Kindred Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Kindred Ventures backs visionary and relentless founders building the future using technology and science. The firm believes in AGI for good, decentralized systems that are fair, personalized well-being for all, quiet electric transportation for the planet, and technologies that have yet to be imagined but are inevitable. Founded in 2014 as an angel fund, Kindred has evolved into a $600 million AUM earliest-stage fund that serves as a lead investor to its portfolio companies.
Stage Focus
Kindred focuses exclusively on the earliest stages of venture capital:
- Pre-seed and Seed: Primary investment focus with occasional Series A follow-ons
- Approach: Often helps form and fund—partnering with entrepreneurs before they create companies, helping form initial teams, and sharpening ideas before funding
- Philosophy: Experienced founders and operators investing in new founders, leveraging deep operational expertise across multiple industries
Investment Philosophy
Kindred's unique threefold approach combines:
- Investment in technology startups in their earliest rounds of financing (pre-seed and seed)
- Formation and fund activities—partnering with entrepreneurs before company creation and helping form initial teams
- Close engagement with founders leveraging deep global networks to help bring visions to life
The firm emphasizes founder-investor relationships built on mutual respect and deep operational experience.
Sector and Mission Focus
Kindred invests across diverse sectors organized by both business sectors and mission-driven themes:
Business Sectors:
- Enterprise Software & Developer Tools (including AI/ML platforms, LLMs, computer vision, agents)
- Climate Tech & Sustainability
- Consumer Apps & Experiences
- Fintech & Financial Services
- Digital Health & Wellness (digital health, biotech, fertility tech)
- Mobility & Logistics (aerospace, electric vehicles, autonomous transport)
- Tools & Infrastructure (cloud, observability, security)
Mission Areas:
- AI & New Computing
- Advancing Human Health
- Collaboration & Commerce
- Creativity & Expression
- Productivity & Efficiency
- Securing Life & Environment
Recent Activity & Fund Status
Kindred has been actively deploying capital with significant follow-on investments in portfolio companies:
Recent Notable Announcements (2025-2026):
- January 2026: Overworld (real-time world models)
- January 2026: Corgi (AI-powered insurance)
- December 2025: Iconic (AI-native game worlds)
- December 2025: fal Series D ($140M at $4.5B valuation)
- October 2025: Dedalus Labs (Seed round)
Fund Status: Actively deploying from what appears to be Fund III or later, with strong follow-on activity in existing portfolio companies indicating healthy fund health and commitment to supporting founders through growth stages.
Portfolio Highlights
Kindred's portfolio reflects both early-stage picks and successful scale-ups with 100+ companies and $200B+ aggregate portfolio market cap. Notable portfolio companies include:
Notable Exits & Acquisitions:
- Play AI (acquired by Meta, 2025)
- Animoto (acquired by Redbrick, 2023)
- Ando (acquired by Uber Eats, 2018)
- 27+ documented exits to date
Unicorn Achievements:
- Steve Jang has backed 10+ $1B+ valuation companies during his investing career
- Perplexity AI ($18B+ valuation)
- fal ($4.5B valuation)
- Coinbase (IPO: NASDAQ:COIN)
- dYdX (decentralized exchange)
Active Portfolio Leaders:
- Perplexity AI (conversational answer engine)
- fal (AI inference platform)
- Color Health (preventive health platform)
- Basis Theory (payments stack)
- Corgi (AI insurance)
- Heartbeat Health (cardiovascular care)
- Tala (financial inclusion for emerging markets)
- Inversion (space delivery)
- Whisper Aero (quiet aircraft propulsion)
- PlayAI (voice AI platform, acquired by Meta)
Team & Leadership
Steve Jang, Founder & Managing Partner
- Featured in Forbes' Midas List (2023, 2024) as top 50 tech VC investors
- Early investor and advisor to Uber since founding
- Invested in Blue Bottle Coffee (acquired by Nestlé), Coinbase, Poshmark, Postmates (acquired by Uber)
- Entrepreneur background: co-founder/founding team member of Bitski (acquired by Phantom), SoundTracking (acquired by Rhapsody), imeem (acquired by MySpace)
- Founded Kindred Ventures in 2014 starting as an angel fund from his personal investing
Kanyi Maqubela, Managing Partner
- Focus areas: frontier technology, digital health, e-commerce, fintech, supply-chain/logistics
- Co-founder of Heartbeat Health (largest virtual heart health platform in US)
- Prior experience: Partner at Collaborative Fund, growth lead at One Block Off the Grid (acquired by NYSE: NRG for $120M)
- Educational background: Stanford University (Philosophy), Adjunct Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts
- Board member: UCSF Foundation Investment Company
Supporting Team:
- Adriana Martinez (CFO): Ex-ICONIQ Capital, VP of Private Equity Finance
- Sierra Lord (Chief of Staff): Involved in strategy, operations, and portfolio activities
- Natalie Arora (Head of Operations): Manages operations team, founder services, investor relations
Investment Criteria & Preferences
Stage & Check Size:
- Primarily: Pre-seed and Seed
- Typical check size: Varies by stage; significant follow-on capacity for strong performers
- Lead investor tendency: Often leads rounds, particularly in early stages where relationships are critical
Founder Preferences:
- Experienced founders with track records
- Relentless dedication for what's possible
- Vision for building seemingly impossible companies
- Experience in navigating idea maze, building teams, shipping to customers
Decision Process:
- Partnership model (Steve Jang and Kanyi Maqubela as core decision makers)
- Hands-on engagement and formation work with founders
- Leverages deep global networks
- Often begins conversations before startup formation
Warm Introduction Requirements:
- Not explicitly stated but implied through founder-formation relationships
- Strong emphasis on founder referrals and relationship-based investing
Geographic Focus
- Primary: San Francisco, California (headquarters)
- Secondary: US-wide (particularly early-stage founders in innovation hubs)
- International: Selective investments globally, with documented portfolio in Japan (Aww), France (Faircraft), and UK (Northflank)
Competitive Position
Kindred Ventures distinguishes itself through:
- Founder-operator perspective: Both partners have operational experience and founding experience
- Formation capability: Unique ability to help form teams and sharpen ideas pre-funding
- Network leverage: Deep connections across tech, business, and entrepreneurship ecosystems
- Mission alignment: Strong values-driven investing across AI for good, sustainability, and human flourishing
- Portfolio support: Hands-on engagement and leveraging partner expertise across sectors
Market Context
Kindred operates in the competitive earliest-stage venture market alongside firms like Y Combinator, 500 Global, and notable micro-VCs. However, their formation capability and founder-operator background provide differentiation. The firm's growth from $56M (2019) to $600M AUM demonstrates strong fundraising ability and track record in supporting early-stage winners.
Future Direction
Based on recent announcements and portfolio activity, Kindred appears focused on:
- AI/AGI-related investments (heavy presence in enterprise software and developer tools)
- Infrastructure for AI (compute, platforms, development tools)
- Mission-driven technologies (climate, health, decentralization)
- Continued early-stage focus with formation activities
- Active support of portfolio companies through growth stages