15 smart city investors energizing IoT sensors, micromobility, and urban infrastructure in 2026

The smart city market hit $468.7B in 2024 and VCs poured $8B into urban tech deals through 2025. Investors want proof of municipal contracts or B2B revenue now, not just pilot programs. The firms below are still actively writing checks.

Quick list

Finding the right smart city investor

Find investors who understand long municipal sales cycles and B2B infrastructure deals, not just consumer apps. A firm that backed micromobility through supply chain issues in 2021-2022 knows scaling hardware differently than one that wrote seed checks into analytics dashboards. Ask their portfolio companies about support during regulatory approval processes or failed pilot programs. For more context on how VCs can manage portfolio, read venture capital.

Experience: Look for investors who've backed companies through actual city deployments. SOSV running Urban-X accelerator understands permit processes better than generic infrastructure VCs.

Network: Check if they can intro you to city transportation departments, utility companies, or real estate developers. Those connections matter more than another SaaS introduction. If you’re sharing early plans, consider using our feature screenshot protection.

Alignment: IoT sensor investors won't understand autonomous vehicle burn rates. Smart building funds don't get micromobility unit economics.

Track record: Look at whether their portfolio companies actually deployed in cities or just ran pilots. Dead smart city startups from 2021 litter the sector.

Communication: Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your municipal contract pipeline versus just skimming the technology slides. When evaluating them, share your track record through Ellty with lead capture enabled to collect viewer emails.

Value-add: Ask what happened when their last smart city company hit regulatory delays. Generic "we know mayors" answers are useless without proof.

Getting meetings with smart city investors

Research recent deals on Crunchbase and filter by actual deployments, not just seed rounds. Seed funds won't lead your Series B regardless of how many cities signed MOUs. Show recurring revenue from municipal contracts in your first slide. Most investors are tired of "smart city vision" slides without actual purchase orders from city governments.

Identify potential investors: Filter by smart city deals in the last 24 months. Firms that haven't invested since 2021 exited after the mobility crash.

Craft a compelling pitch: Lead with contracted annual recurring revenue and number of deployed sensors or vehicles. Don't bury your municipal contracts on slide 15. Add deck security (/blog/how-to-protect-pitch-deck) if you're sharing sensitive procurement data.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on - if they skip your deployment timeline, that's useful information. Add deck security if you're sharing sensitive procurement data.

Utilize your network: Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask about actual support during city procurement processes. Most will be honest about investor involvement. Prevent unwanted resharing with forwarding safeguards.

Attend networking events: Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona and SXSW smart city tracks are where deals happen. Skip generic startup conferences.

Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after you've been introduced through portfolio companies. Cold DMs rarely work in infrastructure investing.

Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your municipal contracts and deployment schedules before they ask. It speeds up the process.

Set up introductory meetings: Lead with your deployed units and revenue per city. Don't waste 20 minutes on total addressable market slides they've seen from 50 other smart city pitches.

Why smart city funding matters in 2026

Smart city investment hit $8B through 2025 across high-profile deals and strategic acquisitions. The market's consolidating around companies with actual city deployments and recurring revenue. Aira's €145M Series B for heat-pump energy solutions and multiple $100M+ rounds for autonomous vehicle platforms show VCs still back proven urban tech. The IoT connectivity infrastructure and AI-powered analytics segments are getting the most attention. Investors learned their lesson from 2021's overfunded mobility companies that never reached profitability.

15 best smart city investors

1. SOSV

Most active smart city investor running Urban-X accelerator with BMW, understanding both hardware challenges and city deployment cycles.

• Recent Deals: Clarity air quality monitoring (Series A+), Stae spatial intelligence platform, Futurefleet logistics optimization
• LinkedIn: SOSV
• Sector Focus: spatial intelligence, urban mobility, IoT sensors, air quality monitoring, smart infrastructure
• Stage Focus: pre-seed, seed, Series A
• Location: Princeton, New Jersey
• Website: sosv.com

2. GGV Capital / Notable Capital

Split into Notable Capital (US) and Granite Asia in 2024, historically backed Lime, Bird, and Pony.ai with strong micromobility track record.

• Recent Deals: Backed Lime and Bird micromobility platforms, Pony.ai autonomous vehicles, Hello TransTech
• LinkedIn: Notable Capital
• Sector Focus: micromobility, autonomous vehicles, IoT connectivity, urban transportation
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: ggvc.com

3. Sequoia Capital

Leading Silicon Valley firm with deep autonomous vehicle portfolio including Aurora and WeRide, writing $10M-$200M+ checks.

• Recent Deals: Aurora autonomous vehicles (Series B 2019), WeRide autonomous driving (multiple rounds), Nuro delivery robots
• LinkedIn: Sequoia Capital
• Sector Focus: autonomous vehicles, sensor technology, full-stack AV platforms, urban mobility
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: sequoiacap.com

4. Tencent Holdings

Strategic corporate investor bringing deep technology infrastructure and networks to smart city platforms, particularly strong in Asia.

• Recent Deals: Multiple smart city infrastructure investments in China, urban mobility platforms, IoT connectivity
• LinkedIn: Tencent
• Sector Focus: smart city infrastructure, IoT platforms, urban analytics, AI-driven systems
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Shenzhen, China
• Website: tencent.com

5. IDG Capital

Active Chinese investor focused on autonomous vehicles and AI-driven urban systems with strong track record in smart city deals.

• Recent Deals: WeRide autonomous vehicles, multiple smart city platforms in China, urban mobility solutions
• LinkedIn: IDG Capital
• Sector Focus: autonomous vehicles, AI urban systems, smart city platforms, mobility tech
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Beijing, China
• Website: idgcapital.com

6. SoftBank Vision Fund

Writes massive $100M+ checks for AI-enabled urban technology and autonomous vehicle platforms with long-term vision.

• Recent Deals: Multiple autonomous vehicle investments, AI urban infrastructure platforms, smart mobility solutions
• LinkedIn: SoftBank Vision Fund
• Sector Focus: AI-enabled urban tech, autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, mobility platforms
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, growth, late-stage
• Location: Tokyo, Japan / London, UK
• Website: visionfund.com

7. General Atlantic

Growth equity firm targeting profitable smart city companies with $75M-$200M rounds and minimal dilution requirements.

• Recent Deals: Profitable smart city platforms, urban infrastructure companies with proven business models
• LinkedIn: General Atlantic
• Sector Focus: profitable urban tech, smart infrastructure, scalable city platforms
• Stage Focus: Series C, Series D, growth, late-stage
• Location: New York, United States
• Website: generalatlantic.com

8. Tiger Global

Fast-moving investor backing software platforms that can rapidly expand across multiple cities and geographies.

• Recent Deals: Multi-city smart city software platforms, urban analytics tools, IoT management systems
• LinkedIn: Tiger Global
• Sector Focus: smart city software, urban analytics, scalable platforms, IoT management
• Stage Focus: Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: New York, United States
• Website: tigerglobal.com

9. Accel

Early-stage investor focusing on IoT connectivity infrastructure and smart building management systems with strong track record.

• Recent Deals: IoT connectivity startups, smart building platforms, urban infrastructure software
• LinkedIn: Accel
• Sector Focus: IoT connectivity, smart buildings, urban infrastructure software, sensor networks
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Palo Alto, California
• Website: accel.com

10. Lightspeed Venture Partners

Backed Aurora and multiple urban mobility platforms from seed to Series B with focus on transportation tech.

• Recent Deals: Aurora autonomous vehicles (Series B 2019), urban mobility platforms, transportation software
• LinkedIn: Lightspeed Venture Partners
• Sector Focus: autonomous vehicles, urban mobility, transportation tech, smart logistics
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: lsvp.com

11. Andreessen Horowitz

Backed Cruise and other autonomous vehicle startups with focus on AV software and urban mobility infrastructure.

• Recent Deals: Cruise autonomous vehicles, AV software platforms, urban mobility infrastructure
• LinkedIn: Andreessen Horowitz
• Sector Focus: autonomous vehicles, AV software, mobility infrastructure, urban platforms
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: a16z.com

12. NEA

One of largest venture firms with dedicated autonomous vehicle portfolio and broad transportation technology focus.

• Recent Deals: Aurora autonomous vehicles, transportation technology platforms, urban mobility solutions
• LinkedIn: NEA
• Sector Focus: autonomous vehicles, transportation tech, urban mobility, infrastructure platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C, growth
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: nea.com

13. Index Ventures

Early backer of Aurora with board representation and continued follow-on investments through multiple rounds.

• Recent Deals: Aurora autonomous vehicles (board seat), urban mobility platforms, smart infrastructure
• LinkedIn: Index Ventures
• Sector Focus: autonomous vehicles, urban mobility, smart city infrastructure, transportation tech
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: San Francisco, California / London, UK
• Website: indexventures.com

14. Urban-X

SOSV and BMW partnership running specialized accelerator for pre-seed and seed smart city startups with hands-on support.

• Recent Deals: Multiple pre-seed and seed smart city startups through accelerator batches, $250K-$525K initial checks
• LinkedIn: Urban-X
• Sector Focus: urban innovation, mobility, energy, waste, water, city planning, construction
• Stage Focus: pre-seed, seed, accelerator
• Location: Brooklyn, New York
• Website: urban-x.com

15. Toyota Woven Capital

Corporate venture arm testing technologies through Woven City autonomous mobility testbed in Japan, unique real-world lab access.

• Recent Deals: Autonomous mobility technologies, smart city infrastructure for Woven City, urban transportation
• LinkedIn: Toyota Woven Capital
• Sector Focus: autonomous mobility, smart city infrastructure, urban transportation, connected vehicles
• Stage Focus: seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Website: woven.toyota

Track your smart city investor outreach

These 15 investors closed deals from 2019 through 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your municipal contract pipeline. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip their technology architecture slides but spend 10+ minutes on city deployment timelines and revenue per deployed unit.

When investors ask for more materials, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your municipal contracts, deployment schedules, and regulatory approvals in one secure place with view analytics. You'll know if they actually reviewed your city partnership agreements or just said they did.

Common questions

How do I know if a smart city investor is still active?

Check their portfolio page for deals in the last 24 months. If their most recent smart city investment was in 2021 during the mobility boom, they've likely exited the sector. Search Crunchbase for recent rounds they've led or participated in.

Should I cold email smart city investors or get introductions?

Warm intros work better. Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask if the investor would be a good fit. Most founders will tell you about response times during city procurement delays.

What's the difference between smart city seed and Series A investors?

Seed investors want pilot programs and early city partnerships. Series A investors want contracted recurring revenue from at least 3-5 cities with proven unit economics.

How many smart city investors should I reach out to?

Start with 10-15 that have actually invested in your category recently. Quality over quantity. Use Ellty to track who opens your deck and focus follow-ups there.

When should I set up a data room for smart city deals?

Before your first investor meeting. Investors expect fast diligence now. Having your municipal contracts and deployment schedules ready in an Ellty data room shows you're organized and serious.

Do smart city investors actually care about pitch deck analytics?

Yes. Seeing which pages they spend time on tells you what matters to them. If they skip your tech specs but study your city partnership pipeline and revenue per deployment, you know what to emphasize in follow-ups.