Greycroft Venture Capital Research
Company Overview
Greycroft LP is a premier American venture capital firm founded in 2006 by legendary venture capitalist Alan Patricof, along with Dana Settle and Ian Sigalow. The firm manages approximately $4.36 billion in assets under management (AUM as of December 2024) and has made over 900 investments globally, with a focus on early-stage and growth-stage companies.
Investment Thesis
Greycroft operates with a distinctive multi-sector thesis that uniquely combines three major practice areas:
-
AI-Driven Software: Foundational models, AI infrastructure, and intelligent enterprise and consumer applications. The firm believes AI will dominate the software category over the next decade, with substantial investments in Stability AI, Contextual AI, and emerging AI infrastructure companies.
-
Sustainability Technologies: Next-generation sustainability solutions with the potential to reduce long-term environmental impact. Greycroft is committed to driving commercialization of these innovations and validating their potential to transform industries.
-
Consumer Brands: Consumer brands seeking to reimagine everyday life, with specific focus on beauty, personal care, food, beverage, and pet products. This includes iconic brands like Goop and Whatnot.
Unlike most mainstream VCs that treat consumer brands and AI infrastructure separately, Greycroft treats all three sectors as co-equal priorities. This distinctive positioning has enabled the firm to achieve exceptional returns and build deep expertise across diverse categories.
Stage and Check Size
Greycroft invests across multiple stages:
- Seed: $2M-$5M typical checks
- Series A: $5M-$10M typical checks
- Growth: $10M-$100M+ through dedicated growth funds
Average investment size is $5-10M across the portfolio. The firm maintains substantial follow-on reserves (50% of fund commitments) to support portfolio companies through multiple rounds.
Lead Tendency and Decision Process
Greycroft demonstrates a strong lead tendency across its portfolio. The firm frequently leads both seed and Series A rounds, with a partnership-based decision process involving multiple partners evaluating investment opportunities. Key investment leaders include Marcie Vu (AI infrastructure and enterprise software), Mark Terbeek (gaming and entertainment), Katherine Power (consumer brands and beauty), and Dana Settle (operations and strategic investments).
The decision timeline typically spans 2-4 weeks for qualifying opportunities, with flexibility for exceptional founders and clear product-market fit signals.
Recent Activity and Fund Status
Greycroft is in active deployment mode with multiple funds actively investing:
Recent Major Investments (2024-2025):
- December 2025: Investment in Dazzle AI (seed round)
- December 2025: AI Computer startup investment ($4.5B valuation in seed)
- October 2025: ConductorOne Series B lead ($series not specified)
- October 2025: Peer AI investment ($12.1M)
- September 2025: Penguin AI investment ($29.7M)
- July 2025: Vultron investment ($venture)
- June 2025: Applied Intuition Series F participation
- May 2025: Whatnot Series E lead
- October 2024: Frame AI (later acquired by HubSpot)
- August 2024: Contextual AI Series A lead
- June 2024: Stability AI investment (strategic funding)
Fund Raises:
- 2023: Raised over $1 billion across Greycroft Partners VII and Greycroft Growth IV
- Deploying from Fund VII and Growth Fund IV with consistent pace of 15+ investments annually
Portfolio Highlights
Exits and Acquisitions:
- PayPal Acquisitions: Braintree ($800M), Venmo ($800M)
- Major Acquirees: Maker Studios (Disney, $950M), Plated (Albertsons, $200M), Trunk Club (Nordstrom, $350M)
- IPOs: The RealReal (Nasdaq 2019), Icertis (Unicorn 2019), Scopely ($4.9B acquisition by Savvy Games 2023)
- Recent Notable Exits: Hidden Road (acquired by Ripple for undisclosed "billion dollar" exit)
Active Unicorns & Notable Portfolio Companies (100+ companies):
- Applied Intuition (autonomous vehicle technology)
- Icertis (contract management)
- Acorns (micro-investing)
- The RealReal (luxury resale)
- Whatnot (livestream shopping)
- Flutterwave (African fintech)
- Scopely (mobile gaming)
- Contextual AI (AI infrastructure)
- Stability AI (generative AI)
- ConductorOne (identity security)
- OpenEvidence (medical AI)
- H2Ok Innovations (manufacturing precision)
- Bumble (dating app)
- Anine Bing (fashion)
- Goop (wellness lifestyle)
Current Portfolio (40+ companies extracted from website): Ekyam AI, Grounded Agents, Newton Research, Biologica, Uma Bot, Unconventional AI, Yassir, ConductorOne, Axiom Math, OpenEvidence, Anduril, Lead Bank, Torus, Vultron, H2Ok Innovations, Applied Intuition, Playhouse MD, Hoppr AI, Sequen, Pensero AI, Penguin AI, Hippocratic AI, Twelve, Goop Kitchen, Epic Games (investor), Sybill AI, Stability AI, Experiment Beauty, Mother Science, Samsara Eco, Coactive AI, Pika, Thread AI, Zabs Sauce, Tetra, Reken AI, Contextual AI, Harbinger Motors, Character AI, Whatnot
Team Structure
Co-Founders & Managing Partners:
- Dana Settle (Los Angeles): Operations-focused partner, CEO-level strategic leadership
- Ian Sigalow (New York): Investment thesis and capital allocation leadership
Investment Leadership (8 Partners + 4 Principals):
- Marcie Vu (San Francisco): AI infrastructure and enterprise software specialist
- Mark Terbeek (Los Angeles): Gaming, entertainment, and content focus
- Katherine Power (Los Angeles): Consumer brands and beauty leader
- Peter Saperstone (Boston): Growth-stage and follow-on investments
- Brian Bustamante-Nicholson (Los Angeles): Consumer and marketplace companies
- Dylan Pearce (Los Angeles): Technology and infrastructure
- John Elton (New York): East Coast operations and relationships
- Jim Murphy (Atlanta): Global strategic relationships
The team includes 11+ Partners, 4 Principals, 6+ Investors, and 35+ operational staff across New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, Atlanta, and Miami.
Geographic Focus
Greycroft maintains presence across major U.S. tech hubs and global markets:
- Primary: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Boston
- Secondary: Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami
- International: Selective investments in Europe, Israel, and Asia (particularly for gaming)
Founder Preferences and Anti-Thesis
Founder Profile Greycroft Targets:
- Technical founders with deep domain expertise
- Founders with prior successful exits or significant operating experience
- Diverse founding teams with complementary skills
- Builders with product obsession and user-centric thinking
- Founders ready to scale rapidly with experienced operator support
Anti-Thesis:
- Speculative or unfounded cryptocurrency/blockchain projects (selective on blockchain)
- Consumer-only pitches without clear unit economics
- Founders seeking capital without product-market fit signals
- Ventures in declining sectors without clear innovation angle
Decision Process & Timeline
- Partnership-based review: Investment committee includes relevant partner based on sector
- Typical timeline: 2-4 weeks from first meeting to decision
- Value-add requirements: Partners provide operational support, strategic board roles, customer introductions
- Follow-on strategy: Maintains 50% fund reserves for follow-on rounds in successful portfolio companies
Special Programs and Partnerships
- Greycroft Consumer Brands Summit: Annual event bringing together consumer-focused founders and operators
- Coca-Cola Partnership: Co-founded sustainability-focused venture fund with Coca-Cola and eight bottling partners
- Portfolio Company Jobs Portal: Direct career pathway for entrepreneurs and operators at 100+ portfolio companies
- Investor Relations Support: Dedicated team for LP communications and fund performance reporting
Competitive Advantages
- Three-sector focus: Unique ability to cross-pollinate insights between AI, sustainability, and consumer
- Experienced team: Led by Alan Patricof legacy with 20+ year operating partners
- Global reach: Multiple offices with strong local networks in each market
- Follow-on capacity: Large fund sizes ($1B+ recent closes) enable substantial follow-on investment
- Operational expertise: Partners with deep P&L and scaling experience from prior startups
- Track record: 918+ investments with numerous unicorns and $10B+ in total portfolio value
Founder Success Metrics
- Over 900 investments across 45 cities internationally
- Majority headquartered in United States with growing international footprint
- 15+ new investments per year in recent cycles
- 474 companies active in portfolio as of January 2026
- Multiple exits exceeding $1B in acquisition value
- 5+ current unicorn-status companies with $5B+ valuations
Market Position
Greycroft ranks among the top 20 venture capital firms by AUM in the United States, with a distinctive market position focused on innovation across software, sustainability, and consumer markets. The firm is trusted by LPs including major pension funds, endowments, and family offices, and maintains strong relationships with co-investors across the VC ecosystem.