Torch Capital

Torch Capital — Research Profile Firm Overview Torch Capital is a New York City-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Jonathan Keidan. The firm invests in AI-powered companies that transform how consumers and businesses operate, sitting at the intersection of consumer technology, health & wellness, fintech, and AI infrastructure. With $400M+ in AUM across multiple funds, including a $116M Fund II and $89M Opportunity Fund closed in 2023, Torch Capital is one of NYC's most active consumer-and-AI-focused seed investors. Investment Thesis Torch Capital's core thesis is that AI is fundamentally reshaping the consumer technology landscape. The firm identifies and backs companies that translate growing consumer behavior trends into critical infrastructure, backing both the brand-layer companies consumers interact with and the infrastructure enabling the next generation of AI-native experiences. Thematic bets include: AI-native consumer applications : Companies embedding AI into healthcare navigation, finance, commerce, and daily life Portable AI memory and context infrastructure : Systems enabling users to carry interaction history and preferences across AI platforms Health & wellness at scale : Digital health, patient advocacy, metabolic health, and senior care Next-generation fintech : Consumer banking, wealth management, and business finance infrastructure Consumer brands with technology leverage : Mission-driven brands using tech to build category leadership Torch articulates this as: "Investing in AI-powered companies that transform how consumers and businesses operate." Stage Focus Torch Capital primarily invests at the Seed stage, with the ability to follow on into Series A. They describe themselves as supporting founders from "seed through early-growth." They focus on being an early institutional partner and take both lead and co-investor roles depending on the opportunity. Check Size Based on their $116M Fund II and portfolio composition of 70+ companies, typical initial check sizes are estimated at $500K–$3M, with reserves for follow-on investments. They participated in rounds ranging from $3.1M (Clara Home Care Seed) to $130M (Solace Health Series C), indicating follow-on capital is deployed selectively at later stages. Sector Focus Torch invests across five primary verticals: AI / Infrastructure : LM Studio, Arcade, Anam, Math.inc, Natural, Kontext, Aris Data, Laborup Health & Wellness : Ro, Sollis Health, Little Otter Health, Tia Health, Salvo Health, Solace Health, Clara Home Care, Qi, Hermes Health, Spark Health, Obi Health, Second Door, Candor Health, Molar Consumer & Commerce : Sweetgreen (exited), Naadam, Notpla, Nara Organics, Recess, Lobos 1707, Liftoff, Boosted Commerce, Pop & Bottle, Kyra, Splendid Spoon, Reins, TrueBird, Aerflo, Cresicor Fintech : Acorns, Rho, Lili, Harness Wealth, Arc, BaseLayer, Domain Money, Staircase, Asset, F2, OnTime, NewRange, Housfy Media & Entertainment : Highsnobiety (exited, acquired by Zalando), SuperHi, Voyce Recent Activity Torch Capital remained highly active through 2025–2026: February 2026 : Participated in Solace Health's $130M Series C (IVP lead), which pushed Solace to a $1B+ valuation — a unicorn outcome for the patient advocacy platform January 2026 : Participated in Salvo Health's $8.5M Series A (digital GI and metabolic health) November 2025 : Invested in Qi, a social health intelligence network converting patient community data into structured health intelligence October 2025 : Participated in Recess's $30M Series B (CAVU lead) — a functional beverage brand August 2025 : Participated in Kontext's $10M Seed and Laborup's $7.7M round June 2025 : Led Clara Home Care's $3.1M Seed (AI-powered senior in-home care); participated in Salvo Health's expanded $4M Seed Portfolio Highlights & Exits Notable exits include: DigitalOcean (IPO on NYSE 2021) Sweetgreen (IPO on NYSE 2021) Compass (IPO on NYSE 2021) Say Technologies (acquired by Robinhood, 2021) Highsnobiety (acquired by Zalando) Teal (exited) Active marquee portfolio includes Ro, Acorns, Solace Health (unicorn), Rho, Lili, LM Studio, and Tia Health. Team Jonathan Keidan (Founder & Managing Partner) — Entrepreneur and investor at the intersection of media, technology, and entertainment. Co-founded InsideHook (digital media), consulted at McKinsey, advised Jack Welch at JWMI. Life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. MBA, Columbia Business School; BA, Washington University in St. Louis. Sam Jones (Partner) — Finance background across equity research, equity trading, and investment banking in consumer/retail/tech at Canaccord Genuity (London). Previously at Yorkville Capital (hedge fund), co-founded Medcircuit (UK health-tech). MBA, Columbia Business School; BA in Law, University of Bristol. Katie Reiner Peykar (Partner) — Healthcare focus. Co-founded Companion (consumer mobile security), a platform that grew to 2M+ users. Joined Torch Capital at age 23, rose to Partner. Named Crain's New York Women of Influence 2025. BA, University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Chris Harper (Partner) — Previously early-stage investor at Red Sea Ventures (consumer/consumerized B2B). VC Fellow at General Catalyst. President of Columbia Business School VC Fellows program. Investment team at Rough Draft Ventures (pre-seed/seed). EdTech at Luminary Labs (Dept. of Education). Analyst at Goldman Sachs. MBA, Columbia Business School; BA in History, Yale University. Jake Moross (Principal) — Director of Business Development at Cogni (consumer neobank). Investment Banking Analyst in TMT Equity Capital Markets at Barclays. MS in Sports Business, NYU; BA in Psychology, Wake Forest University. Geographic Focus Primarily US-focused, with headquarters in New York City. Most portfolio companies are NYC- or SF-based, with some European exposure (Notpla, Creature Comforts, Highsnobiety, Housfy). Decision Process & Involvement Torch operates as a partnership. They lead or co-lead at Seed and participate at Series A+. The firm provides hands-on operational support and leverages a network of advisors and operating partners (including Bob Pittman, James Murdoch, Jenny Fleiss, Silas Chou). Anti-Thesis Torch appears to avoid deep-tech hardware, pure enterprise SaaS without consumer surface area, and capital-intensive industrial/biotech bets. Their portfolio shows no investments in semiconductors, aerospace, robotics, or traditional life sciences.