What MANTIS Venture Capital does

MANTIS Venture Capital (Mantis VC) is a privately held, US-based early-stage venture capital partnership founded circa 2022 and headquartered in Santa Monica. The firm invests opportunistically in Seed and Series A technology-enabled startups, with a portfolio of 130+ companies spanning twelve or more sector categories including Fintech, AI/ML, Blockchain/Web3, Consumer Tech, Enterprise/SaaS, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Gaming, Logistics, E-Commerce, Ed Tech, ESG, and Frontier/Defense. Notable portfolio companies include MoonPay, Pipe, Kalshi, Chainguard, iVerify, Edera, StackBlitz, Mach Industries, Fuse Energy, FitOn, Beacons AI, Atlys, and Formation Bio, with observed exits including Projector (acquired by Medium), X1 (acquired by Robinhood), and Hamul (acquired by Roblox).

The firm's defining structural feature is its celebrity-founded partnership between musicians Alex Pall and Drew Taggart (together, The Chainsmokers) and venture capital professionals Milan Koch and Jeffrey Evans, with an operating bench including Partners Josh Klein, Mac Clark, and Adam Alpert, and Stephen O'Brien as Investor & Head of Platform. The eleven-person team monetizes fund economics — management fees and carried interest on realized gains — through a single core product (the Mantis VC Fund) supported by two ancillary platforms: the Mantis Venture Capital Network (a Consider-powered careers and talent community listing 1,434 jobs across portfolio companies) and the Mantis VC LP Portal at app.lpx.fund/ for limited-partner reporting.

Mantis's go-to-market is fundamentally network-driven rather than thematic: deal flow originates from the social capital of its celebrity founders, supplemented by warm founder-to-founder introductions, an LP base the firm describes as "one degree of connection from most high-profile individuals," and proactive outreach by the operating team. The firm provides not only Seed and Series A capital but also recruiting support (including personalized video messages from the founders), customer and design-partner introductions, branding/storytelling leverage, and follow-on fundraising assistance. Operating geographies center on the United States, with portfolio exposure extending into LATAM (Trace Finance, Bego, Zippi, Draftea), Pakistan (Safepay, Priceoye), and Brazil (Zippi). No public AUM, fund size, or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

MANTIS Venture Capital

Legal name

Mantis Venture Capital

Website

https://mantisvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MANTIS Venture Capital is an early-stage US venture capital partnership co-founded by Alex Pall and Drew Taggart (The Chainsmokers) with Milan Koch and Jeffrey Evans. The firm invests opportunistically in Seed and Series A technology-enabled startups across 12+ sectors, holding 130+ portfolio companies and operating a portfolio-wide talent network and LP portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD), Venture Capital Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early-stage funding
• Seed stage investments
• Series a funding
• Startup investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund economics: Operates as a venture capital partnership between Alex Pall, Drew Taggart, Milan Koch and Jeffrey Evans that "invests opportunistically in early stage technology enabled startups." Revenue mechanics (management fees, carried interest, fund lifecycle) are not publicly disclosed; the firm monetizes via returns on its 130+ portfolio investments and an LP login (https://app.lpx.fund/) is referenced for limited partners.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MANTIS Venture Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests opportunistically in Seed and Series A technology-enabled startups across categories including AI/ML, Fintech, Consumer, Enterprise, Gaming, Healthcare, Cybersecurity, Logistics, ESG, and Frontier/Defense. The firm has executed 130+ portfolio investments and supplements capital with social-capital-driven support: warm introductions to design partners and early customers, recruiting assistance, and brand amplification. It also operates a portfolio-wide Talent Network job board (1,434 jobs) and a dedicated LP portal for limited partners.

Product overview

MANTIS Venture Capital (Mantis VC) is a single venture capital partnership — not a platform-plus-modules product architecture — that delivers one core service (early-stage Seed and Series A investment in technology-enabled startups) supported by two ancillary tools: the Mantis Venture Capital Talent Network, a Consider-powered recruitment portal listing 1,434 jobs across portfolio companies, and the Mantis VC LP Portal at app.lpx.fund/ for limited partners. The fund is anchored by founding partners Alex Pall and Drew Taggart (The Chainsmokers) alongside Milan Koch and Jeffrey Evans, and has executed 130+ investments spanning AI/ML (e.g., Additive AI, Factory AI, Rogo, StackBlitz, Stability AI, Tavus, Openlayer), Fintech (e.g., MoonPay, Pipe, Kalshi, Vise, Jeeves), Cybersecurity (e.g., Chainguard, iVerify, Edera, c/side, Bedrock Data, Cloaked), Enterprise (e.g., Alchemy, Superhuman, Certa, Dandy, Incident.io), Gaming (e.g., Mythical Games, Frost Giant Studios, Underdog, Stardust), Healthcare (e.g., Tally Health, Journey Clinical, NexHealth, Doctronic), Consumer (e.g., FitOn, Atlys, Beacons AI, Pogo), E-Commerce (e.g., Outer, Whop, Rutter, Checkmate), Logistics (e.g., Veho, SoapBox, Burq), Frontier/Defense (e.g., Mach Industries, Fuse Energy, Shinkei, Rangeview), and ESG (Apeel, Earth, Pledge).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mantis VC Fund Seed and Series A venture capital investment vehicle targeting technology-enabled startups across AI/ML, Fintech, Consumer, Enterprise, Gaming, Healthcare, Logistics, ESG, Cybersecurity, and Frontier/Defense. The fund leverages the social capital of its celebrity co-founders alongside experienced VC operators to support portfolio go-to-market, branding, recruiting, and customer introductions.
• Mantis Venture Capital Talent Network Recruitment and talent community platform operated by Mantis VC that lists open roles across portfolio companies, enabling founders to source talent and candidates to discover portfolio opportunities.
• Mantis VC LP Portal Limited Partner login portal providing institutional LPs with access to fund information and reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 130+ portfolio investments made
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lerer Hippeau: Seed and Series A venture firm with a long track record in consumer and media/creator economy. Directly comparable stage and sector focus to Mantis's consumer and media-tilted book.
• MaC Venture Capital: Early-stage seed and Series A fund investing across consumer, fintech, SaaS and frontier tech. Comparable check size and stage focus, with a similar thesis of leveraging cultural and network capital for differentiated access.
• Sound Ventures: Ashton Kutcher's early-stage venture firm investing in consumer, fintech and frontier tech. Directly comparable to Mantis as a celebrity-led fund that leverages founder fame for deal access and portfolio support, with a similarly broad early-stage mandate.
• Halogen Ventures: Seed-stage consumer tech fund with a network-driven approach and emphasis on brand and community-led companies. Overlaps Mantis on consumer-tech stage, network-led sourcing and emphasis on cultural resonance.
• Forerunner: Early-stage consumer-focused venture firm with a portfolio overlapping Mantis in consumer brands, fintech-adjacent plays and creator economy. Comparable on consumer thesis, stage and check size.
• Seven Seven Six: Alexis Ohanian's venture firm investing across consumer, crypto, fintech and frontier. Closely mirrors Mantis's celebrity-funder origin, early-stage focus, and emphasis on community-led sourcing and founder community.
• WndrCo: Multi-stage, culture-driven venture firm led by Sutter Hill veteran Ann Miura-Ko, with a portfolio spanning consumer, enterprise and frontier. Comparable in that it pairs a non-traditional founder profile with broad early-stage technology investing.
• TQ Ventures: Early-stage consumer and crypto-focused venture fund with a culture-led sourcing approach and broad consumer/fintech portfolio. Overlaps with Mantis on consumer-tech orientation and relationship-driven deal flow.

Emerging players

• Backstage Capital: Pre-seed and seed fund focused on underrepresented founders, with strong consumer and SaaS exposure. Comparable early-stage orientation to Mantis, but differentiated thesis (founder identity) makes it a partial rather than direct peer.
• Cross Culture Ventures: Early-stage fund investing in consumer and tech companies led by culturally connected founders. Comparable on cultural-affinity sourcing model and consumer/creator orientation, though smaller in scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments175 records

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

Frequently asked questions about MANTIS Venture Capital