What GFT Ventures does

GFT Ventures (legal name: Global Frontier Technology Ventures) is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests primarily in US and Israel-based startups developing AI, data science, autonomous machines, and other frontier technologies. The firm was co-founded by Jay Eum, formerly the founding Managing Director of Samsung Ventures and co-founder of TransLink Capital, and Jeff Herbst, who spent 20 years as NVIDIA's Vice President of Business Development where he created NVIDIA's venture and M&A programs overseeing more than 40 investments and 20 acquisitions valued at over $8 billion. The firm is headquartered at 2100 Geng Road, Suite 210 in Palo Alto, California, and operates with a small team of five to six founding managing partners and supporting staff, including Partner Ivy Nguyen (Forbes 30 Under 30), CFO Jocelyne Cooke (formerly CFO of DCVC), and Senior Advisor David Kirk, the former Chief Scientist and VP of Architecture and Research at NVIDIA.

The firm's core offering is investment capital paired with operational support, strategic guidance, business development assistance, M&A advisory, and introductions to its network of corporate partners and early-adopter customers. GFT Ventures operates a single active fund (Fund I), which closed at $140 million in September 2023, exceeding its original $100 million target, and the firm invests primarily at the Seed and Series A stages. The portfolio had grown to 15+ active companies by late 2024, spanning AI video generation (Higgsfield, which achieved unicorn status at a $1.3 billion valuation), visual generative AI (Bria, featured in The New York Times), enterprise AI agents (Lyzr), healthcare AI (Artisight), industrial robotics (Anyware Robotics, Rabot), consumer research AI (Knit, serving Amazon, NASCAR, and Mars Wrigley), and autonomous trucking (Mars Auto, South Korea).

Revenue is generated through the standard VC model of management fees on committed capital (typically around 2% annually on Fund I's $140 million) plus carried interest (typically 20%) on fund profits above the hurdle rate after returning capital to limited partners. Approximately 50% of Fund I's committed capital remained available for deployment as of Q1 2025, and the firm does not offer a unified software platform, proprietary product portfolio, or API. Deal flow is sourced through a proprietary pipeline, direct founder relationships, and an extensive network of corporate partners, supplemented by brand-building through CNBC Squawk Box appearances, quarterly newsletters, and an owned video series.

Name

GFT Ventures

Legal name

Global Frontier Technology Ventures

Website

https://www.gft.vc/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Frontier technology investing
• AI startup funding
• Seed and series A
• Autonomous machines investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

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. Management Fees: VC firms typically charge management fees on committed capital (typically 2% annually) during the investment period, providing steady revenue stream to cover operations.
2. Carried Interest (Carry): Standard VC carry structure where fund managers receive typically 20% of profits above the hurdle rate after returning capital to LPs. This is the primary upside for VC fund managers and represents the main revenue driver for successful funds.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GFT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests Seed and Series A capital in category-leading startups developing AI, data science, autonomous machines, and other frontier technologies, primarily in the US and Israel. Beyond capital, portfolio companies receive operational support, strategic guidance, business development assistance, M&A advisory, and access to the firm's global corporate partner network. The firm's debut Fund I closed at $140M and backs founders building category-defining deep technology companies.

Product overview

GFT Ventures is a venture capital firm, not a product company. The firm's primary offering is investment capital and operational support for early-stage AI, Data Science, and frontier technology startups. The firm does not offer a unified platform or software product portfolio; rather, it provides funding, strategic guidance, and ecosystem resources to portfolio companies developing AI and autonomous machine technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GFT Ventures Fund I (Early-Stage Frontier Technology Investment) Early-stage Seed and Series A venture capital investment fund that provides capital, operational support, strategic guidance, business development assistance, M&A advisory, and corporate network access to category-leading AI, data science, autonomous machines, and other frontier technology startups in the US and Israel. Targeted at founders of category-leading startups developing disruptive technologies that solve hard problems.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fund I closed at $140M, exceeding $100M target
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: US-based early- and growth-stage VC investing in frontier tech, AI, robotics, and deep tech. Directly comparable to GFT in stage, sector focus, and founder-network-driven sourcing, though Lux manages a much larger AUM.
• DCVC (Data Collective): Early-stage deep tech and data science VC investing in AI, computational biology, and frontier engineering. Directly comparable on AI/data-science focus and Seed/Series A stage; GFT's CFO Jocelyne Cooke was previously CFO at DCVC.
• Zetta Ventures: Early-stage VC focused exclusively on AI and data infrastructure. GFT Partner Ivy Nguyen was previously a Partner at Zetta, making the firm a near-perfect stage and sector peer.
• TransLink Capital: Early-stage cross-border US-Asia tech VC co-founded by Jay Eum. Closely comparable founder lineage and similar stage/sector mix, with a stronger Asia-anchored thesis than GFT.
• AIX Ventures: AI-native early-stage fund built by AI researchers and operators, focused on Seed/Series A AI startups. Comparable to GFT in stage and category specialization.
• Amplify Partners: Early-stage VC investing in technical founders across AI, infrastructure, and developer tools. Overlaps with GFT on Seed/Series A frontier tech, though broader in scope beyond AI.
• BootstrapLabs: Applied AI-focused early-stage VC investing in Seed and Series A AI startups. Closely comparable to GFT on sector specialization and stage, though with a slightly more applied-AI tilt.
• Autotech Ventures: Early-stage mobility and autonomy VC where GFT Partner Ivy Nguyen previously worked. Comparable on stage and on autonomy/robotics exposure (Mars Auto, Anyware Robotics are GFT portfolio overlap).

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: Large, established US VC with deep AI and frontier tech exposure across Seed through growth. Operates in the same categories as GFT but at significantly larger fund size and broader sector mandate.
• Samsung NEXT: Strategic venture arm of Samsung focused on AI, infrastructure, and frontier tech. Comparable to GFT's AI thesis and Jay Eum's heritage at Samsung Ventures; acts as a strategic co-investor (Samsung Next has already invested alongside GFT in Bria).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gft-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments29 records

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

Frequently asked questions about GFT Ventures