Vela Partners
San Francisco, CA · Invests in US · Website
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🔒 $•• – $••Thesis
AI-native quant VC backing seed-stage founders with speed and precision. The world's first AI-only fund uses proprietary machine learning models and a University of Oxford research partnership to identify exceptional founders building category-defining AI products. Vela's AI Suite analyzes 300+ early-stage companies weekly; their models demonstrate 10-20x improvement over baseline success prediction rates.
Likely not a fit for
No non-AI companies. No pure consumer social. No later-stage investments (Series B+). No companies without clear, defensible AI differentiation.
How they invest
- Lead or follow
- Usually leads
- Typical decision
- ~1 week
- Warm intro
- Not required
- Involvement
- Observer
- Fund status
- Actively deploying
- Decision process
- Partnership vote
Partners & team
5 contacts on file
c•••@ve•••.partners
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CloudNatix provides efficient AI infrastructure as a service, enabling businesses to optimize their AI workloads across multiple cloud platforms with a focus on cost reduction and scalability.
Axiom Cloud provides AI-powered refrigeration management software designed to reduce energy and maintenance costs, service calls, and refrigerant leak rates for grocery and cold storage operations.
Huckleberry helps families improve sleep for newborns to 5-year-olds through expert-designed sleep plans and tracking features.
Bito provides AI-powered tools for code generation and review, enhancing productivity for developers through its AI Architect and code review agents integrated with popular IDEs.
Hiverge builds an AI discovery engine that automatically writes algorithms for critical optimisation problems, leveraging state-of-the-art program synthesis technology.
Cartken provides autonomous robots designed for efficient indoor and outdoor material handling, streamlining logistics in complex environments.
Limitless is an AI-powered platform that aims to augment human intelligence and overcome biological limitations through innovative tools. Recently acquired by Meta, the company focuses on AI-enabled wearables and enhancing memory and focus for users.
Bear Robotics develops innovative robotic solutions for the hospitality industry, focusing on enhancing service efficiency and customer experience.
BlueQubit provides a Quantum Software as a Service platform that allows users to design, simulate, and run quantum circuits from their browser without needing quantum hardware. The platform supports integration with leading quantum processors like IBM Heron and Quantinuum H2 QPUs.
Promoted.ai provides APIs for optimizing search, feeds, promotions, and ads for marketplaces. It focuses on enhancing online marketplace performance.
Nominal provides a unified industrial data stack and AI automation platform for hardware engineering and finance, enabling real-time data analysis, collaboration, and automated workflows.
Cerby provides identity automation solutions for disconnected applications, focusing on credential management, identity lifecycle management, privileged access management, and enterprise social media security.
Recent activity
- Feb 2026
Pensive
Seed · Participated
- Sep 2025
HiVerge
Seed · Participated
- May 2025
Bito
Seed · Lead
Vela Partners in the news
AlleyWatch
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 8/3/26
1 month ago
AlleyWatch
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 5/11/26
3 months ago
Hypepotamus
ReFiBuy Raises $13.6M for AI Commerce Platform
4 months ago
The Business Journals
Wingo's AI commerce startup raises nearly $14 million
4 months ago
newswire.com
ReFiBuy Raises $13.6M Oversubscribed Seed Round to Accelerate Agentic Commerce
4 months ago
Crunchbase
Vela Partners - Financial Details
5 months ago
en.wowtale.net
Pensive Raises $6.8M Seed Round to Scale AI-Assisted Grading and Personalized Learning
6 months ago
Failory
Top 286 Venture Capital Firms in San Francisco (2026)
8 months ago
entrepreneur.com
52 Emerging Investors Who Want You to Pitch Them Now
9 months ago
AlleyWatch
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 7/12/25
Jul 2025
calcalistech.com
Ex-Cognigo founders raise $20M Series A to bring AI automation to CFOs
Jul 2025
AlleyWatch
The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report: 6/2/25
Jun 2025
Business Insider
Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that landed AI agent startup Auxia $23.5 million in funding
Mar 2025
Business Wire
Auxia Secures $23.5M to Redefine Enterprise Personalization with Agentic AI
Mar 2025
The SaaS News
Auxia Raises $23.5 Million in Funding
Mar 2025
425business.com
Bellevue’s Vieu Raises $11M for B2B Sales Technology
Oct 2024
marketingreport.one
German robotics startup Cartken raises $22.5m to advance AI-based autonomous delivery robots
Jul 2024
Tech.eu
Robotics startup Cartken raises $22.5M to advance autonomous navigation
Jul 2024
calcalistech.com
Nominal raises $9.2 million in Seed funding to modernize enterprise planning with GenAI
Mar 2024
Business Wire
LeakSignal Secures $1.6M in Seed Funding to Protect Data In-Transit Across Microservices and Modern Architectures
Mar 2024
SiliconANGLE
Data quality startup Lightup nabs $9M in fresh funding
Aug 2023
FinSMEs
Vela Partners Emerges From Stealth Mode with $25M Under Management
May 2023
TechCrunch
‘AI-powered’ VC firm Vela emerges from stealth with $25M under management
May 2023
Geospatial World
Apple acquires WaveOne, a startup that uses AI to compress videos
Mar 2023
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Research briefRead more
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