Kapor Capital

What Kapor Capital does

Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein that invests exclusively in pre-seed, seed, and Series A tech-enabled startups closing gaps of access, opportunity, and outcomes for low-income communities and communities of color in the United States. The firm's core offering is multi-year venture funds deployed into portfolio companies — Fund III at $126 million (closed September 2022) is the largest to date — with revenue generated through standard 2-and-20 economics: management fees on committed capital and carried interest on profitable exits. Beyond capital, Kapor provides portfolio services including people-operations technology and bias-mitigation training, a Talent Network connecting founders to candidates, strategy and fundraising support, and the proprietary Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E.) framework requiring portfolio companies to adopt structured diversity and inclusion goals.

Across 170+ portfolio companies spanning education (ClassDojo, Newsela, Kai XR, Lirvana Labs), work (interviewing.io, ChargerHelp), finance (Daylight, TomoCredit, Promise, Penny Finance), health (Cayaba Care, Affect Therapeutics, AnswersNow, Air Protein), climate (Planet FWD, Aclima), and AI infrastructure (Woodrow AI, AdeptID, Lumi), the firm reports that 62% of founders identify as underrepresented people of color and/or women, 34% of first-time investments are in racially underrepresented founders, and 38% are in woman-identifying founders. Day-to-day operations are led by Co-Managing Partners Brian Dixon and Ulili Onovakpuri (elevated in 2021), supported by Partner Batul Joffrey, Venture Partner Brandon Boros, Head of Platform Hilliary Turnipseed, Head of Portfolio Marketing Cliff Worley, Director of Finance Landry Nicks, and Senior Advisor Art Berliner. The firm operates as part of a broader Kapor family of organizations — Kapor Foundation, Kapor Center, and SMASH — providing an integrated ecosystem for sourcing, talent pipeline, and portfolio support. Disclosed fund performance ranks in the top quartile of comparable venture funds by TVPI.

Name

Kapor Capital

Legal name

Kapor Capital Management Company

Website

https://kaporcapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm investing pre-seed through Series A in tech-enabled startups that close gaps of access for low-income communities and communities of color, managing Fund III at $126M across 170+ portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Impact Investing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Miscellaneous Intermediation (52391)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Impact investing
• Gap-closing investments
• Venture fund management
• Pre-seed seed investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture fund management (Fund III): Kapor Capital raises capital from Limited Partners (LPs) into multi-year venture funds (e.g., Fund III at $126M with multiple LPs including Ford Foundation, Bank of America, PayPal, Twilio, Foot Locker) and earns revenue through standard venture capital economics: management fees on committed capital and carried interest (carry) on profitable exits across portfolio investments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Kapor Capital is an Oakland-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A) tech-enabled startups that close gaps of access, opportunity, and outcomes for low-income communities and communities of color in the United States. Beyond capital, it delivers portfolio support services including people operations training, a talent network, fundraising strategy, and the proprietary Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E.) diversity & inclusion framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment: Initiated in 2015 and officially launched in January 2016, the Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment is a set of four G.I.V.E. actions (Goals, Invest, Volunteer, Educate) that all incoming founding teams in the Kapor Capital portfolio agree to uphold to advance diversity and inclusion.
• Kapor Capital Talent Network
• Kapor Capital Fellows Program

Products and services

• Kapor Capital Fund III ($126M) Venture capital fund that invests at pre-seed, seed, and Series-A stages in tech-enabled startups with gap-closing solutions for low-income communities and communities of color in the U.S. Fund III composition: 46% women founders, 53% Black founders, 100% underrepresented people of color.
• Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment (G.I.V.E. Framework) A proprietary diversity & inclusion operating framework consisting of four actions (Goals, Invest, Volunteer, Educate) that all incoming Kapor Capital portfolio founding teams agree to uphold to advance diversity and inclusion.
• Kapor Capital Talent Network A network and jobs portal connecting professionals and emerging professionals with roles inside Kapor Capital's portfolio companies, giving founders access to a curated talent pipeline.
• Kapor Capital Fellows Program A fellowship program that provides a pathway for individuals typically underrepresented in venture capital to enter investing, with 60+ graduates since 2011.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34% of first-time investments in racially underrepresented founders
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.

• Plug In VenturesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 March 2026Kapor Capital participated alongside Vamos Ventures in Plug In Ventures' Founder & Investor Roundtable Series in Los Angeles, focused on early-stage startup growth, fundraising, AI, and infrastructure. NBA Foundation Pitch Competition finalists were featured.
• Freedom Trail CapitalminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 March 2026Co-participant in Plug In Ventures' Founder & Investor Roundtable Series alongside Kapor Capital and Vamos Ventures.
• Vamos VenturesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 March 2026Co-participant in Plug In Ventures' Founder & Investor Roundtable Series alongside Kapor Capital and Freedom Trail Capital.
• Kapor FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization within the Kapor family of organizations (kaporfoundation.org). Kapor Foundation provides philanthropic support and shares research on tech diversity and entrepreneurship.
• Kapor CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization (kaporcenter.org). Works collectively with Kapor Capital at the intersection of tech, diversity, and entrepreneurship to end racial and gender inequities in the tech ecosystem.
• SMASHflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization (smash.org). SMASH is a STEM higher education program that supports underrepresented students; part of the Kapor family of organizations.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NewSchools Venture Fund: EdTech-focused impact VC funding pre-seed through Series A in companies closing equity gaps in education; directly comparable given Kapor's deep EdTech portfolio exposure.
• Obvious Ventures: Values-aligned early-stage VC backing founders solving world-positive problems; comparable mission-led thesis, stage focus, and fund size range.
• Acumen: Global impact investment firm deploying patient capital into early-stage companies addressing poverty; highly comparable as a pioneer impact VC with a similar mission-mandated, gap-closing thesis.
• Omidyar Network: Mission-driven investment firm founded by Pierre Omidyar backing early-stage companies with social impact; comparable in thesis, stage focus, and LP-backed fund structure.
• Emerson Collective: Laurene Powell Jobs' mission-aligned investment and philanthropy organization that backs gap-closing startups; operates with a similar values-based, founder-friendly capital model.
• Builders Vision: Chicago-based impact investment platform funding early-stage companies across climate, health, and economic opportunity; comparable in mission scope and gap-closing thesis.
• Harlem Capital: Early-stage VC investing in diverse founders; comparable in diversity-led thesis, pre-seed/seed focus, and commitment to underrepresented founders.
• Backstage Capital: Pre-seed fund investing in startups led by underrepresented founders; comparable in stage focus, founder thesis, and gap-closing mandate.
• Impact America Fund: Early-stage VC investing in companies solving America's biggest social and economic challenges; directly comparable gap-closing, U.S.-focused thesis.
• Precursor Ventures: Pre-seed and seed-stage fund focused on early-stage tech investing across diverse founders; comparable stage, check size, and discovery-driven investing approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KaporCapital
• Instagraminstagram.com/KaporCapital
• Facebookfacebook.com/KaporCapital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kapor-capital

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

Investments376 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Kapor Capital