Raising a seed round for an AI startup in 2026? This is a curated, source-cited shortlist of 14 investors: five dedicated AI seed funds (Conviction, Air Street, Basis Set, SignalFire, Gradient), five generalists with a real AI thesis (a16z, Khosla, Sequoia, NFX, General Catalyst), and four active AI angels. They differ mostly in stage, geography, and whether they back foundation models, infrastructure, or applied AI — so match those before you email.
Master table — 14 AI seed funds & angels (2026)
Investors were selected for a public AI focus or AI-weighted portfolio, seed-stage participation, and verifiable 2025–2026 activity; all reviewed August 2026. This is a curated starting shortlist, not a ranking. Figures we couldn't confirm on the fund's own site or in ≥2 consistent sources are marked "Not publicly disclosed" rather than guessed. Full sources at the end.
| Investor | Stage | Geography | Reported check size | Recent AI activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conviction (Sarah Guo) | Seed–Series A | US (San Francisco) | Not publicly disclosed | $230M Fund II closed Jan 2025 (first fund $101M, 2022) |
| Air Street Capital (Nathan Benaich) | Earliest stages; leads rounds | UK (London); invests NA + Europe | $500K–$15M initial; up to ~$25M growth | ~$232M Fund III, reported largest European solo-GP fund |
| Basis Set Ventures | Pre-seed–Series A | US (San Francisco) | ~$1M–$3M | $250M Fund IV announced Jan 2026 (Fund III $185M, 2024) |
| SignalFire | Pre-seed–Series B | US (San Francisco) | Not publicly disclosed | >$1B fifth fund raised Apr 2025; ~$3B AUM |
| Gradient Ventures | Pre-seed–Seed | US (Mountain View) | Not publicly disclosed | $220M Fund 5 closed Mar 2026; spun out of Alphabet Oct 2025 |
| Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) | Seed–growth | US; global | Up to ~$1M via a16z START; broader range not disclosed | $15.075B across five funds closed Jan 2026 |
| Khosla Ventures | Seed–growth (seed/early tilt) | US (Silicon Valley) | Not publicly disclosed | In talks to raise up to $5.5B (2026 target, not closed); led Norm Ai $120M, Jul 2026 |
| Sequoia Capital | Seed–growth | US; global | Not publicly disclosed | $950M in new early-stage funds Oct 2025 ($750M venture + $200M seed) |
| NFX | Pre-seed–Series A | US (San Francisco); global founders | $1.5M–$5M initial | Fund IV $325M (~$1.5B AUM); runs FAST pre-seed program |
| General Catalyst | Seed–growth | US + Europe (Berlin) + India (Bengaluru) | Not publicly disclosed | $8B fund closed Oct 2024; launched Percepta enterprise-AI unit Oct 2025 |
| Elad Gil (angel) | Pre-seed–Seed (early) | US (SF Bay Area) | Not publicly disclosed | Doubled new fund target to ~$3B (2025); backer of Perplexity, Harvey, Abridge |
| Guillermo Rauch (Vercel, angel) | Pre-seed–Seed (early) | US (San Francisco) | Not publicly disclosed | Participated in Black Forest Labs Series B, Dec 2025 |
| Amjad Masad (Replit, angel) | Pre-seed–Seed (early) | US (San Francisco) | Not publicly disclosed | Backed QuiverAI (Feb 2026) and Granola (May 2025) |
| Lachy Groom (angel) | Pre-seed–Seed (early) | US (San Francisco) | Not publicly disclosed | Raised two new ~$300M funds (reported Jul 2026) |
"Not publicly disclosed" means we could not confirm the figure on the investor's own site or in two consistent credible sources — not that no check is written.
Recent AI activity confirms the investor is currently involved in AI, but the cited event may not itself be a seed-stage investment (some are later-stage rounds, new fund closes, or program launches).
Investors to research first (by startup type)
Start where your company actually sits. Two or three verified names per type, drawn from the table above.
| If you are building… | Investors to research first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Applied AI with proprietary data | SignalFire, Basis Set, Conviction | All three lean applied/AI-native and screen for real data or product moats over pure model work |
| AI infrastructure & developer tools | Air Street Capital, NFX, Guillermo Rauch (angel) | Infra and dev-tools are explicit theses; NFX and Air Street lead rounds, Rauch adds operator credibility |
| Frontier / foundation models | a16z, Sequoia, Lachy Groom (angel) | The generalists have the capital depth for model rounds; Groom's stated thesis includes foundation models |
| Healthcare / regulated AI | General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures | Both back AI in regulated and enterprise verticals (healthcare, legal, defense) |
| European AI | Air Street Capital, General Catalyst | Air Street is London-based and invests across Europe; General Catalyst has a Berlin office |
| Very early / pre-seed | NFX (FAST program), Basis Set, Gradient Ventures | All write pre-seed; NFX runs a structured earliest-stage program (FAST), and Gradient invests pre-seed/seed |
Find AI investors matched to your startup
A public list is only a starting point — the real work is turning it into a short, current, well-matched target list with the right partner-level contacts. Lessie is an AI investor finder that turns a plain-language brief — stage, sector, geography, check size, and recent activity — into a fit-reviewed investor shortlist with supporting evidence and contact details.
For example: "Active seed investors backing applied AI startups in Europe, writing checks below $2M, with at least one relevant investment in the past 12 months." Lessie's AI Review scores each investor against those criteria — filtering out funds that only do foundation models, are out of stage, or show no recent activity — and returns candidates with the evidence (thesis, stage, recent deal) and contacts, organized into a list you can export.
Dedicated AI seed funds
These invest almost exclusively in AI and usually want to be early — often your first institutional round.
Conviction (Sarah Guo)
An AI-native early-stage firm founded in 2022. Guo's public thesis, which she calls "Software 3.0," is that turning powerful models into industry-transforming products gets bigger as models improve. Conviction closed a $230M second fund in January 2025, on top of a ~$101M first fund from 2022, and makes concentrated, high-conviction bets. Portfolio names include Harvey, Sierra, and Mistral.
- Focus: AI-native applications, infrastructure, developer tools
- Stage: Seed to Series A (often the first institutional check)
- Check size: Not publicly disclosed — third-party ranges conflicted, so we do not quote one
- Source: TechCrunch and Forbes, verified Aug 2026.
Air Street Capital (Nathan Benaich)
A London-based, AI-first firm founded in 2019 by Nathan Benaich (co-author of the annual State of AI report). It closed a ~$232M third fund (reported as the largest solo-GP venture fund in European history) and invests across North America and Europe. The thesis is narrow by design: back AI-first companies at the earliest stages, lead the round, and hold long enough for the science to compound.
- Focus: AI-first — software/dev-tools, infrastructure, TechBio/science, physical world, defense
- Stage: Earliest stages; leads rounds; select growth follow-ons
- Check size: $500K–$15M initial, up to ~$25M for select growth (stated on Air Street's own site)
- Source: Air Street Capital site, plus The Next Web and Vestbee, verified Aug 2026.
Basis Set Ventures
An AI-native fund that uses its own machine-learning stack to source founders. It announced a $250M Fund IV in January 2026 (up from $185M in 2024) and backs early-stage AI across applications, autonomous systems, AI-powered SaaS, and infrastructure.
- Focus: AI-native companies across applications and infrastructure
- Stage: Pre-seed through Series A
- Check size: ~$1M–$3M (typically for 10–15% ownership)
- Source: Basis Set Ventures site and AltAssets, verified Aug 2026.
SignalFire
An AI-native firm that raised over $1B for its fifth and largest fund in April 2025, bringing AUM to around $3B. Its thesis is explicitly applied AI, not foundation models — it uses a proprietary data platform ("Beacon AI") and screens for defensible, real-world applications, so diligence probes proprietary data access early.
- Focus: Applied AI with data moats (avoids the foundation-model layer)
- Stage: Pre-seed through Series B
- Check size: Not publicly disclosed on its own site
- Source: SignalFire blog and BusinessWire, verified Aug 2026.
Gradient Ventures
Founded inside Alphabet in 2017, Gradient spun out to operate as an independent firm in October 2025 (with Google remaining an LP) and closed a $220M Fund 5 in March 2026 (AUM ~$1.2B). It invests at pre-seed and seed across AI-native software, AI agents, developer infrastructure, and real-world AI.
- Focus: AI/ML applications, agents, developer infrastructure, real-world AI
- Stage: Pre-seed and seed
- Check size: Not publicly disclosed on its own site (aggregator figures exist but were not corroborated)
- Source: Gradient Ventures blog and Global Venturing, verified Aug 2026.
Generalist funds with a strong AI thesis
These invest across sectors and stages but have made AI a headline priority — useful when you want capital depth for later rounds, but expect a competitive process.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Runs one of the largest AI strategies in venture, structured across foundation models, infrastructure, AI-native apps, defense (American Dynamism), and bio/health. In January 2026 it closed $15.075B across five funds — including separate Infrastructure and Apps vehicles — pushing AUM past ~$90B. It reaches seed via a dedicated seed fund and its a16z START program.
- Focus: Foundation models, infrastructure, vertical AI apps, defense, bio/health
- Stage: Seed through growth
- Check size: Up to ~$1M via a16z START (verified); a broader seed range is not publicly disclosed
- Source: a16z site, Forbes, and Crunchbase News, verified Aug 2026.
Khosla Ventures
An early OpenAI backer known for contrarian, front-loaded early-stage bets. As of mid-2026 it is in talks to raise up to $5.5B — a target, not a closed fund — of which more than half is reportedly earmarked for seed and early stage. Recent 2026 activity includes leading a $120M round for legal-AI company Norm Ai.
- Focus: Early/contrarian AI, including regulated and vertical industries (legal, defense, robotics)
- Stage: Seed through growth, with a seed/early tilt
- Check size: Not publicly disclosed as a specific verified figure
- Source: Dealroom and TechFundingNews, verified Aug 2026. (The $5.5B is a reported target; treat as not yet closed.)
Sequoia Capital
A generalist that has leaned heavily into AI across applications, infrastructure, and physical/hardware AI. In October 2025 it launched $950M in new early-stage funds — a $750M venture fund plus a dedicated $200M seed fund — confirming a real seed-stage presence.
- Focus: AI applications (consumer, enterprise, healthcare, robotics), infrastructure, physical AI
- Stage: Seed through growth (dedicated seed vehicle)
- Check size: Not publicly disclosed as a specific verified figure
- Source: TechCrunch and Vestbee, verified Aug 2026.
NFX
A seed-focused firm best known for its network-effects framework, now concentrated on AI agents and applied AI. Its current vehicle is Fund IV at $325M (~$1.5B AUM), and it runs the FAST pre-seed/seed program. NFX is one of the few here to publish check sizes on its own site.
- Focus: AI agents, applied AI, AI-native consumer; network-effect businesses
- Stage: Pre-seed to Series A
- Check size: $1.5M–$5M initial checks (stated on NFX's own site)
- Source: NFX site, verified Aug 2026.
General Catalyst
A large generalist with an active enterprise- and healthcare-AI practice, plus a "Creation" strategy that builds AI-native companies inside traditional verticals. Its most recent flagship fund is $8B, closed October 2024 (AUM ~$43B), and it launched Percepta, an enterprise-AI unit, in October 2025. It also backs foundation models (Mistral) and defense AI (Helsing), and has offices in the US, Berlin, and Bengaluru.
- Focus: Applied/enterprise AI, healthcare AI, AI-native vertical roll-ups, infrastructure
- Stage: Seed through growth
- Check size: Not publicly disclosed — aggregator ranges conflicted, and the "$3M+ seed" claim could not be sourced, so we do not quote a figure
- Source: TechCrunch, General Catalyst site, and MobiHealthNews, verified Aug 2026.
Angels & accelerator programs
Angels write smaller, faster checks and can open doors to the funds above. We do not list angel check sizes — none of the four below officially publishes a per-deal figure, so quoting one would be a guess.
Elad Gil
An independent investor whose current AI thesis favors durable exposure to frontier labs, proprietary-data verticals, and a distinctive bet on AI-powered roll-ups of traditional businesses. In 2025 he doubled his new fund target to ~$3B. AI portfolio names include Perplexity, Harvey, Character.ai, Mistral, and Abridge.
- Focus: Applied AI, frontier-lab exposure, AI roll-ups
- Source: TechCrunch and The Information, verified Aug 2026.
Guillermo Rauch (Vercel)
Vercel's CEO and one of the most active angels in developer tools and AI infrastructure. His stated view is that the best AI products get built on world-class tooling. His most recent verified investment is participation in Black Forest Labs' Series B (December 2025); the broader portfolio includes Perplexity and ElevenLabs.
- Focus: Developer tools, AI infrastructure
- Source: Tracxn and GlobeNewswire, verified Aug 2026.
Amjad Masad (Replit)
Replit's founder, active in applied AI, developer tooling, and productivity software. Recent database-reported investments include QuiverAI (February 2026) and Granola (May 2025); notable portfolio companies include Synthesia and Runway.
- Focus: Applied AI, developer tools, productivity software
- Source: Tracxn and PitchBook (aggregator-reported deal dates), verified Aug 2026.
Lachy Groom
One of venture's most active solo GPs, with a thesis spanning foundation models, gen-AI tooling, and bio-AI. He raised two new ~$300M funds (reported July 2026), taking total raised past $2B, and co-founded AI-robotics company Physical Intelligence.
- Focus: Foundation models, gen-AI tooling, bio-AI
- Source: Axios, verified Aug 2026. (The ~$300M figures are fund vehicles, not per-deal checks.)
AI Grant (accelerator program) — status caveat
AI Grant is a well-known AI accelerator offering a $250K uncapped SAFE plus large compute credits (per its own site). Its founders, Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, left for Meta's AI effort in 2025; the program is now run by Hersh Desai and Lenny Bogdonoff, with the founders having put $10M into it. Important caveat: the latest cohort we could confirm is Batch 4 (launched 2024) — we found no publicly announced 2025 or 2026 batch. It is therefore listed here as a program to watch, not counted among the 14, and you should confirm an open cohort before relying on it.
- Source: aigrant.com (own site), plus SiliconAngle and Reuters on the founders' Meta move, verified Aug 2026.
FAQ
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Sources
Last reviewed August 2026. Each investor's sources are cited in its entry above (own sites plus TechCrunch, Forbes, Axios, Tracxn, Dealroom, and other named write-ups). Benchmark reference for Lessie: PeopleSearchBench, arXiv:2603.27476 (general people-search, not investor-specific). Venture figures change often — re-confirm any fund on its own page before you act.