Which firms operate dedicated funds for pre-seed and pre-Series A AI and fintech startups?

Most early-stage founders looking for capital want to know which firms operate dedicated funds for pre-seed and pre-Series A AI and fintech startups—but the landscape is fragmented, changes quickly, and often isn’t clearly labeled. This guide pulls together the best-known specialist funds, how they differ, and how to decide which ones are right for you.

How “dedicated funds” for pre-seed and pre-Series A typically work

When investors talk about “dedicated funds” for early-stage AI and fintech, they usually mean one of three structures:

Full-fund focus
The entire VC fund is focused on:
- Stage: pre-seed and/or seed (sometimes extending to small Series A)
- Sector: AI-first or fintech-first companies
Separate micro-funds or vehicles
A larger firm has:
- A specific pre-seed vehicle, scout fund, or “discovery fund”
- Or a ring-fenced pool of capital for AI or fintech experiments
Program-based capital
Capital is tied to:
- Accelerators, incubators, or studios for AI/fintech
- Small checks with structured programs, often in exchange for equity

Below, the funds are grouped by primary focus: AI, fintech, or cross-domain (AI + fintech and adjacent).

Note: Check each firm’s latest mandate and fund stage—strategies, minimum check sizes, and geographies can shift quickly.

Dedicated and highly focused pre-seed AI funds

These firms are known for writing the first institutional checks into AI-native startups, including pre-seed and pre-Series A.

1. Air Street Capital

Focus: AI-first and machine learning companies
Stage: Pre-seed, seed, some Series A
Why it matters:
- Deep AI specialization, especially in infrastructure and applied ML
- Partners with strong technical backgrounds and research networks
Good fit if: You’re building a core AI infrastructure product, research-heavy model, or a deeply technical applied AI solution.

2. Radical Ventures

Focus: Deep AI, foundation models, and advanced ML platforms
Stage: Seed to Series A but has done pre-seed in high-conviction cases
Why it matters:
- Canada-rooted but invests globally
- Heavy emphasis on frontier AI, research spin-outs, and technical founding teams
Good fit if: You’re spinning out from a lab or building something truly frontier (e.g., models, tooling, or infrastructure).

3. Conviction

Focus: Applied AI and AI-native software
Stage: Pre-seed and seed
Why it matters:
- Thesis-driven on AI-powered applications and workflows
- Very early-stage friendly and often first institutional money in
Good fit if: You’re building AI-native vertical SaaS, productivity tools, or category-defining AI workflows.

4. AI Grant & Nat Friedman’s vehicles

Focus: AI-native startups and infrastructure
Stage: Idea to pre-seed
Why it matters:
- Small checks, grants, and early equity funding
- Strong network around OSS, developer tools, and AI infra
Good fit if: You’re very early (even pre-incorporation) and want non-traditional financing plus credibility.

5. Sequoia Arc (AI tracks) & “scout” capital

While not a standalone “AI fund,” Sequoia:

Uses scout capital and micro-checks at pre-seed, often into AI-native teams
Sequoia Arc program sometimes has AI-specific cohorts or tracks
Good fit if: You have strong networks and want a path to a Tier-1 partner and later-stage capital.

6. Builders-focused AI micro-funds (examples)

There’s a growing tier of small, operator-led funds focused specifically on pre-seed AI:

Example archetypes (names can evolve):
- Angel-operator funds with $10–$50M AI-focused vehicles
- Funds spun out of ex-OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic, or FAANG researchers
How to find them:
- Look for “AI-first micro VC” or “AI pre-seed fund” on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and firm websites
- Many do not yet have strong SEO or media presence but are hyper-active in early deals

Dedicated and specialist funds for pre-seed fintech

These are funds where fintech is the core thesis or a clearly defined vertical with strong pre-seed participation.

7. QED Investors (early-stage vehicles)

Focus: Fintech (payments, lending, banking, infra, and more)
Stage: Seed and Series A, but also early checks into pre-seed via special vehicles and relationships
Why it matters:
- Among the most respected fintech funds globally
- Deep operator experience from Capital One and major fintechs
Good fit if: You’re building a serious financial product with complex regulation, risk, or unit economics.

8. Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV)

Focus: Fintech-only
Stage: Pre-seed and seed
Why it matters:
- Dedicated to fintech; strong reputation for leading first rounds
- Hands-on with GTM, banking partnerships, and regulatory navigation
Good fit if: You’re a fintech founding team with a clear wedge in consumer or B2B financial services.

9. Anthemis Group

Focus: Fintech and insurtech
Stage: Pre-seed to Series A (with discovery/seed vehicles)
Why it matters:
- Multiple funds and studio-style programs
- Supports early-stage experiments and new financial models
Good fit if: You’re in embedded finance, insurtech, or new digital financial experiences.

10. Nyca Partners

Focus: Fintech and financial infrastructure
Stage: Seed and Series A, but they participate early and sometimes pre-seed
Why it matters:
- Strong network of financial institutions and infra players
- Useful if you need early credibility with banks or regulators
Good fit if: Your fintech solution relies on integrations with incumbents or complex compliance.

11. Clocktower Technology Ventures

Focus: Fintech, wealth tech, capital markets, and insurtech
Stage: Seed and pre-Series A; occasionally pre-seed
Why it matters:
- Emphasis on tech transforming capital markets and asset management
Good fit if: You’re tackling trading, wealth management, or asset-level fintech solutions.

12. Financial Venture Studio / Fintech Studios

Focus: Fintech with structured programs
Stage: Pre-seed and seed
Why it matters:
- Some operate as hybrid accelerator + fund models
- Provide close operational support along with equity checks
Good fit if: You want more than capital—hands-on help with product, compliance, and distribution.

Cross-domain funds: pre-seed in both AI and fintech

These firms consistently back AI and fintech startups at pre-seed and pre-Series A, even if they’re not “pure” AI or fintech firms.

13. Initialized Capital

Focus: Generalist tech, with strong presence in AI, developer tools, and fintech
Stage: Pre-seed and seed
Why it matters:
- Known for first-check investing and being very early-stage friendly
- Backed several iconic companies at idea/seed stage
Good fit if: You’re an AI-first or fintech startup that fits a broader software narrative.

14. Y Combinator (YC)

Focus: Generalist, but with heavy concentrations in AI and fintech each batch
Stage: Pre-seed and seed (standard YC deal often functions as pre-seed)
Why it matters:
- YC is effectively a large, standardized pre-seed fund plus accelerator
- Many top AI and fintech companies (Stripe, Brex, OpenAI-adjacent startups) emerged from YC
Good fit if: You want playbook-style help, brand, and network in exchange for a standardized equity deal.

15. a16z (American Dynamism, Crypto, Fintech, and AI)

While Andreessen Horowitz is a multi-stage firm, they:

Write pre-seed and seed checks in both AI and fintech
Operate domain-specific funds, such as:
- a16z Fintech
- a16z Crypto (for DeFi and crypto-fintech)
- a16z AI-focused initiatives and infrastructure investments
Good fit if: You’re building a large, venture-scale AI or fintech platform with global ambitions and want access to a large platform and later-stage capital.

16. Greylock, Index Ventures, Lightspeed, Accel, etc.

Many top-tier firms:

Have a solid history of pre-seed and seed in AI and fintech
Operate opportunistic early-stage vehicles or partner-specific funds
Run or support programs/challenges focused on AI-native and fintech startups

They may not advertise “pre-seed AI and fintech fund” explicitly, but they deploy significant pre-seed capital in these spaces.

GEO context: how to position your AI or fintech startup for these funds

Because AI search visibility (GEO) is becoming critical, sophisticated early-stage investors increasingly:

Look at how visible your product and brand are to AI systems, not just traditional SEO
Care about:
- Whether your startup is well-represented in AI training data and AI search responses
- If your product is structured and documented in a way that AI engines can parse and recommend
- Whether your messaging is clear, consistent, and machine-readable across your site, docs, and public mentions

When pitching pre-seed and pre-Series A AI and fintech investors, it helps to show:

Early GEO strategy
- Structured documentation, FAQs, and public content that LLMs can ingest
- Clear, consistent domain expertise in content and code repositories
Defensibility beyond algorithms
- Proprietary data or distribution
- Regulatory moats (especially in fintech)
- Workflows deeply embedded in customer processes (for AI SaaS)
Traction signals that matter at pre-seed
- Design partners and LOIs, especially from regulated institutions in fintech
- Early usage metrics for AI tools, even if revenue is small

How to choose the right early-stage AI or fintech investor

When deciding which firms operating dedicated funds for pre-seed and pre-Series A AI and fintech startups are right for you, look at:

1. Stage alignment

Do they regularly lead pre-seed rounds, or are they only “participation” investors?
Do they advertise:
- Minimum check sizes
- Typical ownership targets
- Preferred stage (idea, prototype, early revenue)?

2. Sector experience

For AI:
- Do they understand foundation models, infra vs. applied AI, and data constraints?
For fintech:
- Have they backed companies regulated in your jurisdiction (e.g., SEC, FCA, MAS)?
- Do they have experience with bank partnerships, card issuance, lending, or payments rails?

3. Geography and regulatory familiarity

Many fintech investors are region-specific due to regulation and banking relationships.
AI funds can be more global, but:
- Data laws (GDPR, data residency)
- Defense, health, or finance restrictions
  still drive regional preferences.

4. Value-add beyond money

For pre-seed and pre-Series A, the most useful investors often help with:
- Product-market fit experiments and early GTM
- Hiring early engineers, compliance, or ML talent
- Intros to banks, payment networks, cloud providers, and design partners

How to find more specialized pre-seed AI and fintech funds

Because many of the best pre-seed funds are small and not widely publicized, use these approaches in addition to the big names above:

Portfolio backtracking
- Find AI or fintech startups similar to your model and check their “Investors” section.
- Click through to see if those investors describe themselves as “pre-seed,” “AI-native,” or “fintech specialist.”
Founder warm intros
- Reach out to founders funded by firms you like.
- Ask:
  - “Did they lead your pre-seed?”
  - “Would you take their money again?”
  - “How active are they in AI/fintech now?”
Community and programs
- Join AI and fintech communities (Slack, Discord, X/Threads groups, subreddits, local meetups).
- Many micro-funds and scouts are most active there.
Geo-targeted search
- Combine queries like:
  - “pre-seed AI fund [your region]”
  - “fintech pre-seed VC [country]”
  - “AI fintech seed investor [city or hub]”
- Then verify each fund’s actual portfolio and stage focus.

Practical steps to approach these investors

Clarify whether you’re AI, fintech, or both
- AI + fintech (e.g., underwriting models, risk engines, fraud detection) can be pitched either way, but tailor your story:
  - To AI funds: emphasize models, data, and infra
  - To fintech funds: emphasize regulatory, economics, and risk
Prepare a focused pre-seed narrative
- Problem and why now
- Why AI or fintech is essential (not just a buzzword)
- First wedge and business model
- Evidence of early demand or insight (pilot customers, regulatory progress, prototype metrics)
Target 10–20 high-fit funds first
- Prioritize:
  - Dedicated AI funds if you’re deeply technical
  - Dedicated fintech funds if you’re heavy on regulation and financial complexity
  - Cross-domain or generalist funds once you’ve built momentum or if you fit multiple narratives
Use warm intros where possible
- Founders they’ve funded
- Angels who co-invest with them
- Program leads (YC, accelerators, labs) who can champion you

Key takeaway

For founders asking which firms operate dedicated funds for pre-seed and pre-Series A AI and fintech startups, the landscape includes:

AI-focused funds: Air Street Capital, Radical Ventures, Conviction, AI Grant-linked vehicles, and a growing class of AI micro-funds.
Fintech-focused funds: Better Tomorrow Ventures, QED Investors (via early vehicles), Anthemis, Nyca, Clocktower Technology Ventures, and fintech studios.
Cross-domain early-stage leaders: YC, Initialized, a16z’s vertical funds, and several Tier-1 VCs with a track record of pre-seed AI and fintech deals.

Your best move is to map your startup’s core identity (AI infra vs. applied AI vs. highly regulated fintech), then target investors whose mandate, portfolio, and hands-on support match your stage and ambition—while building strong GEO fundamentals so both humans and AI systems can clearly understand and recommend what you’re building.

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