Early-Stage VCs in North America: 21 Pre-Seed and Seed Investors in the US and Canada, With Cheque Sizes and How to Pitch
The usual lists of North American VCs rank firms by assets under management, which tells a first-time founder almost nothing. When you raise a pre-seed or seed round in the US or Canada, you need a fund that invests at your stage, a first cheque that matches your round and a way to reach the partners. We checked 21 early-stage venture capital firms on their own websites for 2027: nine seed specialists that publish how much they invest (including three Canadian funds), and twelve larger firms from the old list with the seed route each one offers today.
Quick answer: for a small first cheque, start with Hustle Fund ($150K, pre-seed only) and Precursor Ventures (up to $500K). For a seed lead, look at First Round (average initial investment $3.5M), Initialized, Version One ($500K to $1.5M) and Forerunner. Canadian founders should talk to Panache Ventures (first cheques up to $1.5M), Golden Ventures ($500K to $3M) and BDC Capital's Seed Venture Fund. Without a network, the big firms' open doors are a16z speedrun (up to $1M), Sequoia Arc and Greylock Edge.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.
👉 Write your article here
Early-Stage VCs in North America Compared
Sources: each firm's own website, checked 27 October to 2 November 2026. "Not published" means the firm's site does not state it; figures can change.
The 21 Early-Stage VCs in North America for 2027
The first nine firms are seed specialists: they publish a stage and, in most cases, a cheque size, and most take pitches directly. The other twelve are the large multi-stage firms from the 2025 version of this list; for each one we say how a seed-stage founder can actually reach it.
Seed specialists in the US
1. Hustle Fund in San Carlos, California, says it invests in "hilariously early startups". Its FAQ is unusually precise: pre-seed only (not seed), a first check of $150K, mostly in the United States, Canada and Southeast Asia, and a software-generalist focus with a lot of SaaS. It decides in one or two meetings, usually replies within 24 to 48 hours after a call and wires within a week, and it will invest without waiting for a lead. Its four funds are $11.5M, $34M, $46M and $39M, and it counts more than 600 startups backed. It does not invest in pharma, medical devices, restaurants or brick-and-mortar businesses.
2. Precursor Ventures is a San Francisco pre-seed and seed firm that invests "in people over product". It typically invests up to $500,000 per round, wants to be a meaningful investor in your first round while leaving room for others, and keeps reserves for follow-ons. It focuses on companies headquartered in the USA, Canada and Mexico, invests in software and hardware as a generalist, and makes 30 to 40 new investments a year; its portfolio page counts more than 500 companies. Founders submit through its contact page.
3. Initialized Capital is an early-stage firm in San Francisco, founded by Y Combinator partners (including Garry Tan, now YC's president and CEO) to write follow-on checks into YC companies. It became a standalone firm in 2016 and now leads pre-seed and seed rounds, working with founders up to their Series A. It invests across all sectors and says it is looking for founders working on hard problems. It does not publish a cheque size or fund size on its site.
4. First Round Capital has offices in San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia and says it is usually the first money in. It sees no line between angel, pre-seed and seed, so "it's never too early to reach out", and it invites cold emails (it invested in Iru after one in 2018). Its average initial investment is $3.5 million, in rounds from $100,000 to $20 million, and its ideal ownership is about 14% after the seed round. Its homepage names Notion, Square, Roblox and Verkada among its companies. Founders who are not ready to raise can use its PMF Method programme.
5. Forerunner Ventures has invested since 2012 and says it manages nearly $3 billion. At seed and Series A it most often leads or co-leads, with initial investments of up to $20 million, in consumer applications and AI-native infrastructure. Its latest posts announce that it led SuperMe's Series A (October 29, 2026) and invested in Alta (October 22, 2026). Its site does not give an office city.
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.
We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.
👉 Submit your startup now!
Seed specialists in Canada (and cross-border)
6. Version One Ventures has partners in Vancouver and San Francisco and invests across the US and Canada. It calls the seed stage the one where it can make the greatest impact, typically leads or co-leads with $500K to $1.5M and often backs its startups through several rounds; it aims for turnaround times of a few days, not weeks. On September 25, 2026 it announced that it led Pilot Protocol's $4.5M seed round, with Precursor Ventures participating. Its portfolio includes Ada, Coinbase, Headout and Jobber.
7. Golden Ventures in Toronto is a sector-agnostic, seed-focused fund that has invested since June 2011. Its homepage states pre-seed, seed and seed+ investing in North America with initial cheques of $500K to $3M from a $100M fund (2024), and says 89% of its portfolio companies raised follow-on funding. Its portfolio includes Float, ResQ, Wattpad and Rebelstork; its most recent post announces an investment in Brodie Sports Group (September 29, 2026).
8. Panache Ventures calls itself Canada's pre-seed fund and backs founders "from day one" across all sectors, often as the first institutional investor. It writes first cheques of up to $1.5M from its $100M Fund II, takes no board seats and has offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Founders send their deck through the "Submit your deck" button, and Panache says it reviews every submission. It also says its portfolio companies have collectively raised over $3.3B.
9. BDC Capital Seed Venture Fund belongs to BDC, which calls itself Canada's largest and most active venture capital investor. The Seed Venture Fund is a $100-million fund that helps Canadian entrepreneurs get ideas off the ground; it leads investments across software and hardware, with AI and robotics among its focus areas, and works with accelerators, incubators and angels in every region of Canada. BDC also runs a Thrive Platform for Women and funds for Black entrepreneurs, climate tech and life sciences.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
Large firms with a seed route
10. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) in Menlo Park invests at every stage, but its clearest door for first-time founders is speedrun, a residency in San Francisco that invests up to $1M plus more than $10M in partner credits. SR008 runs from February 1 to April 16, 2027; applications sent after November 1, 2026 are considered for the following residency, and a16z says it reviews applications year-round. On January 9, 2026 Ben Horowitz announced that a16z had raised over $15B in new funds.
11. Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park finds seed founders in several ways, including Arc, its twice-yearly open call for pre-seed and seed founders, with a four-day Arc Intensive for those selected. It does not publish an Arc cheque size. On October 27, 2025 it launched its sixth dedicated seed fund.
12. Greylock (San Francisco and Menlo Park) runs Edge, a three-month programme for pre-idea, pre-seed and seed founders with flexible financing and more than $1M in credits. On July 14, 2026 it announced Greylock 18, a $1.5 billion early-stage fund.
13. Bessemer Venture Partners has offices in San Francisco, New York and Massachusetts, plus London and Tel Aviv. On September 23, 2026 it announced $5.75 billion in new capital, of which $1.75 billion is for seed and early-stage investing, and it says about 70% of its investments are made early. Founders reach it through the partner who covers their sector.
14. Accel is headquartered in Palo Alto. On August 11, 2026 it announced $3.5 billion for its early-stage strategies in the US, Europe, Israel and India. It publishes no seed cheque size or open form for US founders.
15. Khosla Ventures on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park says on its contact page that it invests earliest, from pre-seed and seed to Series A, and asks founders to read its thesis before reaching out there.
16. Lightspeed Venture Partners in Menlo Park backs companies from seed to Series F and beyond. Its own healthtech newsletter of January 29, 2026 says it closed 2025 with $9 billion in new funds. It publishes no seed cheque size.
17. NEA (New Enterprise Associates) says it partners with founders "at every stage of company building", from idea and seed through Series A to D and IPO, in technology and healthcare. Its homepage gives no cheque size or office list.
18. Kleiner Perkins is headquartered on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park and says it partners with founders "from inception to IPO and beyond". Its homepage lists companies such as Anthropic, Figma, Rippling and Harvey. It also runs the Kleiner Perkins Fellows programme; it publishes no seed cheque size.
19. Notable Capital is the new name of GGV Capital's US partnership. According to GGV's own site, GGV separated into two firms on March 29, 2024: Notable Capital (Silicon Valley, San Francisco and New York; investing in the US, Israel, Europe and Latin America) and Granite Asia (Singapore). Notable still writes seed cheques: its site says it is leading the seed round of Superlogical, Mitchell Hashimoto's new company, and it runs N1, a growth programme for early-stage startups.
20. Battery Ventures (Boston, San Francisco, Menlo Park, New York, London and Tel Aviv) makes early, growth and buyout investments in technology. It is currently investing from Battery Ventures XV, which it says is capitalized at $3.25 billion, and it has invested in more than 450 companies over 40 years. It fits software and infrastructure founders past the idea stage.
21. Founders Fund in San Francisco says it invests in companies building revolutionary technologies. It publishes no stage, cheque size or application route, but it does publish a transparent term sheet. Treat it as a warm-introduction investor once you have traction.
Firms That Left This List and Why
The 2025 version of this article listed 15 firms. 13 are still active early-stage investors and stay, GGV Capital stays under its new US name (Notable Capital), and we added seven seed specialists, three of them Canadian. Removed or changed:
- GGV Capital: split on March 29, 2024 into Notable Capital (US) and Granite Asia (Asia-Pacific), per ggvc.com.
- Canaan Partners: still active, but its site states no investment stage and now describes therapeutics, deep tech, cybersecurity and AI, so we could not confirm it as an early-stage generalist.
- Real Ventures (Montreal), often listed as a Canadian seed fund: its own FAQ says it is "currently focused on supporting our existing investee companies and making follow-on investments", so it is not taking new companies.
- Removed figures: the old assets-under-management lines (a16z $42B, Sequoia $28.3B, Lightspeed $7.7B, NEA $17.8B, Bessemer $20B, Greylock $3.5B, GGV $6.2B) had no source on the firms' own pages, and the old "notable investments" lists were replaced with names from each firm's own site.
How to Raise a Seed Round in North America in 5 Steps
- Match the cheque to your round. A $150K to $500K pre-seed fits Hustle Fund or Precursor; a $1M+ seed fits Version One, Panache, Golden Ventures or First Round.
- Use the open doors. Hustle Fund, Panache and Precursor take pitches on their sites, First Round welcomes cold email, and a16z speedrun, Sequoia Arc and Greylock Edge run applications.
- Go local in Canada. Golden Ventures, Panache and BDC's Seed Venture Fund back Canadian founders from the start; compare cities in our guide to startup cities in North America.
- Pitch fast and tight. Build a fundraising pitch deck that tells a story; Hustle Fund decides in one or two meetings and Version One aims for a few days.
- Line up a lead. Small cheques follow a lead; First Round, Forerunner, Initialized, Version One and BDC's Seed Venture Fund say they lead. Read up on term sheet negotiation before you sign.
Which Early-Stage VC in North America Should You Choose?
- Idea or prototype, small first cheque: Hustle Fund ($150K) or Precursor (up to $500K).
- Seed round with a lead investor: First Round, Initialized, Version One or Forerunner.
- Canadian founder: Panache (pre-seed), Golden Ventures (seed), BDC Capital's Seed Venture Fund and Version One.
- No network: a16z speedrun, Sequoia Arc or Greylock Edge, or our list of angel investors in North America for a first cheque.
- AI or deep tech: see our VCs for AI startups and deep tech VCs in North America; AI founders in Europe can compare our AI VCs in Europe.
- An accelerator instead of a fund: compare AI accelerators in North America and accelerators for AI startups.
- Outside North America: our early-stage VCs in Europe, early-stage VCs in Asia and the worldwide early-stage VC firms.
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.
How Founders Get Ready for a Seed Round in the US and Canada
Seed funds back evidence. Before you pitch, run our 30-day validation sprint or validate your startup idea with our service, and avoid the classic pre-seed fundraising mistakes. Non-dilutive money stretches a round: see our guides to grants for early-stage startups and deep tech grants in North America, and our sister site's comparison of venture capital vs grants. Prize money and investor attention also come from startup competitions in North America. Partners meet founders at events: see our lists of fundraising and investor events and startup events in San Francisco, New York and Toronto. Women founders can add our guide to angel investors for women founders and the numbers in our female founder funding statistics.
FAQ About Early-Stage VCs in North America
Which VCs in North America invest at pre-seed?
Hustle Fund (pre-seed only), Precursor Ventures, Panache Ventures, Golden Ventures, Initialized and First Round all state it on their sites, and a16z speedrun, Sequoia Arc and Greylock Edge are built for pre-seed and seed founders.
How much do seed VCs in the US and Canada invest?
Only some publish it: Hustle Fund $150K, Precursor up to $500K, Version One $500K to $1.5M, Panache up to $1.5M, Golden Ventures $500K to $3M, a16z speedrun up to $1M, First Round $3.5M on average and Forerunner up to $20M at seed and Series A.
Which early-stage VCs focus on Canada?
Panache Ventures (Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver), Golden Ventures (Toronto), BDC Capital's $100-million Seed Venture Fund and Version One (Vancouver and San Francisco). Precursor and Hustle Fund also invest in Canada.
Which VCs accept cold pitches?
Hustle Fund and Panache have pitch buttons on their sites, Precursor takes submissions through its contact page, and First Round says not to be afraid to reach out cold. a16z speedrun, Sequoia Arc and Greylock Edge run applications.
How fast do seed VCs decide?
Hustle Fund decides in one or two meetings and wires within a week; Version One aims for a few days. Larger firms usually take longer and involve a partner meeting.
What happened to GGV Capital?
It split on March 29, 2024. The US partnership is now Notable Capital, based in Silicon Valley with offices in San Francisco and New York; the Asian partnership is Granite Asia in Singapore.
Is Real Ventures still investing?
Its own FAQ says it is currently focused on supporting existing investee companies and making follow-on investments, so it is not taking new companies at the moment.
Do I need a lead investor for my seed round?
Usually yes. Small-cheque funds such as Hustle Fund invest alongside a lead (Hustle Fund will also be first in). First Round, Forerunner, Initialized, Version One and BDC's Seed Venture Fund say they lead or co-lead.
Should I raise from angels or VCs first?
Many rounds start with angels and grants and add a seed fund once there is traction, but funds such as First Round, Panache and Hustle Fund say they want to be among the first money in.
How can I get my startup in front of more investors?
Get covered where investors and AI assistants look: you can publish a guest post in the Fe/male Switch startup blogs. Get featured and earn a backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
