KittyHawk Ventures

KittyHawk Ventures Research Document Investment Thesis KittyHawk Ventures is a multi-stage innovation investment platform founded in 2015 by Will Weisman, named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina where the Wright Brothers launched their extraordinary entrepreneurial journey. The firm's core investment thesis focuses on backing exceptional, mission-driven entrepreneurs creating companies with "Massively Transformative Purpose" (MTP) that will impact billions of people by accelerating the boldest founders as they unlock massive economic value and create global positive impact. The firm believes that technology is the dominant force driving humanity forward and seeks to invest across the full innovation lifecycle, from early-stage frontier technology companies through scale to liquidity. KittyHawk explicitly looks for companies and individuals that are "different" and demonstrates a philosophy of "fishing where others aren't," identifying novel paths to greatness in emerging technology categories. Firm Structure and Platform KittyHawk operates as a multi-strategy platform spanning: 1. Frontier Stage Venture (KittyHawk Frontier): Early-stage seed investments in frontier technology companies 2. Secondaries Strategy (KittyHawk Secondaries/Nasdaq Top 20): Late-stage private market exposure through structured secondaries 3. Institutional Partnerships: Strategic relationships with Nasdaq and Nasdaq Private Market for improved access and transparency The firm was birthed at Singularity University in 2015 at NASA Ames Research Park in Silicon Valley, where founder Will Weisman served as Executive Director and witnessed the birth of new technologies and industries. This institutional origin shaped the firm's focus on frontier technologies and exponential thinking. Primary Investment Focus Areas KittyHawk Frontier invests across six primary technology and industry sectors: AI & Quantum Computing - Advanced computational frontiers Energy - Clean energy, renewables, and energy infrastructure (expanded via Exit Ventures acquisition) Aerospace - Space technology and advanced aviation Robotics & Advanced Materials - Robotics, automation, and novel materials Healthcare/Bio/Longevity - Medical technology, biotechnology, and longevity sciences Web3 - Blockchain, crypto, and decentralized technologies What KittyHawk Looks For The firm has defined six key investment criteria: 1. Extraordinary Humans: Exceptional leaders and teams with passion, intelligence, focus, and unwavering commitment. The team quality is the "first order bit" in their investment decision. 2. Deep IP: Deep intellectual property or competitive advantages that create moats around businesses and enable long-term competitive positioning. 3. Vision: Exceptional humans with big visions who think differently and discover novel paths forward. The firm explicitly mentions wanting to be "blown away" by founder vision. 4. Big Markets: Markets large enough to justify sustained effort and create transformational companies. 5. Big Impact: As an impact fund, KittyHawk is focused on positive change and believes technology can be a force multiplier for good. This is integral to the MTP thesis. 6. Hard Problems: Attracted to companies solving genuinely difficult problems, described as "Riemann Hypothesis kind of hard." The firm emphasizes early-stage entry points where exceptional founders see novel paths to greatness. Stage Preferences and Check Sizes Based on website positioning and portfolio analysis: Primary Stage Focus: Seed and early-stage (pre-seed to Series A) Typical Check Size Range: $500K - $5M+ estimated based on portfolio company observations Portfolio company Vytalize Health received seed funding from KittyHawk followed by Series B participation, demonstrating multi-stage support The firm maintains explicit preference for early-stage entry points where they can partner with founders from inception Lead Tendency and Decision Process Lead Tendency: Leads The firm actively leads investment rounds in their portfolio companies. Vytalize Health founder testimony describes KittyHawk "leading" Series A rounds and playing an active operational role. The firm's multi-stage platform and strong partner network indicate a lead investor posture. Decision Process: Partnership with clear partnership structure including Managing Partner (Will Weisman), Partners (Alexandra Peterson, Paul Burgon), and Venture Partners with deep domain expertise. Decision Timeline: Not explicitly stated, but the firm emphasizes deep relationships and operational involvement, suggesting a deliberate but not overly lengthy process. Warm Intro Preference: The website explicitly states "KittyHawk operates primarily through trusted source relationships so that's the best way to reach us," indicating strong preference for warm introductions from their network. Recent Activity and Fund Status Exit Ventures Acquisition (October 2025): Most significant recent development was KittyHawk's acquisition of Exit Ventures (Provo, UT) in October 2025, bringing Paul Burgon onboard as Partner to lead energy and climate investments. This acquisition brought "a highly complementary portfolio of energy, climate, and AI infrastructure companies" into the KittyHawk platform, significantly expanding capabilities in these verticals. Alexandra Peterson Hire (November 2025): Promoted to Partner and hired to lead strategy for secondaries initiatives, reflecting expansion of the late-stage platform. Recent Portfolio Investments: KittyHawk Frontier led $2M seed in Encoord (2025) - AI/robotics company Vytalize Health remains active portfolio company with ongoing operational support Fund Status: Actively deploying. The firm recently closed KittyHawk Ventures IV and is aggressively building out both frontier and secondaries strategies. Team Composition and Expertise The KittyHawk team consists of leaders from technology, industry, finance, and operations: Core Leadership: Will Weisman, Founder & Managing Partner: Executive Director of Singularity University (7 years), passionate about people and big ideas, focused on computing, longevity, medtech, life sciences, aerospace, and Web3 Alexandra Peterson, Partner: 20 years investment and operating experience, previously co-founded Madeira Global, serves on advisory boards Paul Burgon, Partner: 30 years energy and climate investing experience, deployed $3B across ~100 companies, co-created successful corporate venture systems John Pearce, Chief Operating Officer: Previously Global Head of Platforms & Governance at BlackRock, scaling organizational capacity Venture Partners (Deep Domain Expertise): English Sall: Technology entrepreneur/investor, 20 years in AI, global health, sustainable innovation Charles Stucke: Former CIO & Co-Head at Guggenheim Investment Advisors, CEO of Lepercq Group ($90B+ family office), ex-Morgan Stanley Lincoln Ellis: Former Chief Investment Strategist at Northern Trust, CIO at Morgan Stanley ($2B AUM/AUA team) Nico Bossi: Former Senior Advisor to Wellcome Leap ($1B+ breakthrough accelerator), advisor to $40B family, ex-Citigroup Investment Banking Adam Levinson: Former CEO Fortress Investment Group (Singapore), CIO of Fortress Macro Funds, ex-Goldman Sachs William Callanan: Former Senior Strategist at Soros Fund, CIO of Fortress Commodities Fund, ex-Duquesne/Stanley Druckenmiller Nick White: Accomplished AI/ML expert, Olympic rower, high-frequency trading executive, instrumental in KittyHawk AI analysis Jack Dreyer: Principal focused on secondaries portfolio management Michael Going: Venture Partner, technology focus Portfolio and Exits Portfolio Size: 27 companies invested across KittyHawk's history Notable Portfolio Companies: Vytalize Health: Value-based care platform for seniors, raised $50M+ Series B (Enhanced Healthcare Partners led, KittyHawk participated), grew 90,779% over 3 years, reached #1 on Inc 5000, led Series A with KittyHawk support Ripcord: Robotics company (acquired) Companies in AI/quantum, energy, aerospace, robotics, healthcare, and Web3 verticals Recent Investment: KittyHawk Frontier led $2M seed in Encoord (AI/robotics, 2025) Geographic and Market Focus Headquarters: Los Angeles, California Investment Geography: Primary US focus with selective international investments Market Focus: Global scale opportunities with emphasis on frontier technologies affecting billions of people The Nasdaq Secondaries Strategy KittyHawk launched an innovative secondaries product in partnership with Nasdaq and Nasdaq Private Market called KittyHawk Nasdaq Top 20 - a first-of-its-kind vintage-based private market index fund providing: Systematic exposure to leading late-stage private companies Index discipline with structurally-advantaged access to private liquidity Transparent, repeatable participation in private-market value creation Institutional-grade infrastructure designed for scalability Designed for sophisticated institutional allocators, family offices, and qualified investors This product reflects recognition that private companies are staying private longer, and value creation increasingly occurs in private markets before public listing. Contact and Access Primary Contact Method: Trusted source relationships and warm introductions (explicitly stated preference) Contact Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.kittyhawk.vc Founder Social Presence: Will Weisman active on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram