Schematic Ventures

Schematic Ventures Research Investment Thesis Schematic Ventures is a specialized early-stage venture capital fund focused on industrial technology, supply chain optimization, and manufacturing innovation. Founded in 2017 by Julian Counihan and Alex Freed, the fund believes that significant opportunities exist in modernizing legacy supply chain and manufacturing processes through software, automation, and AI. Their thesis centers on backing founders who deeply understand industrial operations and can build technology that makes supply chains more efficient, transparent, and automated. Stage Focus Schematic Ventures invests exclusively in early-stage companies: Pre-Seed : $500K-$1M for founding teams with initial product concepts Seed : $1M-$2M for companies with early traction and product-market validation Occasional Series A participation : Selective follow-on investments for existing portfolio companies The fund positions itself as a lead investor at pre-seed and seed stages, often providing the first institutional capital to founders building in their core sectors. Check Size & Capital Deployment Average check size : $1M-$2M per investment Fund size : Fund I deployed across 40+ companies with diverse check sizes Total portfolio investments : 40+ companies (per CB Insights data showing 48 total investments as of January 2026) Fund II : Recently raised capital (announced May 2025) to continue deployment into industrial technology The fund leads pre-seed and seed rounds and participates as a co-investor in larger rounds where they are not leading. Sector & Focus Areas Schematic Ventures concentrates on three interconnected sectors: Supply Chain & Logistics Technology: Freight optimization and logistics automation Real-time tracking and visibility platforms Last-mile delivery networks Shared truckload and fleet management Supply chain intelligence and forecasting Manufacturing & Industrial Automation: Warehouse and distribution center automation Manufacturing software and quality control Industrial AI and robotics 3D design and CAD AI tools (generative design) Manufacturing labor software and operations management Electronics design and ECAD AI Hardware-Enabled Infrastructure: EV fleet operations and charging networks Electric vehicle manufacturers (medium-duty trucks) Robotics software and deployment platforms Robot programming interfaces Autonomous terminal vehicles and yard automation Physical systems AI Recent Activity & Fund Status Schematic Ventures is actively deploying and has made multiple investments in 2025: Notable Recent Investments (2025): January 2026 : CVector - seed investment for industrial AI data infrastructure November 2025 : Harbinger Motors - participated in $160M Series C (EV manufacturer) September 2025 : P-1 AI - industrial AI applications August 2025 : CVector pre-seed ($1.5M led by Schematic) May 2025 : Infinitform Inc - generative design for manufacturing Fund Status : Actively deploying Fund I and Fund II capital with consistent investment pace throughout 2024-2026. Geographic Focus Primary : San Francisco Bay Area (headquarters) Secondary : US and Canada focused Companies based in US or Canada only per their FAQ Portfolio Highlights Schematic Ventures has invested in 48+ companies across supply chain, manufacturing, and robotics. Notable portfolio companies include: Logistics & Supply Chain: Outrider - Autonomous yard automation and digital yard management Platform Science - Vehicle telematics and fleet visibility Flock Freight - Shared trucking and LTL freight network Pandion - Supply chain intelligence Manufacturing & Robotics: CVector - Industrial AI for real-time data Chassy - EV fleet operations platform Cognasim - Simulation and engineering AI SVT Robotics - Warehouse robotics coordination Infinitform - Generative design for manufacturing Neurocad - Electronics design AI Fulcrum - Manufacturing quality control software Hardware & EV: Harbinger Motors - Electric medium-duty truck manufacturer ($160M Series C co-led by FedEx) Altana.ai - Supply chain data intelligence Enviate - EV charging network intelligence The portfolio demonstrates strong focus on founders solving real operational pain points in manufacturing and supply chain with AI and automation. Team Julian Counihan - Founder & General Partner Background: Software developer at Fortna (warehouse automation systems). Career path: Technology investment banking → industrial/supply chain venture investing (New York VC fund). Education: UVA (BS in Systems Engineering, magna cum laude), MIT MBA. Recognitions: Named top seed-stage investor multiple times (3 years running as of 2025). Alex Freed - Partner Background: 20+ years in technology across ecommerce and product strategy. Career path: Google (product launches in ecommerce) → Google (international expansion of media & advertising) → Schematic Ventures. Education: Columbia Business School MBA, NYU BA in Economics. Languages: Native Russian speaker with international experience. Ananya Vasagiri - Associate (Investor) Background: Private equity at Hellman & Friedman. Joined: September 2022. Active in community: Hosts "Industrial Engineering" discussion series, organizes Physical AI events. Role: Deal sourcing and portfolio support. Investment Process & Decision-Making Schematic Ventures follows a structured but founder-friendly investment process consisting of 2-6 meetings with founding teams to understand experience, vision, and market opportunity. Technical evaluation includes product demonstrations and customer references (only with permission, at end of process). The partnership structure (2 principals, 1 associate) allows for collaborative decision-making. Portfolio Support & Value-Add Beyond capital, Schematic provides operational support including hiring and talent recommendations, customer introductions, service provider discounts, fundraising support, and community building through the reSupply and reForge conference series - the leading supply chain and manufacturing technology event series in San Francisco. Founder Preferences Schematic looks for technical founders with hands-on understanding of supply chain or manufacturing operations, experienced teams that have shipped products in industrial contexts, and domain experts who deeply understand the pain points they're solving. The fund explicitly avoids non-technical founding teams, companies outside US/Canada, and business models that don't address clear operational pain points. Recent Market Positioning (2025-2026) By 2025-2026, Schematic has established itself as a tier-1 supply chain VC and recognized authority on industrial technology trends. The fund demonstrates consistent investment velocity, thought leadership through Julian's supply chain expertise and Ananya's physical AI community building, and community influence through reSupply/reForge events. Fund Economics & Deployment Fund I deployed across 40+ companies starting from 2017. Fund II closed with fresh capital May 2025 to continue the same strategy. The fund maintains consistent $1M-$2M average checks at seed stage with approximately 1-2 investments per month. Geographic constraint to US/Canada only allows for deep relationship building and efficient sourcing within core industrial technology markets.