# focal

> focal is a VC fund backing Software and Artificial Intelligence. See 88 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: San Francisco, United States
- Total investments: 88
- Last investment: Apr 2026
- Lead investor: 53%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/focal-vc/
- Website: https://www.focal.vc/

focal is a VC fund in San Francisco focused on Software and Artificial Intelligence. True 0 to 1 specialists, laser focused on helping you cut through Seed and get to Series A and beyond with velocity.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for focal. Shizune tracks 3 team members at focal. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/focal-4f67?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $2.8M–$9.7M |
| Pre-Seed | $750k–$3M |
| Series A | $10M–$20M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 13 | 15% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 13 | 15% |
| SaaS | 9 | 10% |
| Information Technology | 5 | 6% |
| FinTech | 4 | 5% |

61 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-Seed | 34 | 39% |
| Seed | 14 | 16% |
| Series A | 2 | 2% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 1% |
| Initial Coin Offering | 1 | 1% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 30 | 34% |
| Canada | 4 | 5% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Daniel Darling | Managing Partner | 62 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/daniel-darling |
| Pascal Unger | Managing Partner | 42 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pascal-unger |
| Sydney Wasikowski | Head of Platform and Operations | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sydney-wasikowski |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Maxed | The AI-Native Operating System for CPA Firms: Maxed replaces the expensive, fragmented software stack CPA firms are locked into today with a single, flexible platform powered by AI agents. Maxed provides best-in-class infrastructure at a fraction of the cost - automating the manual work that buries firms every tax season, allowing them to leverageAI to outpace competitors and serve more clients without increasing headcount. | $850K | Pre-Seed | Apr 23, 2026 |  |
| Searcle AI | Searcle AI builds AI-native marketing infrastructure that helps companies adapt to changes in how information is discovered online. |  | Pre-Seed | Jan 13, 2026 |  |
| On Me | On Me is a software company that develops digital gift cards to leverage hobbies and interests to strengthen relationships. | $6M | Seed | Dec 11, 2025 |  |
| On Me | On Me is a software company that develops digital gift cards to leverage hobbies and interests to strengthen relationships. | $6M | Seed | Dec 11, 2025 |  |
| Flamingo | AI-driven, open-source IT & security platform reducing costs, automating operations, and empowering service providers. | $2.2M | Pre-Seed | Oct 28, 2025 |  |
| Coworker.ai | Coworker.ai is an AI platform designed to automate tasks and streamline workflows within businesses. It integrates with over 40 enterprise applications, eliminating the need for custom coding. The platform focuses on providing context-aware assistance, enabling it to answer questions, plan, and execute tasks. | $13M | Seed | May 20, 2025 |  |
| Coworker.ai | Coworker.ai is an AI platform designed to automate tasks and streamline workflows within businesses. It integrates with over 40 enterprise applications, eliminating the need for custom coding. The platform focuses on providing context-aware assistance, enabling it to answer questions, plan, and execute tasks. | $13M | Seed | May 20, 2025 |  |
| BLNG | BLNG is a Generative AI company providing design software and data products for the jewelry industry. | $3M | Seed | Apr 08, 2025 |  |
| Keragon | HIPAA-compliant workflow automation platform. | $7.5M | Seed | Feb 12, 2025 |  |
| Keragon | HIPAA-compliant workflow automation platform. | $7.5M | Seed | Feb 12, 2025 |  |

10 of 88 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Darling Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/darling-ventures) — VC Fund, 21 deals together
- [Side Door Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/side-door-ventures) — VC Fund, 10 deals together
- [Techstars](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/techstars) — VC Fund, 8 deals together
- [Y Combinator](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/y-combinator) — VC Fund, 8 deals together
- [Acrew Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/acrew-capital) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [On Deck](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/on-deck-a441) — VC Fund, 6 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does focal invest in?

focal invests primarily in Software, Artificial Intelligence and SaaS startups, most often at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Most of the 88 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is focal's check size?

focal typically joins rounds of $2.8M–$9.7M at Seed, $750k–$3M at Pre-Seed and $10M–$20M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds focal participates in.

### How do I contact focal?

Public channels for focal include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at focal?

The team at focal includes Daniel Darling (Managing Partner), Pascal Unger (Managing Partner) and Sydney Wasikowski (Head of Platform and Operations). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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