Stateless Ventures

A decentralized internet, free of monopoly technology companies and trusted third parties, is the future this venture firm says it is investing toward. It began as an early-stage crypto asset investment firm and now describes itself as a full-stack venture firm that backs companies at every point in their life, from pre-seed, seed and Series A through to late-stage growth rounds.

Backing ideas that look wrong at first

The firm's earlier material says it backs startups with highly asymmetric risk and reward, and that good ideas often start out looking like bad ones. It looks for the crossover between what talented people build on nights and weekends and where the wider world is heading. It describes a surge of innovation in financial technology and web architecture, and says it intends to push the internet in a more egalitarian direction by investing in startups and crypto protocols.

Founders who have built companies

The team calls itself a group of ex-builders. The firm was founded by an entrepreneur who earlier ran a blockchain derivatives startup that built one of the first decentralized exchanges for crypto derivatives and was acquired in 2018. Venture partners work alongside, each with a separate remit:

• one leads late-stage investments across software, crypto, healthcare, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and autonomous robotics, and runs a growth-stage private equity and venture fund;
• one sources decentralized finance and early-stage crypto deals, having co-founded a crypto company and begun mining Bitcoin in 2014;
• one leads private syndicate investments from early stage to growth equity through an angel syndicate;
• an analyst supports the team across sectors, with a background in hedge fund research and technology mergers and acquisitions advice.

How it invests

The firm says its investors, operators, founders and specialists each bring their own experience and professional networks, which portfolio companies can draw on. It invests through liquid vehicles as well as venture and growth special purpose vehicles, so its capital is not confined to a single fund structure.

Where it works

It states a presence on both US coasts and in Puerto Rico, and describes its reach as global with a local footprint. The site points visitors to a portfolio page and a team page.

Stateless Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests across every stage of a startup's life. It has offices in San Francisco, New York and Puerto Rico, and works with founders who want investors that have built companies themselves. Earlier material on its site described a narrower focus on crypto assets and decentralised protocols.

What Stateless Ventures offers

• Early-stage investment: backs companies at pre-seed, seed and Series A.
• Growth investment: puts capital into later-stage growth rounds.
• Investment vehicles: invests through liquid vehicles and through venture and growth special purpose vehicles.
• Founder support: a team of former founders works with companies from the start and through the difficult stretches.
• Crypto and protocol investing: earlier material describes backing startups and protocols aimed at a more decentralised web.

Who it serves

Startup founders at any stage, from a first round through to late-stage growth. The team describes itself as a mix of investors, operators, founders and specialists.

Key facts

• Based in: San Francisco, New York and Puerto Rico
• Leadership: Matt Slater is managing partner
• Stages: pre-seed, seed, Series A and later growth rounds