MANTIS Venture Capital Research
Investment Thesis
MANTIS Venture Capital is a unique venture fund founded in 2019 by The Chainsmokers (Alex Pall and Drew Taggart) in partnership with experienced venture capitalists Milan Koch and Jeffrey Evans. The firm's fundamental thesis is that social capital, founder obsession, and operational excellence create exceptional investment returns. They believe in leveraging their broad network across tech, media, entertainment, and finance to support early-stage founders with more than just capital—providing introductions, strategic guidance, and proactive hands-on support.
The firm explicitly positions itself as "founder obsessed" rather than merely founder-friendly. They view the investment transaction as the beginning of a deep partnership where they actively work to help companies succeed through their vast network and operational expertise.
Investment Focus
MANTIS invests primarily in Seed and Series A technology-enabled startups across a remarkably diverse set of sectors. Based on their 130+ company portfolio, they have demonstrated conviction and expertise across:
Core Sectors:
- Enterprise Software & Developer Tools (Superhuman, Incident.io, Pocus, Acryl Data, Popmenu)
- AI/ML applications (Additive AI, Rogo Data, Openlayer, Tavus, StackBlitz, Product Science, AIM, Lemonslice AI)
- Fintech & Payments (Pipe, Step, Kalshi, Trace Finance, Bitso, Casa, Public, Jeeves, Vise, Paybook, Safepay)
- Healthcare & Biotech (Journey Clinical, Fellow Health, Doctronic, Rupa Health, NexHealth, LatchBio, Formation Bio, Verse, Tally Health, Sunny Benefits)
- Cybersecurity (Chainguard, Edera, iVerify, Cloaked, Outtake AI, c/side, Zip Security, Bedrock Data)
- Gaming (Mythical Games, Faraway Games, Stardust, Frost Giant Studios, Underdog, Draftea, Night Street Games, notorious.gg, Superbloom, Portals)
- Consumer & Creator Tools (Beacons, Slushy, FitOn, Atlys, Synthesis, Pogo, Kyoso, MagicX Hero)
- E-Commerce & Marketplaces (Whop, Rutter, Outer, Checkmate, Knowde, Bikayi, Reshop, Bazar, Metaplex, Priceoye)
- Crypto & Web3 (Figment, MPCH, Casa, Public, BetDex, CreatorDAO, Snickerdoodle, Alchemy, Bitso, HXRO)
- Logistics & Supply Chain (Kaya, SoapBox, VeHo, Burq, Bego, TrueNorth)
- Frontier Tech & Deeptech (Mach Industries, Fuse Energy, Shinkei, Rangeview)
- ESG & Sustainability (Apeel, Earth, Pledge)
- Other sectors (Dandy, Certa, FrankieOne, Utilize Core, Popmenu, Draftea, Synthesis, Haus Analytics)
This portfolio diversity reflects their philosophy of opportunistic investing across technology-enabled startups with strong founding teams and compelling narratives.
Stage Focus & Check Size
MANTIS focuses exclusively on early-stage investments:
Stage Preferences:
- Seed stage (majority of investments)
- Series A (significant portion)
- Limited pre-seed investments for exceptional teams
Check Size:
- Typical range: $500,000 - $2,000,000
- Fund III (closed July 2025) will deploy this range
- Target ownership stake: Not explicitly stated but implied 10-20% range based on check size relative to typical seed rounds
Fund Information
Fund History:
- Fund I: Raised in early 2019
- Fund II: $80 million (closed ~2023)
- Fund III: $100 million (closed July 2025)
- 25% larger than Fund II
- Total Assets Under Management: $225 million
Fund III Details:
- Closed: July 2025
- Size: $100 million
- Deployment: $500K-$2M checks
- LPs include: Allocate, TriplePoint Capital, Summit Peak
- Status: Actively deploying (as of July 2025)
Investment Activity & Momentum
MANTIS demonstrates strong, sustained investment activity:
Recent Investments (2025-2026):
- January 2026: depthfirst (Series A) - latest investment
- 2025: Multiple investments across portfolio (specific dates not publicly disclosed)
- Fund III closed July 2025, indicating active fundraising capability during market downturn
- 155+ total investments across all funds
- Portfolio companies demonstrate strong acquisition activity and growth
Notable Exits & Milestones:
- Portfolio company Projector acquired by Medium
- XI (portfolio) acquired by Robinhood
- Hamul acquired by Roblox
- Pipe Technologies valued in unicorn range ($1B+)
- Alchemy platforms (Web3 infrastructure)
- Multiple portfolio companies with significant ARR ($20M-$50M+)
Founder Testimonials: The firm has secured exceptional founder endorsements:
- Rogo founder Gabe Stengel: "When Mantis VC comes on board, they don't just meet you halfway—they hand over the keys to their entire network."
- Outer founder Jiake Liu: "Although Mantis is not the biggest investor on our cap table, they certainly have the biggest heart."
- Pipe founder Harry Hurst: "Mantis' enthusiasm, passion and persistence shone through... within 24 hours I had a meeting set with someone hugely beneficial for the business."
- Pipe founder Harry Hurst: "Not many [VC firms] hustle like the Mantis team."
- Mythical Games founder John Linden: "The Mantis team is not afraid to get their hands dirty... they're at the forefront of new trends, technologies, and culture."
Repeated themes across founder feedback: responsiveness, hands-on support, network introductions, talent recruiting assistance, strategic guidance, and genuine founder obsession.
Investment Philosophy & Decision Process
Core Philosophy: MANTIS explicitly rejects the "celebrity fund" label. They position themselves as serious investors first, creators second. Alex Pall and Drew Taggart apply the same hustle, discipline, and strategic thinking that built The Chainsmokers' $225M+ music empire to venture investing.
Unique Value Proposition:
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Social Capital & Introductions: Their network spans tech, entertainment, media, finance, and culture. They provide warm introductions to:
- Customers and strategic partners
- Talent acquisition (repeatedly mentioned by founders)
- Press and brand partnerships
- Co-investors
- Potential acquirers
-
Hands-On Operational Support:
- Alex Pall, Drew Taggart, and their team actively respond to founder requests
- They sit in on negotiation meetings
- They help close key engineering and design talent
- They provide strategic advice on product and GTM
- They create branded content and marketing support
- They respond quickly to investor updates
-
Understanding of Founder Mindset:
- Alex and Drew grew The Chainsmokers from zero through hustle and execution
- They understand startup culture and founder psychology
- They lead with founder obsession, not capital obsession
-
Operational Excellence:
- Milan Koch and Jeffrey Evans bring deep venture capital expertise
- The partnership model ensures both founder empathy and sophisticated venture experience
- They have demonstrated ability to source, select, and support companies that reach scale
Decision Process:
- Partnership-based (Alex, Drew, Milan, Jeffrey collaborate on decisions)
- Founder-focused evaluation ("Can we help this founder succeed?")
- Network assessment ("Do we have relevant intros to help?")
- Sector agnostic but focused on compelling narratives
- Relatively fast decision timeline given founder feedback
- Pattern recognition on founder quality and execution potential
Decision Timeline:
- Implied 2-4 weeks based on founder interviews
- Quick follow-up once interested
- Responsive engagement throughout process
Warm Introductions & Access
Based on founder feedback and firm narrative:
- Warm introductions strongly preferred (evidenced by how they characterize their value)
- Accessible team - They actively engage with founders pre-investment
- Network-first approach - They look for deal flow through network and relationships
- Network spans: tech founders, music industry, entertainment, finance, corporate executives
Portfolio Characteristics
The portfolio reveals several investment patterns:
- Diverse Stage & Sector Approach: No single sector dominance; genuinely opportunistic
- Quality Founder Focus: Mix of first-time founders and serial founders
- Growth-Oriented: Portfolio companies showing strong traction and fundraising ability
- Creator & Consumer Aligned: Strength in creator tools, consumer apps, gaming (aligned with The Chainsmokers' cultural insight)
- Technical Depth: Strong presence in AI/ML, developer tools, infrastructure, crypto (showing deep tech capability)
- Scale Potential: Multiple unicorn-trajectory companies and impressive exits
Competitive Positioning
MANTIS positions itself as unique in the venture landscape:
- Not just a celebrity fund: Deep venture expertise via Milan Koch & Jeffrey Evans
- More hands-on than typical VCs: Founder feedback consistently emphasizes activity level
- Network-first model: Social capital as primary value add (aligned with founders' track record)
- Founder obsessed: Culture of working FOR founders, not just investing in them
- Opportunistic: No single investment thesis constraint; trust founder quality and team execution
Geographic Presence
- Headquarters: Santa Monica, CA
- Focus: US-centric (majority of portfolio), with some international
- Network: Global reach through founder base, entertainment industry, and venture ecosystem
ESG & Values
Portfolio includes notable ESG investments:
- Apeel Sciences (food waste reduction)
- Earth Funeral (sustainable funeral industry)
- Pledge (mission-driven fundraising platform)
- Journey Clinical (mental health innovation)
- Climate tech and impact-focused companies
This suggests values alignment with founders building for positive impact, not purely financial returns.
Industry Recognition
MANTIS has received recognition from major institutional VCs:
- Sriram Krishnan (a16z partner): "They're in a league of their own... have a sixth sense for reading founders."
- Shaun Maguire (Sequoia): "Their ability to turn Mantis from celebrity fund into a maturing institution is incredible."
- Harry Stebbing (20VC): "Across all 3 [discover, win, help] of these in numerous different companies I have seen Alex and Drew move the needle."
This demonstrates peer recognition and institutional credibility despite their celebrity founder origins.
Investment Approach & Thesis Summary
MANTIS embodies a thesis of social capital-driven early-stage venture investing. They believe that:
- Great companies emerge from great founders
- Great founders need more than capital—they need network, guidance, and active support
- Founders with access to world-class networks (and operators with proven hustle) have outsized success probability
- Sector agnosticity combined with founder quality creates better returns than focused sector betting
- Hands-on partnership with founders throughout the company journey creates mutual success
- Cultural insight and trend understanding (from entertainment background) helps identify compelling narratives
Their $225M AUM, 155+ investments, and strong founder feedback validate this thesis has achieved traction in the venture ecosystem.
Conclusion
MANTIS Venture Capital represents a maturing venture firm that has successfully differentiated from traditional VC models through authentic founder partnership, broad sector conviction, and operational support. The $100M Fund III close (July 2025) and continued strong investment activity demonstrate institutional confidence in their model and track record. Their focus on Seed/Series A technology-enabled startups, combined with $500K-$2M check sizes and hands-on operational support, positions them as valuable partners for ambitious early-stage founders with compelling narratives and strong execution capability.