8VC
8VC is a privately held venture capital and technology investment firm founded by Joe Lonsdale in 2015 that invests in and actively builds companies (29 via its Build Program since 2016) across healthcare, life sciences, defense, logistics, AI, and financial services. It operates multiple funds, an in-house design agency, and a Fellowship talent pipeline.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What 8VC does
8VC is a privately held venture capital and technology investment firm headquartered at 907 South Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, with a secondary presence in San Francisco. Founded by Joe Lonsdale — co-founder of Palantir Technologies and Addepar — the firm's investment thesis (the 'Smart Enterprise' framework, first articulated in 2013) centers on data integration, enabling human experts to solve non-linear problems, and building platforms with network effects. 8VC operates across multiple funds (8VC Fund II, III, and IV are referenced) and reports an investment portfolio of 100+ companies spanning healthcare, life sciences, financial services, AI, IT infrastructure, government and defense, logistics, and consumer sectors. The firm files SEC Form 13F under the name '8VC GP I' and is led by Lonsdale alongside co-founders Drew Oetting, Jake Medwell, Alex Kolicich, and Francisco Gimenez, with Stephen Condon as CFO and Asanka Jayasuriya as CTO.
The firm's defining product is the 8VC Build Program, an internal venture studio that has created 21–29 companies since 2016 by partnering with entrepreneurs-in-residence, with Joe Lonsdale personally involved in each Build company's thesis and strategy. Notable Build Program outcomes include Saronic (autonomous surface vessels for defense, raised $1.75B Series D at $9.25B valuation), Epirus (counter-electronics directed energy, $1.35B valuation after $200M Series C with a $66M US Army contract), and Resilience (biomedicine manufacturing, $800M raised plus $410M DoD financing). Supporting programs include the 8VC Angel Strategy (active since 2015) for pre-seed exposure, the 8VC Fellowship Program (Engineering and Design tracks) for undergraduate talent placement at portfolio companies, an in-house design agency, and a public jobs board aggregating 9,000+ openings across the portfolio. The firm is also a participant in the Pax Silica technology supply chain alliance and publishes policy commentary (including an FDA reform proposal in May 2026).
8VC's revenue model follows the standard venture capital structure: recurring management fees on committed LP capital across multiple funds, plus carried interest from successful exits and liquidity events. Portfolio liquidity is anchored by historical exits (Palantir, Oculus, Wish) and large unrealized positions (Anduril, Saronic, Epirus, Cognition, Addepar, Vercel, Ramp, Flexport). The firm co-invests alongside top-tier VCs (Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Accel, Coatue, Lux Capital, General Catalyst, Radical Ventures) and frequently leads rounds through Fund IV. Customer-side distribution to founders runs through direct sourcing, EIR partnerships, the Build Program, and an advisor network; distribution to LPs runs through the AltaReturn investor portal (8vc.altareturn.com) and direct fundraising. Marketing is content-led via the Resources hub (100+ posts, 9 whitepapers, 39 podcasts), social (Twitter/X), earned media (CNBC, Bloomberg), and the Fellowship as a community funnel.
8VC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 8VC
- Legal name
- 8VC
- Website
- https://8vc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- 8VC is a privately held venture capital and technology investment firm founded by Joe Lonsdale in 2015 that invests in and actively builds companies (29 via its Build Program since 2016) across healthcare, life sciences, defense, logistics, AI, and financial services. It operates multiple funds, an in-house design agency, and a Fellowship talent pipeline.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
8VC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Technology & Software Growth Equity (FSANACAA), Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds (FSANAGAC)
Keywords
Where 8VC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
8VC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Management Fees: 8VC earns recurring management fees, typically a percentage of committed capital, from Limited Partners across multiple funds (8VC Fund II, Fund III, Fund IV referenced). Standard venture capital fund management fee structure.
- Carried Interest: 8VC earns a percentage of profits (carried interest) from successful exits and liquidity events across its portfolio. Portfolio includes notable exits (Palantir, Oculus, Wish) and active companies (Anduril, Saronic, Cognition, Addepar).
- Portfolio Returns / Capital Gains: Returns from equity stakes in portfolio companies, including Build companies (Saronic, Epirus, Resilience), co-investments (Addepar, Vercel, Illumio, Branch, Ramp, Qualia), and exited investments (Palantir, Oculus).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Limited Partner fund commitments |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
8VC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
8VC is a privately held venture capital and technology investment firm that invests in and actively builds companies across sectors including government/defense, healthcare, life sciences, logistics, IT infrastructure, and financial services. The firm raises capital from institutional limited partners across multiple funds (8VC Fund II, III, IV), invests in early- and growth-stage companies, and operates a proprietary Build Program that has founded 21+ companies since 2016. Revenue is generated through management fees, carried interest, and portfolio equity returns.
Product overview
8VC is a venture capital and technology-investment firm, not a single SaaS product, so its "offerings" are a platform of investment programs and talent services organized around a central thesis. The Build Program is the core engine that founds operating companies in Government & Defense, Logistics-IT, Life Sciences, and Financial Services (21+ companies since 2016, including Saronic, Epirus, and Resilience); the Engineering Fellowship and Design Fellowship sit alongside it as a talent funnel that places students at those portfolio companies and inside 8VC itself. The Angel Strategy (active since 2015) provides earlier-stage exposure, while the broader Portfolio Companies listing (hundreds of names across AI, Healthcare, Logistics, Government & Defense, IT Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Financial Services, Consumer, and Smart Enterprise categories) represents the firm's investment surface area. Supporting services include the 8VC Resources content hub (posts, whitepapers, podcasts, video), the 8VC Jobs Board aggregating openings across portfolio companies, and an LP-facing AltaReturn investor portal — together forming a tightly integrated firm-as-platform that combines capital deployment, company creation, and talent development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 8VC Build Program: Founder-led program through which 8VC launches companies to address conceptual gaps across GovTech/Defense, Logistics-IT, Life Sciences, and Financial Services sectors; 21 companies founded through this program since 2016.
- 8VC Fellowship
- 8VC Angel
Products and services
- 8VC Build Program An internal venture-studio program that partners with entrepreneurs-in-residence and engineers to found companies addressing industry gaps in GovTech/Defense, Logistics-IT, Life Sciences, and Financial Services; 8VC founder Joe Lonsdale is personally involved with each Build company.
- 8VC Engineering Fellowship A three-month immersive summer internship program that places undergraduate engineering students at 8VC portfolio companies to work on meaningful technical problems.
- 8VC Design Fellowship A fellowship pathway that embeds designers directly within 8VC to define brands and prototype early product ideas across the portfolio rather than at any single startup.
- 8VC Angel Strategy A pre-seed/angel investing program run since 2015 that invests in teams targeting high-growth markets, offering early insights into new technologies and creating opportunities for follow-on investment.
- 8VC Venture Funds Multi-fund venture capital vehicles (8VC Fund II, Fund III, Fund IV referenced) that deploy LP capital into early- and growth-stage technology companies across AI, Smart Enterprise, Financial Services, Government & Defense, IT Infrastructure, Healthcare, Life Sciences, and Logistics.
Quantifiable outcome
- 29 companies founded through the Build Program since 2016
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use 8VC
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
8VC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
8VC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- Deny Khoung (Standard Metrics)coreDeny Khoung is partnering with 8VC's portfolio companies to provide design mentorship, hiring support, product feedback, and help teams with design challenges. He co-founded Standard Metrics and has a background in fintech and design, serving as an advisor to startups. Functions as a portfolio support resource across 8VC's design agency and Build companies.
- Nigeria's Defence Industries Corporation (DICON)flagshipTerra Industries (an 8VC portfolio company) signed a landmark agreement with Nigeria's Defence Industries Corporation (DICON) for local assembly and training, positioning DICON as a key strategic partner for Terra's defense technology deployment.
- UAE Cybersecurity CouncilflagshipRilian (an 8VC portfolio company) signed a landmark contract with the UAE Cybersecurity Council in July 2025 to secure the country's critical infrastructure using its Caspian platform, representing a major strategic government partnership.
- SentinelOnecoreSentinelOne is a strategic technology integration partner with Rilian (an 8VC portfolio company), alongside Censys and SimSpace, supporting Rilian's Caspian security orchestration platform for defense and national security applications.
- CensyscoreCensys is a strategic technology integration partner with Rilian (an 8VC portfolio company), alongside SentinelOne and SimSpace, supporting Rilian's Caspian security orchestration platform.
- SimSpacecoreSimSpace is a strategic technology integration partner with Rilian (an 8VC portfolio company), alongside SentinelOne and Censys, supporting Rilian's Caspian security orchestration platform.
- FiservflagshipFiserv is a banking technology integration partner with Saris (an 8VC portfolio company), enabling Saris to deploy its agentic workflow automation platform to banks and credit unions.
- EncompasscoreEncompass is a banking technology integration partner with Saris (an 8VC portfolio company), supporting its agentic workflow automation platform for financial institutions.
- MeridianLinkflagshipMeridianLink is a banking technology integration partner with Saris (an 8VC portfolio company), enabling deployment of agentic workflows to banks and credit unions.
- Foxconnflagship8VC was among the US companies represented in the visit to a proposed 4,000-acre economic security zone site in New Clark City, Philippines, alongside Foxconn, Agility Robotics, Joby Aviation, and Valar Atomics, as part of the Pax Silica technology supply chain alliance.
- Agility RoboticsflagshipAgility Robotics was among the US companies represented alongside 8VC in the Pax Silica alliance visit to the Philippines economic security zone site.
- Joby AviationflagshipJoby Aviation was among the US companies represented alongside 8VC in the Pax Silica alliance visit to the Philippines economic security zone site.
- Valar AtomicsflagshipValar Atomics was among the US companies represented alongside 8VC in the Pax Silica alliance visit to the Philippines economic security zone site.
- Pax Silicaflagship8VC is a participant in the Pax Silica US-led technology supply chain alliance. The alliance has grown from 7 founding members to 15 current members, with the Philippines becoming the 13th member. 8VC was among the US companies visiting the Philippines economic security zone site.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
8VC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Founders Fund: Founders Fund is the closest peer to 8VC in thesis: a deep-tech, defense-friendly venture firm led by a high-profile founder (Peter Thiel) with a portfolio that overlaps 8VC in Palantir, Anduril, SpaceX-adjacent bets, and government/defense. Both firms co-invest frequently (e.g., Cognition Series D, Erebor Bank, Alloy Therapeutics).
- Lux Capital: Lux Capital shares 8VC's concentration in frontier science, biotech infrastructure, defense, and AI, and is a frequent co-investor alongside 8VC in deals like Cognition ($1B Series D), Terra Industries ($22M extension co-lead), and Generalist AI ($400M lead). Both firms invest in technically intensive, hard-to-enter categories.
- Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a deep-tech and frontier investor that shares 8VC's appetite for science-driven, capital-intensive bets (biotech, energy, AI, defense-adjacent). Both firms invest across the Smart Enterprise-style thesis of transforming complex industries with technology.
- In-Q-Tel: In-Q-Tel is the US intelligence community's strategic investor and a peer to 8VC's defense and government portfolio. With overlap in companies like Saronic, Epirus, and various cybersecurity plays, IQT represents the institutional capital peer for 8VC's gov/defense thesis.
- Haun Ventures: Haun Ventures is a crypto-and-AI-focused venture firm founded by Katie Haun. It is a direct co-investor with 8VC in Erebor Bank and shares exposure to crypto-native banking, AI, and frontier-tech themes — a relevant thematic peer for 8VC's financial-services and AI portfolio.
Broad incumbents
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): a16z is a broad tech incumbent that overlaps 8VC across AI, infrastructure, defense-adjacent, and biotech deals (e.g., Alloy Therapeutics co-invested, Glimpse Series A led by a16z, Saronic co-investor). a16z's scale, brand, and now its own 'speedrun' Build-style program make it the most direct large-firm comparator for 8VC's investment-plus-Build model.
- Sequoia Capital: Sequoia is a flagship co-investor with 8VC across multiple notable rounds (Saronic, Cognition, Generalist AI, Supabase). As a broader, more diversified incumbent across stages, Sequoia represents the larger-firm competitive benchmark 8VC is often measured against for mega-round participation and exit potential.
- General Catalyst: General Catalyst co-led Cognition's $1B+ Series D alongside Lux and 8VC and has been expanding into defense-tech, healthcare, and AI infrastructure. It overlaps 8VC across stages and themes, making it a relevant incumbent peer for capital deployment and exit dynamics.
- Coatue: Coatue is a large, technology-focused investment firm that participates alongside 8VC in AI and tech mega-rounds. While primarily a crossover/growth investor, its scale and willingness to lead $100M+ rounds make it a relevant comparator for capital availability and pricing dynamics in 8VC's portfolio.
- Insight Partners: Insight Partners is a major growth and late-stage investor with overlap in 8VC's portfolio (Seifert Dynamics, Socotra, Alloy Therapeutics). Its scale in software/defense/tech investments makes it a benchmark for institutional LP-aligned incumbents.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
8VC social profiles
Digital presence8VC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
8VC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles22 records
8VC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
8VC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments750 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 8VC
What does 8VC do?
8VC is a privately held venture capital and technology investment firm that invests in and actively builds companies across sectors including government/defense, healthcare, life sciences, logistics, IT infrastructure, and financial services. The firm raises capital from institutional limited partners across multiple funds (8VC Fund II, III, IV), invests in early- and growth-stage companies, and operates a proprietary Build Program that has founded 21+ companies since 2016. Revenue is generated through management fees, carried interest, and portfolio equity returns.
Is 8VC a public or private company?
8VC is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was 8VC founded?
8VC was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is 8VC based?
8VC is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does 8VC make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest and portfolio Returns / Capital Gains.
Who are 8VC's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Khosla Ventures, In-Q-Tel and Haun Ventures. Broad incumbents are Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia Capital, General Catalyst, Coatue and Insight Partners.
Does 8VC have an API?
No public API is recorded for 8VC.
What industry is 8VC in?
8VC's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists), with a secondary code of FSANACAA, Technology & Software Growth Equity. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.