FOUNDER.org
VC Fund
San Francisco, United States
FOUNDER.org is a VC fund in San Francisco focused on Artificial Intelligence and Software. FOUNDER.org invests in student entrepreneurs solving big problems they help these courageous innovators build great companies. Their mission is to get more student starting companies, creating jobs and changing the world. But they know it takes more than just money and an idea. Their approach immerses teams in a holistic experience using the 8D©program based on intense challenges, real-world skills development and shared experiences among the most talented student founders around the world.They are a team of serial Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who have built billion dollar companies. Now they’re working with the next generation of student entrepreneurs from universities around the world to help them build high impact companies. Each of them works closely with the teams, bringing their experience in ideation, team building, business models, product and technology, market and customer development, operations and fundraising to bear as hands on mentors.
- Total investments:
- 43
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 51%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries FOUNDER.org invests in
Stages FOUNDER.org invests in
Countries FOUNDER.org invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Round size
- Seed
- $100k–$5M
- Grant
- $50k–$100k
- Series A
- $2.8M–$14M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Artificial Intelligence 11 (26%)
- Software 10 (23%)
- Health Care 7 (16%)
- Machine Learning 6 (14%)
- Biotechnology 4 (9%)
Stage
- Grant 19 (44%)
- Seed 11 (26%)
- Series A 5 (12%)
- Convertible Note 4 (9%)
- Angel 2 (5%)
Country
- United States 21 (49%)
- United Kingdom 6 (14%)
- Germany 4 (9%)
- Sweden 3 (7%)
- France 2 (5%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Elliot Shih
Director of Finance
|
Director of Finance | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Martha de Monclin
Marketing Communications Europe
|
Marketing Communications Europe | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Michael Baum
Founder & CEO
|
Founder & CEO | Total investments: 13 | Find email | |
James Murray
Director of Business Development
|
Director of Business Development | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Tony Ayaz
Chief Business Development Officer
|
Chief Business Development Officer | Total investments: 3 | Find email |
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Upward Farms
|
Upward Farms grows high ecological and quality standard leafy greens and fish to nourish people, families, and the planet. Their farms marry modern vertical farming with the ancient farming practice of aquaponics. Aquaponics uses fish to fertilize crops in a complete ecosystem. In indigenous aquaponic practices, the fish swim directly below plants,and their manure makes the soil more fertile. We have revolutionized this technique by raising fish and plants in their own ideal environments within an intact ecosystem, achieving new levels of quality, safety, and productivity. | $5M / Seed / May 31, 2018 | |
Eko Health
|
Eko Health is a leading digital health company advancing how healthcare professionals detect and monitor heart and lung disease with its portfolio of digital stethoscopes, patient and provider software, and AI-powered analysis. Its FDA-cleared platform is used by hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide, allowing them to detectearlier and with higher accuracy, diagnose with more confidence, manage treatment effectively, and ultimately give their patients the best care possible. Eko Health is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with over $125 million in funding from Highland Capital Partners, Questa Capital, Artis Ventures, DigiTx Partners, NTTVC, Morningside Technology Ventures Limited, Mayo Clinic, Sutter Health, and others. For more information visit www.ekohealth.com. | $5M / Series A / Mar 01, 2018 | |
RapidSOS
|
RapidSOS is a creator of an emergency response data platform that securely links life-saving data from 350M+ connected devices directly to 911 and first responders in an emergency. Through the platform, RapidSOS is providing intelligent data that supports over 4,800 Emergency Communications Centers, protecting 90%+ of people in the US, across 250million emergencies annually. Partnering with innovative companies certified as RapidSOS Ready, RapidSOS is striving to reach everyone. Together, RapidSOS is empowering a faster and smarter response by sending first responders critical data like your exact location, real-time health information, and crash data. RapidSOS is committed to creating a safer, stronger future where technology and people work seamlessly together to save lives. | $14M / Series A / Apr 25, 2017 | |
HeySuccess
|
HeySuccess helps college students to discover their career path much earlier, even before graduation, through a combination of career development AI and thousands of career building opportunities abroad. In addition to that, HeySuccess helps universities to prepare much more successful graduates with its white-labelled solutions for universitycareer centers. | $200K / Angel / Sep 23, 2016 | |
KONUX
|
KONUX is a German AI scale-up, transforming railway operations for a sustainable future. It combines Machine Learning and IoT to make railway the mobility choice of tomorrow by increasing capacity, reliability, and cost-efficiency. Since its foundation in 2014, KONUX has raised more than $130 million from world-leading investors, expanded tomultiple countries in Europe and Asia, and was selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as one of the world’s 30 most innovative start-ups and scale-ups worldwide. | $7.5M / Series A / Apr 08, 2016 | |
Verdigris Technologies
|
Verdigris enables building intelligent buildings through AI and real-time energy monitoring. In addition, Verdigris delivers insight into the power usage per device when in critical condition.Verdigris Building.AI is cloud analytics software for enterprise facilities managers and large commercial buildings. It allows them to optimize operations,increase facility uptime, and save on energy costs.Building.AI is a sophisticated machine learning analytics SAAS platform and embedded wireless sensor that enables real-time identification, disaggregation, and analysis of the loads in buildings, providing unprecedented insights about behavior and usage. | $6M / Series A / Mar 24, 2016 | |
AlphaSheets
|
AlphaSheets seeks to bring the Apple/Slack ethos of intuitive, beautiful computing to currently unintuitive applications. Our main product, AlphaSheets, seeks to eliminate all the problems that plague spreadsheets in the enterprise. | $5.5M / Seed / Dec 05, 2015 | |
Stringr
|
Stringr is the only company to combine video acquisition with a GenAI powered complete remote production SaaS solution – streamlining video workflows around the world. Stringr's award-winning cloud-based video platform serves over 1,000 global broadcast news and online media customers, supported by a proprietary network of 140,000+videographers stationed across the United States and top international locations. Stringr also houses the largest video news archive with over 1.7 million videos available. All this, combined with daily live pool feeds, weather content and original stories, Stringr offers broadcasters more custom news video than any other solution. Stringr was incorporated in 2013 and is based in New York, NY | $1.5M / Angel / Dec 01, 2015 | |
Clara Health
|
Clara is a software platform that streamlines the process of participating in clinical trials. The platform helps patients to find and connect with clinical trials. | $10K / Convertible Note / Nov 15, 2015 | |
ICEYE
|
ICEYE is a space technology company that develops and operates a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites used for Earth observation and persistent monitoring. The company provides satellite imagery and data that enable governments, defense organizations, insurers, financial institutions, and other commercial users to monitoractivities and environmental conditions across the globe. Its SAR technology captures imagery regardless of cloud cover, weather conditions, or time of day, supporting applications such as disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, maritime awareness, environmental monitoring, and security operations. ICEYE also delivers satellite-based intelligence systems and analytical solutions that help organizations assess events, track changes, and make operational decisions using near real-time information. Through its satellite network and data services, the company supports monitoring and situational awareness across a range of public and commercial sectors. | $2.8M / Series A / Nov 12, 2015 | |
| See all 43 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
InnoSpring Seed Fund
2 deals together
AME Cloud Ventures
1 deal together
Artis Ventures
1 deal together
Avalon Ventures
1 deal together
Better Ventures
1 deal together
Capnamic
1 deal together
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FAQ
What does FOUNDER.org invest in?
FOUNDER.org invests primarily in Artificial Intelligence, Software and Health Care startups, most often at Grant and Seed stage. Most of the 43 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 FOUNDER.org's check size?
FOUNDER.org typically joins rounds of $100k–$5M at Seed, $50k–$100k at Grant and $2.8M–$14M 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 FOUNDER.org participates in.
How do I contact FOUNDER.org?
Public channels for FOUNDER.org include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) 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 FOUNDER.org?
The team at FOUNDER.org includes Elliot Shih (Director of Finance), Martha de Monclin (Marketing Communications Europe) and Michael Baum (Founder & CEO). 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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