# Robert Stefanski

> Robert Stefanski is a seed investor at eLab Ventures (Palo Alto) backing Software and Automotive. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [eLab Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/michigan-elab)
- Location: Palo Alto, United States
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Mar 2025
- Lead investor: 60%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-stefanski-a56085171

Robert Stefanski is a seed investor at eLab Ventures in Palo Alto focused on Software and Automotive. Bob Stefanski is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Elab Ventures. He attended the University of Michigan College of Engineering.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 2 | 40% |
| Automotive | 2 | 40% |
| Hardware | 1 | 20% |
| Robotics | 1 | 20% |
| Aerospace | 1 | 20% |

11 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 3 | 60% |
| Series B | 1 | 20% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pinnacle | Pinnacle is an AI executive coach. Pinnacle provides coaching, career planning, personalized learning, and automated manager tools that fit seamlessly in the flow of work in Slack & MS Teams. We're used by the world's most people-centric businesses to support their employees at scale. | $2.5M | Seed | Mar 13, 2025 |  |
| Verge Aero | Verge Aero (Verge) is an experienced team of electrical, computer, software, systems, and aerospace engineers, whose mission is focused on building and deploying unmanned aerial systems (UASs), or drones, for use in the entertainment industry. Verge has designed, developed, and implemented a drone performance software capable of controlling swarmsof drones and integrating into existing entertainment systems, providing dynamic interactions with audiences and actors. Near-term applications of the technology include recurring drone performances, venue installations, touring drone performance productions, and drone entertainment products. | $3.9M | Seed | Sep 01, 2022 |  |
| Refraction AI | Refraction AI is a leading robotics delivery software and services startup. It builds and deploys robotic platforms for providing safe and scalable last-mile goods delivery in urban areas. Refraction picks up goods from places like restaurants, pharmacies, and grocery stores and brings them directly to the door, enabling faster, cheaper, and saferdelivery to meet customer’s growing expectations.Refraction’s robots are completely autonomous using a system of a dozen cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors and can also be teleoperated and monitored remotely. They employ an autonomy stack that is designed to perform in all climates, from the harshest of winters of Michigan to the hottest summers of Texas. | $4.2M | Seed | Mar 08, 2021 |  |
| Refraction AI | Refraction AI is a leading robotics delivery software and services startup. It builds and deploys robotic platforms for providing safe and scalable last-mile goods delivery in urban areas. Refraction picks up goods from places like restaurants, pharmacies, and grocery stores and brings them directly to the door, enabling faster, cheaper, and saferdelivery to meet customer’s growing expectations.Refraction’s robots are completely autonomous using a system of a dozen cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors and can also be teleoperated and monitored remotely. They employ an autonomy stack that is designed to perform in all climates, from the harshest of winters of Michigan to the hottest summers of Texas. | $5M | Seed | Jun 01, 2020 |  |
| Aperia Technologies | Aperia Technologies provides automatic tire inflation devices that help improve the safety and efficiency of commercial vehicles. It offers Halo Tire Inflator, a ring-shaped device that utilizes a wheel's rotational motion to pump air and maintain optimal tire pressure. Aperia Technologies was incorporated in 2010 and is based in SanFrancisco, California. | $16M | Series B | Nov 15, 2016 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Trucks Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/trucks-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Pillar VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/pillar-companies-2) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Invest Michigan](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/invest-michigan) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Jolly VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jolly-vc) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Mastodon Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mastodon-capital-management) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About eLab Ventures

VC Fund · Ann Arbor, United States

eLab Ventures is an early stage technology venture capital fund created to capitalize on the growth of emerging entrepreneurial markets outside of Silicon Valley and to create bridges to those markets to seek startups with disruptive innovations, exceptional teams, and capital efficient business models that have the potential to serve largemarkets. eLab is strategically based both in Ann Arbor, to leverage innovation and talent in the Midwest, and in Silicon Valley, to leverage customers, business development, funding sources and a strong network of experienced advisors. We are passionate about nurturing world-changing ideas by connecting entrepreneurs to capital and expertise needed to build great, disruptive companies!

5 contacts available at eLab Ventures.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Robert Stefanski | Co-Founder and Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/robert-stefanski |
| Doug Neal | Co-Founder and Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/doug-neal |
| Mahendra Vora | Limited Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/mahendra-vora |
| Paul Brown | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/paul-brown-10 |
| Rick Bolander | Co-Founder and Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rick-bolander |

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Robert Stefanski invest in?

Robert Stefanski invests primarily in Software, Automotive and Hardware startups, most often at Seed and Series B stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Robert Stefanski last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Robert Stefanski closed in Mar 2025. Shizune tracks 5 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### 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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