What Boost VC does

Boost VC is a San Mateo, California-based venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Adam Draper, a fourth-generation venture capitalist. The firm specializes in pre-seed investments in deep tech startups, leading or co-leading rounds with $500k checks, and also offers $50k Fellowship checks for founders too early to raise a full pre-seed round. Boost VC invests across robotics, AI, bio, health, materials, space tech, computing, crypto, ocean tech, AR/VR, climate, and energy, applying a generalist thesis within frontier categories — exemplified by portfolio companies such as Coinbase, Colossal Biosciences, Deepgram, K2 Space, Starfish Space, and Radiant Nuclear. The firm explicitly targets "cockroach founders" building bold, non-consensus companies with potential to improve one billion lives.

Boost VC's investment vehicles center on the $500k pre-seed check and the $50k Fellowship, with flexible follow-on capacity of $100k-$1M for exceptional cases. The firm occasionally leads later-stage outlier rounds, most notably co-leading Radiant Nuclear's $300M Series D in December 2025 alongside Draper Associates. Beyond capital, Boost VC provides 1,000+ VC introductions annually, resource discounts across 50+ providers (cloud, finance, marketing, HR, hardware), semi-annual Founder Summits, social amplification, and free housing at Draper University for visiting founders. The firm has invested in 70+ startups per year and 500+ total since founding.

The business model is standard venture capital: management fees on approximately $400M in assets under management fund operations, while returns are generated primarily through carried interest on successful portfolio exits. Fund 4 raised over $87M in September 2025, expanding the firm's fee-bearing AUM. The team of 8-12 investment professionals operates out of a single Silicon Valley headquarters, sourcing deals primarily through founder referrals, network intros, website applications, and Adam Draper's personal brand. Portfolio companies have collectively raised over $5B in follow-on capital, indicating meaningful downstream validation from subsequent institutional investors.

Name

Boost VC

Legal name

Boost VC

Website

https://boost.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Boost VC is a San Mateo-based venture capital firm founded in 2012 that leads $500k pre-seed rounds in deep tech startups across robotics, AI, bio, space, crypto, and climate, managing $400M in AUM across 500+ portfolio companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Pre-Seed Investing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD), Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Pre-seed venture capital
• Early-stage startup investing
• Deep tech venture capital
• Seed stage funding
• Founder fellowship program

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns (Carried Interest): Boost VC generates returns through carried interest on successful portfolio company exits (acquisitions, IPOs). This is the primary revenue driver for VC firms, taking a percentage of profits above the initial investment threshold.
2. Management Fees: VC firms typically charge management fees (2% of AUM annually) to cover operational expenses. Boost VC manages $400M in AUM, supporting their investment operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Boost VC is a venture capital firm that invests at the pre-seed stage in early-stage deep tech startups, leading or co-leading rounds of $500k with flexible follow-on checks of $100k-$1M. The firm also offers $50k Fellowship checks for founders too early to raise a full pre-seed round. Portfolio companies span robotics, AI, bio, health, materials, space tech, computing, crypto, ocean tech, AR/VR, climate, and energy sectors, and receive network access, strategic guidance, and resource discounts.

Product overview

Boost VC is a venture capital firm based in San Mateo, California, that provides investment services to early-stage startups. The firm operates two primary investment vehicles: (1) $500,000 pre-seed checks to lead or co-lead funding rounds for founders raising $2 million or less, with flexibility for checks between $100k-$1M, and (2) $50,000 Fellowship checks for founders who need early capital before raising a full pre-seed round. Boost VC is not an accelerator but rather a seed-stage investor focused on emerging and frontier technology categories including robotics, AI, bio, health, materials, space tech, computing, crypto, ocean tech, AR/VR, climate, and energy. The firm has invested in over 70 startups per year since 2012 and manages approximately $400M in assets under management. Portfolio support includes internal network access to hundreds of active portfolio companies, strategic guidance, fundraising assistance with 1,000+ VC introductions annually, resource discounts across cloud/finance/marketing/HR/hardware providers, social amplification on LinkedIn and X, and free housing at Draper University for visiting founders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• $500k Pre-Seed Investment

Quantifiable outcome

• $5B+ follow-on capital raised for portfolio companies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• VenturelabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Venturelab organized the Venture Leaders Technology 2026 roadshow bringing Swiss startups to Silicon Valley. Boost VC participated as one of the US-based investors meeting with the cohort.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups): Early-stage accelerator and pre-seed/seed investor with a global portfolio and multi-sector thesis. Directly comparable as a high-velocity early-stage platform; Boost VC even hired a 500 Startups alum for portfolio support.
• SOSV: Multi-stage VC operating vertical-specific accelerator programs (HAX for hardware, IndieBio for biotech, etc.). Direct peer in deep tech pre-seed with similar thesis of backing frontier technology founders at the earliest stages.
• Lux Capital: Deep tech focused VC investing at seed through growth in AI, robotics, space, and life sciences. Closely comparable thematic overlap with Boost VC's frontier tech categories, though Lux typically invests at larger check sizes and later stages.
• Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor running dozens of vertical-specific programs. Comparable as a pre-seed/seed platform with structured founder support, though Techstars operates more as an accelerator whereas Boost VC explicitly is not.
• SV Angel: Silicon Valley-based seed investor known for concentrated early bets and follow-on support. Comparable as a founder-friendly pre-seed/seed platform, though thematically generalist rather than deep tech focused.
• Kindred Ventures: Early-stage VC investing in frontier technology, crypto, and commerce. Comparable in stage and thesis, with similar first-check willingness and pre-seed focus.
• Lowercarbon Capital: Thematic VC focused on climate and deep tech with pre-seed through growth activity. Direct comparable within Boost VC's climate/energy thesis, though concentrated specifically on decarbonization.

Broad incumbents

• Founders Fund: Established multi-stage VC with deep tech exposure across aerospace, bio, and crypto. Broader incumbent with later-stage orientation; overlaps with Boost VC at the frontier end of the market.
• Y Combinator: Premier global accelerator providing standard $500k deals at pre-seed. Competes for the same founder pool as Boost VC but operates a batch-based accelerator model rather than a continuous pre-seed fund.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Major multi-stage VC with expanding pre-seed/seed activity (Scout program, a16z crypto). Competitor at the high-end of pre-seed for the most ambitious deep tech founders, though generally at later stages and larger checks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BoostVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boost-vc
• Facebookfacebook.com/boostvc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments459 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Boost VC