NEXT Frontier Capital

What NEXT Frontier Capital does

Next Frontier Capital (NFC) is a Bozeman, Montana-based venture capital firm founded by Will Price that invests Seed to Series A equity capital of $2-5 million per company into mission-driven technology founders, primarily across the U.S. Mountain West (Montana, Colorado, and Utah). The firm pursues a deliberately operator-led partnership model across six focus sectors — AI/Data, Climate, Deep Tech, B2B Software, FinTech, Defense Tech, and Cybersecurity — and targets double-digit ownership on entry with active board involvement. NFC's team of approximately eight partners and operators (Richard Harjes, Les Craig, Franz Kofler, Kirsten Suddath, Erika Nash, Scott Holton, and Mandy Culver) brings prior operating experience from Hummer Winblad, Citadel, Aumni, Pelion, OpenView, PwC, and the CIA, and the firm maintains three offices in Bozeman, Boulder, and Park City.

NFC generates revenue through traditional venture fund economics, earning management fees on four successive committed funds (Fund I through Fund IV) plus carried interest on portfolio realizations. Since 2014 the firm has deployed capital across 50+ portfolio companies, with notable exits including Halp (acquired by Atlassian), Ataata (acquired by Mimecast), Blackmore (acquired by Aurora Innovation), Aumni, Section (acquired by Webscale), Chargeback (acquired by Sift), Alpin (acquired by Coreview), Demoflow (now NaroHQ), Emmersion Learning, and LumenAd. Distribution is exclusively direct — through an inbound Pitch Us funnel on nextfrontiercapital.com, outbound sourcing from the firm's regional operator network (MSU Innovation Campus, Blackstone LaunchPad, 406 Labs, Techstars Boulder), and warm intros from prior portfolio CEOs — with no third-party, marketplace, or LP intermediary channel. Marketing is organic and relationship-driven, anchored by Will Price's LinkedIn thought leadership, a LinkedIn newsletter, and two branded Spotify podcasts ("Found in the Rockies" and "Inspired By Example").

Name

NEXT Frontier Capital

Legal name

Next Frontier Capital

Website

https://nextfrontiercapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Next Frontier Capital is a Bozeman, Montana-based venture firm that invests $2-5 million Seed-to-Series-A checks into mission-driven technology founders across the U.S. Mountain West, focused on AI/Data, Climate, Deep Tech, B2B Software, FinTech, Defense Tech, and Cybersecurity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Seed stage investing
• Early-stage startups
• Technology venture capital
• Growth equity investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Fund Management Fees & Carried Interest: Next Frontier Capital generates revenue as a venture capital firm through the management of four successive funds (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III, Fund IV). Revenue is derived from traditional VC economics: management fees on committed/invested capital across the fund lifecycle plus carried interest (carried interest percentage not publicly disclosed) on successful realizations from portfolio exits. Investments typically sized at $2-5 million per company at Seed-Series A.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Next Frontier Capital is a venture capital firm that invests $2–5 million equity checks into Seed to Series A companies, targeting double-digit ownership on entry. The firm manages four successive funds (Fund I–IV) deployed across six focus sectors — AI/Data, Climate, Deep Tech, B2B Software, FinTech, and Defense Tech/Cybersecurity — and pairs capital with active board involvement and operator-style mentorship from partners with prior operating experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Found in the Rockies Podcast: Firm-hosted podcast distributed via Spotify covering venture and frontier topics.
• Inspired By Example Podcast

Products and services

• Fund I Next Frontier Capital's first venture fund, deployed across early-stage investments beginning in 2014 including Clearas Water Recovery, Submittable, SiteOne Therapeutics, Quiq, Blackmore, and others. The fund produced multiple exits including Halp (acquired by Atlassian), Ataata (acquired by Mimecast), Blackmore (acquired by Aurora), Alpin (acquired by Coreview), Section (acquired by Webscale), and Phoenix Labs.
• Fund II Next Frontier Capital's second venture fund, with investments spanning approximately 2017 onward including S2 Corporation, TwinThread, TwinThread, Chargeback (acquired by Sift), LumenAd (exited), Emmersion Learning (exited), and others.
• Fund III Next Frontier Capital's third venture fund, deployed from 2021 onward across climate, deep tech, and B2B software portfolio companies including King Energy, Bridger Photonics, Optera, BioSqueeze, Tetra Insights, Gravwell, Trust Lab, Bandwango, MonetizeNow, mpathic, UserEvidence, Donde, Tagboard, and ShopDot.
• Fund IV Next Frontier Capital's fourth and most recent venture fund, with the newest investment being Gambit in 2026 alongside Gravity (2026), Mindsmith (2025), and 2024-vintage investments including GetWhys, Dreadnode, Freeplay, Paramify, SquarePeg, Reveal Technology, Hoonify, Poly API, and 401GO. Fund IV also produced follow-on participation in 401GO's $33M Series B (Centana-led, 2025) and Gravwell's $15.4M Series A (Two Bear Capital-led, 2025).

Quantifiable outcome

• Invests $2-5 million per company at Seed-Series A
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Montana State University Innovation CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner Les Craig served as Executive Director of the MSU Innovation Campus, building a 42-acre Research Park in Bozeman, MT focused on technology and research commercialization. NFC maintains strong ties to MSU through this channel and through Scott Holton's Accounting Advisory Council role at the Jake Jabs College of Business.
• Blackstone LaunchPad (MSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSU campus entrepreneurship program funded by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Les Craig became Director in 2015. NFC sources deal flow and mentors founders through this program.
• 406 Labs (Montana's first accelerator)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMontana's first accelerator program, launched in 2016 by Les Craig with SBA funding while at NFC. Strategically positioned to prepare MSU's highest potential technologies and founders for growth and scale.
• Techstars BouldercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKirsten Suddath was an Entrepreneur in Residence with the Techstars Accelerator helping source and select Boulder cohort companies; she continues to serve as a Mentor. NFC uses this channel for deal flow in the Colorado market.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Blackhorn Ventures: Boulder, Colorado-based early-stage VC focused on industrial and resource technologies. Kirsten Suddath (NFC Partner) was previously a Senior Associate there; direct talent and stage peer.
• Foundry Group: Boulder, Colorado-based early-stage venture capital firm investing in B2B software, AI, and frontier technologies. Recurring NFC co-investor in Gravity's $7M round (Apr 2026); most direct geographic and stage peer to NFC.
• Mercato Partners: Salt Lake City-based growth and early-stage venture firm focused on the Mountain West. Direct regional and stage peer; Franz Kofler (NFC Partner) previously worked in its investment team, indicating direct competitive overlap for Utah deals.
• EPIC Ventures: Salt Lake City-based early-stage venture firm focused on B2B software and AI. Repeated co-investor with NFC, most recently leading GetWhys' $5.2M Seed II (Apr 2026) with NFC participation.
• Two Bear Capital: Whitefish, Montana-based early-stage VC focused on data, cybersecurity, and deep tech. Recurring co-investor with NFC including Gravwell's $15.4M Series A (Oct 2025); arguably NFC's closest regional competitor.
• Pelion Venture Partners: Salt Lake City-based early-stage VC focused on enterprise and vertical SaaS. Erika Nash (NFC Partner) previously invested there, making it both a talent competitor and a directly comparable stage and sector peer.

Broad incumbents

• OpenView Partners: Boston-based expansion-stage venture firm specializing in B2B SaaS. Erika Nash previously invested there, making it a comparable business-model peer at a larger scale; NFC competes for the same vertical-SaaS founders.
• Sorenson Capital: Salt Lake City-based growth equity firm. Erika Nash previously invested there; comparable to NFC on geography and founder network, though focused on later-stage growth than NFC's Seed-Series A.

Emerging players

• Centana Growth Partners: New York-based growth equity firm focused on fintech and enterprise. Recurring NFC co-investor including leading 401GO's $33M Series B (Dec 2025); comparable on fintech thesis but operates at growth stage rather than Seed.
• WndrCo: Los Angeles-based investment firm. Recurring NFC co-investor in Mindsmith's $4.1M seed (Nov 2025) and historically in Aumni; comparable as a multi-stage technology investor with overlapping AI focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pricew
• Xx.com/nextfrontiercap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments71 records

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

Frequently asked questions about NEXT Frontier Capital