What Base10 Partners does

Base10 Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests in the automation of the real economy. The firm backs early-stage companies (seed through Series B) applying AI and automation to large, under-automated sectors including logistics and supply chain, payroll and HR, construction, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, fintech, healthcare, food, and security — explicitly targeting industries serving the 99% of consumers and SMBs rather than consumer/enterprise software trends. Base10's portfolio includes notable companies such as Nubank, Figma, Brex, Notion, Reddit, Instacart, Motive, ShipBob, DevotedHealth, WeTravel, HappyRobot, Slide, and Lexroom.

The firm operates a research-first investment model in which 90% of investments are sourced through internal sector research rather than inbound deal flow, supported by Base11, a proprietary internal AI system used to source and evaluate opportunities. This methodology is paired with a research-first pipeline and a 22-person team organized across Investing, Governance + Finance, and Operations functions, including dedicated Head of Data, AI Lead, and Staff Engineer roles. Recurring co-investment relationships with tier-1 firms (Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, Lightspeed, Norwest, Left Lane, General Catalyst, Sapphire) reinforce deal execution across stages.

Base10 generates revenue through standard venture capital mechanics: management fees on $2.6 billion in assets under management (as of mid-2026, following a $850M fund close in 2025 split across a seed/Series A fund and a Series B fund) plus carried interest on successful exits. Capital is sourced from institutional LPs including endowments, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. The firm differentiates itself through the Advancement Initiative, which donates up to 50% of carried interest profits to expand technology opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds, and is recognized as one of the largest Black-led venture capital firms in the U.S. (Forbes BLK50 Money Masters).

Name

Base10 Partners

Legal name

Base10 Partners

Website

https://base10.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Base10 Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invests seed through Series B in AI and automation startups serving real-economy sectors like logistics, payroll, construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, managing $2.6 billion in AUM sourced from institutional LPs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Early-stage investment
• AI automation investing
• Seed series capital
• Startup equity financing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fund management fees & carried interest: Base10 earns revenue as a venture capital firm via management fees on its $2.6B in assets under management (across a $850M seed/Series A fund and a Series B fund) and carried interest on successful portfolio exits. Notably, Base10 commits up to 50% of its carried interest profits to its Advancement Initiative, which donates to expand technology opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Base10 Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in AI and automation companies operating in real-economy verticals (logistics, payroll, construction, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, fintech, healthcare) from seed through Series B. The firm raises capital from institutional limited partners and deploys it via two primary fund vehicles, sourcing deals through a research-first methodology supported by an internal AI system called Base11.

Product overview

Base10 Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm (not a traditional software product company) that invests in automation for the real economy across seed through Series B stages. The firm follows a research-first approach, spending months analyzing sectors before investing, and has built an internal AI system called Base11 that supports its investment process and sourcing decisions. The website exposes a portfolio catalog (Companies page) grouped by sector focus such as Food Automation, Logistics & Supply Chain Automation, Security & Compliance Automation, HR Automation, Fintech Automation, Healthcare Automation, Construction Automation, Engineering Workflow Automation, Consumer Retail Automation, and more, but these are portfolio company investments, not Base10's own products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Base11: Internal AI system used by Base10 to support its investment research and sourcing process.
• Advancement Initiative

Products and services

• Fund 4 — Seed and Series A Fund Dedicated venture fund for seed and Series A investments in early-stage AI and automation companies serving real-economy industries; deploys 10-15 seed checks and 2-3 Series A checks annually. Capital is raised from institutional LPs.
• Fund 2 — Series B Fund Dedicated venture fund for Series B investments in real-economy AI/automation companies; provides scaling capital to portfolio companies as they move past Series A. Capital is raised from institutional LPs.

Named customers19 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tokio MarinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic co-investor in HappyRobot's $44M Series B. Tokio Marine is also referenced as a customer/commercial partner through HappyRobot's logistics AI deployments.
• Allegion VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed Serenity's $5.5M Series A with continued Base10 participation; Allegion is a strategic investor (corporate VC of Allegion, the safety/security products company) that aligns with Serenity's EHS software focus.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Innovation Endeavors: Research-driven venture firm founded by Eric Schmidt, with an enterprise AI and deep-tech focus. Innovation Endeavors' thesis-driven, sector-deep approach parallels Base10's research-first methodology.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Tier-1 U.S. venture firm with a major early-stage AI and automation practice. a16z is Base10's most frequent tier-1 co-investor (HappyRobot, Prosper AI, Traza, Jarvie AI) and targets many of the same founders, making it the closest comparable in stage, sector focus, and deal cadence.
• Lightspeed Venture Partners: Multi-stage U.S. venture firm with deep seed-to-Series B exposure in AI, enterprise software, and consumer. Lightspeed is a recurring Base10 co-investor (Mobile-First Company, Jarvie AI), with comparable stage focus and enterprise/automation orientation.
• General Catalyst: Multi-stage U.S. venture firm with significant early-stage AI and infrastructure investments. General Catalyst is a recurring Base10 co-investor (Slide, Greenboard), with comparable stage breadth and overlap in automation-focused founders.
• Norwest Venture Partners: Multi-stage venture firm with deep enterprise and AI exposure. Norwest led Coval's $28M Series A with Base10 participating, illustrating directly overlapping investment focus in AI/automation platforms.
• Y Combinator: Premier early-stage accelerator/funder with a heavy AI/automation tilt. YC is Base10's most frequent co-investor at the seed stage (Coval, Prosper AI, JustAI, Phonely, Denki, Throxy), making it a direct comparable on seed deal flow.
• Khosla Ventures: Early-stage-heavy U.S. venture firm with deep AI, automation, and 'hard tech' focus. Khosla targets similar founder profiles to Base10 in real-economy and AI-enabled software, making it a closely comparable stage and thesis peer.
• Founders Fund: Early-to-growth U.S. venture firm with strong AI and deep-tech orientation. Founders Fund targets similar founder archetypes to Base10 in frontier technology and automation, with comparable stage emphasis.
• Bain Capital Ventures: Early-stage-focused venture arm of Bain Capital with a strong application software and AI portfolio. Bain Capital Ventures operates at comparable stages (seed through Series B) with similar enterprise/automation themes.

Broad incumbents

• Sequoia Capital: Largest U.S. venture franchise with broad seed-to-growth coverage. While Sequoia operates at much larger scale and across more verticals, its early-stage AI/automation activity and brand recognition make it a relevant incumbent comparable for founder competition and LP benchmarking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Base10Partners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/base10-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments216 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Base10 Partners