# GSD Venture Studios

> GSD Venture Studios is a VC fund backing Software and Artificial Intelligence. See 74 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Menlo Park, United States
- Total investments: 74
- Last investment: Jan 2024
- Lead investor: 1%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsd-venture-studios/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/dDistenfield
- Website: https://www.gsdvs.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gsdventurestudios/

GSD Venture Studios is a VC fund in Menlo Park focused on Software and Artificial Intelligence. For too long self-motivated entrepreneurs have navigated the minefield of challenges to launching a global company with very little support. The last thing you should bet on in this situation is an unproven team that you don’t trust. GSD Venture Studios travels the world inviting resilient teams to establish partnerships that ensure organizationsgrow the right way, without games or gimmicks. Unlike traditional investors, we take senior operational (often co-founder) roles in these companies, capitalizing on our trusted reputation, experiences and network to drive explosive growth.We Travel The World Investing In Resilient Teams Bold Enough To #GoGlobalFor companies to leave a lasting impact they must grow quickly, be bold and go global. In order to do so, companies must engineer five things simultaneously: Product, Investment, Influence, Sales/Marketing, and Systems. Benchmarks for future funding rounds must be developed through all five lines of effort. We rarely find companies that are effective at all five, mainly because each line requires a tremendous amount of back office expertise and support. This is why we have partnered with top law firms, banks, coworking spaces, HR professionals and strategists to ensure your success.How We Get Shit DoneFor organizations seeking digital transformation or looking to increase their startup engagement, GSD Venture Studios is developing a collision point with key organizations and officials across the world. We invite corporate partners, accelerators and other experts for idea collaboration, building relationships with our portfolio and helping launch new companies.You Have an Idea, We Make It Global

## Contacts

5 contacts available for GSD Venture Studios. Shizune tracks 2 team members at GSD Venture Studios. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/gsd-venture-studios?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 21 | 28% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 17 | 23% |
| FinTech | 12 | 16% |
| SaaS | 10 | 14% |
| Information Technology | 9 | 12% |

109 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-Seed | 35 | 47% |
| Seed | 28 | 38% |
| Series A | 5 | 7% |
| Venture - Series Unknown | 1 | 1% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 22 | 30% |
| India | 6 | 8% |
| Singapore | 5 | 7% |
| United Kingdom | 4 | 5% |
| Finland | 3 | 4% |

22 countries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gary A. Fowler | CEO, President and Co-founder | 1 | — |
| Derek Distenfield | COO | 0 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Budgetwise.AI | At Budgetwise.ai, we've harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to revolutionize personal finance management. Our AI-powered app offers a seamless and intuitive way to navigate the complexities of money management. By combining cutting-edge technology with a supportive community and a user-friendly interface, Budgetwise.ai empowersindividuals to take control of their financial journey like never before. Our mission is to simplify finance and foster financial well-being for all. |  | Pre-Seed | Jan 01, 2024 |  |
| LYRO Robotics | We build the brain, the eyes, and the hands for the next generation of robots! #robotic #picking #packing #grasping #learning #vision |  | Seed | Mar 20, 2023 |  |
| insbay | insbay is a marketing and advertising company. |  | Seed | Dec 01, 2022 |  |
| Skillmil | SkillMil's mission is to make the process of identifying, qualifying and matching veterans with civilian job opportunities easier and faster. Our services include recruiting or headhunting for employers and career assistance for transitioning service members, spouses or veterans. |  | Seed | Jul 02, 2022 |  |
| Margik | Margik is an organic electronic device manufacturing company that engages in research and development of lighting technology. They provide organic materials for the new generation of sustainable consumer electronics. |  | Seed | Jun 06, 2022 |  |
| Faradai | As the world races toward mainstream transition to net-zero economy, digitalization and electrification, there is a huge gap in digital product & services to accelerate this transformation. We fill this gap and be the digital core of these transitions, utilizing the AI, IoT and blockchain technologies. we help enterprises to collect, manage andanalyze, share critical energy & sustainability data from facilities. We bridge the gap between the data that businesses have and the valuable insights they need to extract from it. |  | Seed | Jun 02, 2022 |  |
| D-TAG Analytics | D-Tag is an independent social media analytics solution provider, offering cutting-edge, end-to-end tools and services to allow clients to turn social media data into insights that drive business value. D-Tag’s core business is the deployment of a customized, high-quality analytics and reporting system optimized for social media content. ​ Thestartup was founded by a group of young entrepreneurs who have had successful experience in the IT and social media industry, and evolved into a premium Big Data Consulting provider and solution developer. |  | Seed | Jun 02, 2022 |  |
| Artic Solar | Artic Solar manufactures XCPC solar collectors capable of heating liquids up to 200° C or 400° F to create steam for high-temperature industrial applications such as commercial air conditioning, refrigeration, industrial process heat, electric power generation, and desalinization. Artic solar is powered by an experienced and dedicated team. As thecompany grows, they will be adding engineering services, financial capabilities, and senior management to build a successful company changing the way the world uses high-temperature solar thermal. |  | Seed | Jun 02, 2022 |  |
| Treebuddy.Earth | Treebuddy is a tree planting and care service where customers get a digital copy of a tree to be maintained in their own virtual garden.It connects the interests of local communities and businesses to establish mutually beneficial relationships for long-term tree planting and reforestation. Treebuddy SaaS helps businesses to engage theircustomers and broader networks in their sustainable tree planting and caring actions.It was established in Helsinki, Nyland in 2016. |  | Pre-Seed | Jun 02, 2022 |  |
| insbay | insbay is a marketing and advertising company. |  | Seed | Jun 02, 2022 |  |

10 of 74 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Artesian VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/artesian-capital-management) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [DEPO Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/depo-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Startup-O](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startup-o) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [AgFoodFund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/agfoodfund) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Boab AI — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Criteria Venture Tech](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/caixa-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

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- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund
- [Everywhere Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/everywhere-ventures) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does GSD Venture Studios invest in?

GSD Venture Studios invests primarily in Software, Artificial Intelligence and FinTech startups, most often at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Most of the 74 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact GSD Venture Studios?

Public channels for GSD Venture Studios 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 GSD Venture Studios?

The team at GSD Venture Studios includes Gary A. Fowler (CEO, President and Co-founder) and Derek Distenfield (COO). 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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