's venture arm with strategic AI investments.
Investment focus: Enterprise AI, AI infrastructure, B2B AI
Investment range: Series A to C, $2M-$20M
Notable investments: AI companies complementing Microsoft ecosystem
Contact: m12.vc
16. Khosla Ventures
Early believer in transformative AI technologies.
Investment focus: AI moonshots, AGI research, applied AI
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: OpenAI (early), AI research companies
Contact: khoslaventures.com
17. General Catalyst
Cross-stage investor with AI as core focus.
Investment focus: AI healthcare, fintech AI, enterprise AI
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: AI companies across sectors
Contact: generalcatalyst.com
18. Spark Capital
Early-stage investor with strong AI thesis.
Investment focus: Consumer AI, creative AI tools
Investment range: Seed to Series B
Notable investments: Anthropic, AI consumer applications
Contact: sparkcapital.com
19. Radical Ventures
AI-specialist fund founded by AI pioneers.
Investment focus: Deep learning, AI research commercialization
Investment range: Seed to Series B
Notable investments: Cohere, AI-first companies
Contact: radical.vc
20. Air Street Capital
London-based AI specialist investor.
Investment focus: ML infrastructure, AI applications
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: European AI startups
Contact: airstreet.com
21. SignalFire
Data-driven VC using AI to source deals.
Investment focus: AI tools, infrastructure, applications
Investment range: Seed to Series B
Notable investments: AI companies identified through proprietary platform
Contact: signalfire.com
22. Tiger Global
Late-stage investor with significant AI allocation.
Investment focus: Proven AI companies at scale
Investment range: Series C+, $50M+
Notable investments: Major AI unicorns
Contact: tigerglobal.com
23. Techstars
Leading accelerator with AI-focused programs.
Investment focus: Pre-seed AI startups
Investment range: $120K for 6%
Notable investments: Hundreds of early AI companies
Contact: techstars.com
24. NVIDIA Inception
NVIDIA's AI startup program with strategic investments.
Investment focus: AI companies using NVIDIA technology
Investment range: Strategic investments vary
Notable investments: AI infrastructure and application companies
Contact: nvidia.com/startups
25. Amazon Alexa Fund
Amazon's strategic fund for voice AI and ambient computing.
Investment focus: Voice AI, conversational AI, ambient intelligence
Investment range: $100K-$10M
Notable investments: Voice-first AI companies
Contact: developer.amazon.com/alexa-fund
26. Intel Capital
Intel's venture arm investing in AI hardware and software.
Investment focus: AI chips, edge AI, AI infrastructure
Investment range: Series A+, $1M-$50M
Notable investments: AI hardware and software companies
Contact: intelcapital.com
27. Flint Capital
International VC with strong AI focus.
Investment focus: B2B AI, enterprise AI solutions
Investment range: Seed to Series A, $500K-$10M
Notable investments: Leo AI, enterprise AI tools
Contact: flintcap.com
28. Horizons Ventures
Hong Kong-based investor in transformative AI.
Investment focus: Deep tech AI, consumer AI applications
Investment range: Early to growth stage
Notable investments: DeepMind, SenseTime, Zoom
Contact: horizonsventures.com
29. Antler
Global day-zero investor with AI focus.
Investment focus: Pre-seed AI startups globally
Investment range: $100K-$500K initial investment
Notable investments: 100+ AI portfolio companies
Contact: antler.co
30. Creandum
European early-stage investor backing AI pioneers.
Investment focus: European AI startups with global ambition
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: European AI leaders
Contact: creandum.com
How to approach AI investors
Before You Reach Out
Most AI pitches look the same. OpenAI wrapper. ChatGPT for X. Another LLM fine-tune.
What actually gets meetings:
- Live demo they can break
- Real usage numbers
- Specific technical edge
- Founders who built AI before
The Reality Check
Investors care about three things:
Your data advantage. Not "we'll collect data." What exclusive dataset do you have today?
Compute economics. Nobody believes you'll train cheaper than OpenAI. Show how you'll serve users profitably.
Why now. AI moves fast. What changed last month that makes your approach possible?
Getting Their Attention
Portfolio founders make introductions. That's 90% of warm meetings.
For cold outreach: One metric in the subject line. "10K developers using our API" beats "Revolutionary AI platform."
Send a demo link. Not a deck. Let them play with it.
Alternative funding sources
Corporate Programs
Microsoft gives $150K Azure credits. Google offers $200K Cloud credits. NVIDIA provides GPU access.
Apply directly. Faster than VC rounds.
Grants
NSF SBIR funds AI research. No equity taken. DARPA funds defense applications. EU has Horizon grants.
Takes months. Start early.
Accelerators
Y Combinator takes 7% for $500K. Worth it for the network. Techstars runs AI programs in multiple cities.
Success stories
The Giants
OpenAI raised $40B because they shipped first. Not the best tech. First to market.
Scale AI got $14.3B by solving Meta's specific problem. Strategic value beats financial metrics.
The Newcomers
Leo AI raised $9.7M for mechanical engineers. Narrow focus. Clear users. Google VP invested personally.
MagicSchool targets teachers. Unsexy market. Top Q1 funding because real problem.
Why Startups Fail
Built on GPT-4. OpenAI changed pricing. Dead.
Promised AGI. Delivered chatbot. Investors walked.
Burned $2M on compute. No paying customers. Ran out of runway.
Track your pitch deck
AI investors skim decks in 37 seconds. Technical slides get 3x more time. Team page determines if they'll meet.
Ellty shows what they actually read. When they forward internally. Which partner spent 5 minutes on your architecture.
Real numbers: Trackable links get 3x more responses than PDFs.
FAQs
How much for AI seed?
$3-5M standard. More if you need GPUs.
Do VCs understand AI?
Top firms hired ML PhDs. Most associates use ChatGPT.
Who writes the biggest checks?
A16z, Sequoia, Lightspeed for Series A+.
OpenAI competition?
Don't compete on general intelligence. Pick a vertical.
What metrics for Series A?
$1M ARR minimum. 50%+ gross margins after compute.
