Neo

What Neo does

Neo is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm and accelerator founded in 2017 by Ali Partovi. The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage startups with an emphasis on technical founders building in AI, biotech, deep tech, enterprise software, fintech, and healthcare. Since inception Neo has invested in 275 portfolio companies now collectively valued at over $220 billion, including Cursor, Cognition, Kalshi, Chai Discovery, Notion, and Wispr Flow. The 2021 vintage fund of $150 million reportedly returned $1.2 billion, an 8x outcome cited by the Wall Street Journal as rare for the vintage.

Neo operates three core programs. Neo Residency is a three-month accelerator offering $750K via uncapped SAFE with participation rights up to 5% in the next equity round, plus an SF workspace, an all-expenses-paid Oregon bootcamp, Demo Day, and $450K+ in Azure, AWS, and OpenAI credits. Neo Scholars is a college CS student program offering $40K equity-free grants, mentorship, and priority residency admission. Neo Seed Funding is direct pre-seed/seed investment led through priced equity rounds or SAFEs with a standard side letter. The firm also operates a recruiting platform that connects portfolio companies with vetted engineering talent at employers including OpenAI, Notion, and Ramp.

Neo's capital is raised from more than 100 industry leaders and tech veterans in a communal VC fund structure, with over $1 billion under management and an additional $235M raised in 2026. The firm has deployed 45% of capital into female or underrepresented minority CEOs. The approximately 10-person core team sources deal flow primarily through warm introductions supported by a network of 300+ mentors and operators. Revenue mechanics follow standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on realized exits.

Name

Neo

Legal name

Neo

Website

https://neo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Neo is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm and accelerator founded in 2017 that leads pre-seed and seed investments in technical founders. It operates the Neo Residency accelerator and Neo Scholars student program, having funded 275 companies now valued at over $220 billion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Startup Accelerator

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Pre-seed funding
• Seed-stage investing
• Startup accelerator
• Founder mentorship

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, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns from Portfolio Equity: Neo generates returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies. They invest via SAFEs and priced equity rounds, receiving participation rights in future equity rounds up to 5% ownership in the Neo Residency program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Neo is a venture capital firm and startup accelerator that leads pre-seed and seed-stage investments in technology startups. It funds companies through three core programs: Neo Residency (a three-month accelerator offering $750K uncapped SAFE investments, SF workspace, Oregon bootcamp, and access to 300+ mentors), Neo Scholars (a college student program offering $40K equity-free grants), and direct Neo Seed Funding via SAFEs and priced equity rounds. The firm supplements capital with $450K+ in cloud credits from Azure, AWS, and OpenAI, an in-house recruiting platform, and Demo Day introductions to top-tier VCs.

Product overview

Neo is a venture capital firm offering a portfolio of programs for founders at different stages: Neo Residency provides a three-month accelerator with $750K investment, SF workspace, and mentorship; Neo Scholars supports college students with $40K grants and priority access to residency; Neo Seed Funding delivers pre-seed and seed investments; and the Recruiting Platform connects portfolio companies with vetted technical talent. These programs collectively support the full founder journey from student to funded startup.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Neo Residency: Three-month accelerator program offering $750K uncapped investments for startups, with SF workspace, Oregon bootcamp, world-class mentors, and OpenAI/Microsoft perks.
• Neo Scholars
• Neo Seed Funding

Products and services

• Neo Residency A three-month accelerator program for pre-seed and seed-stage startup founders offering $750,000 via uncapped SAFE with participation rights up to 5% in the next equity round, dedicated SF workspace, an all-expenses-paid two-week Oregon bootcamp, access to 300+ mentors, Demo Day introductions to top VCs, and $450K+ in credits from Azure, AWS, and OpenAI. Designed for technical founding teams building transformative AI, biotech, and deep tech companies.
• Neo Scholars A program for college CS students offering mentorship, community access, priority admission to Neo Residency, $40,000 equity-free grants per student with $10K profit share of fund carry, and $100K+ in Azure, AWS, and OpenAI credits. Students whose projects become companies can convert to Neo Residency terms. Targets future technical founders and has produced founders of Cursor, Chai Discovery, Cognition, Applied Compute, and Flint.
• Neo Seed Funding Pre-seed and seed-stage investment program in which Neo leads priced equity rounds or SAFEs using its standard side letter terms. The firm has funded 275 companies since 2017 with a combined portfolio valuation exceeding $220 billion, focused on AI/ML, biotech, fintech, enterprise SaaS, deep tech, and consumer categories.
• Neo Recruiting Platform A recruiting platform connecting startups with vetted engineering talent, offering fast-tracked interviews, direct access to startup leadership, and 1:1 career advice at dozens of top startups including OpenAI, Notion, and Ramp. Available to Neo Scholars, portfolio companies, and featured employers.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Y Combinator: The benchmark pre-seed/seed accelerator offering a standard $500K SAFE plus follow-on funding to thousands of startups. Most directly comparable to Neo in product structure (cohort-based program + ongoing seed funding) and target market (technical founders at company-formation stage).
• South Park Commons: Members-only community and pre-idea/seed fund for technical talent exploring company formation. Closest peer to Neo's Scholars/Residency hybrid model — same 'talent-first, company-later' thesis and similar mentee-to-founder pipeline mechanics.
• Pear VC: Pre-seed and seed fund founded by Pejman Nozad with a strong founder-friends orientation and AI/technical focus. Highly comparable to Neo in stage, terms philosophy, and concentration on technical founder talent.
• Antler: Global pre-seed accelerator that funds founders often before they have a company idea. Comparable to Neo's Residency stage in cohort structure and grant/SAFE deployment, though it scales to global geographies Neo does not serve.
• Techstars: Long-standing cohort-based accelerator network with a $20K-for-6% standard deal and demo-day model. Comparable to Neo Residency in accelerator structure though terms are less founder-friendly and thesis is broader across industries.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Silicon Valley-based accelerator and early-stage investor running vertical-specific cohort programs (AI, fintech, health). Direct peer to Neo in accelerator mechanics and corporate-partnership-driven model (e.g., Neo's OpenAI/Microsoft perks resemble Plug and Play's corporate LP ecosystem).
• 500 Global: Large global pre-seed/seed accelerator with a standard $150K deal and multi-region operations. Comparable in stage and program scale, though less selective in cohort curation than Neo's Forbes-celebrated brand.
• Pioneer Square Labs (PSL Ventures): Seattle-based pre-seed studio and fund with strong technical-founder orientation and mentorship model. Comparable to Neo in early-stage thesis and founder-services approach, though smaller in scale.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Mega-fund VC that participates in many of the same rounds Neo is in (e.g., co-investing in Wispr Flow, Inertia). Not a direct accelerator competitor at pre-seed, but the dominant incumbent whose participation defines the rounds Neo targets.
• Sequoia Capital: Top-tier incumbent VC with seed/early-growth funds that frequently co-invest with Neo. Comparable as the broad incumbent whose brand and follow-on capital Neo portfolio companies aspire to attract at Series A and beyond.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/neo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/neoventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments272 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Neo