What Euclid Ventures does

Euclid Ventures is a San Francisco-based, first-check venture capital firm that invests exclusively in Vertical AI and vertical software companies at the inception and pre-seed stages. Founded in 2021 by General Partners Omar El-Ayat (previously a Partner at Crosslink) and Nic Poulos (previously a GP at Fifth Wall and co-founder of Bowery Capital), the firm writes initial checks of up to $2 million into founders who have direct industry operating experience or proven vertical software startup backgrounds, often before the company is incorporated, has a product, or has traction. Euclid reserves follow-on capital to support portfolio companies through subsequent rounds.

The firm's core differentiator is the Vertical Collective, an invite-only leadership community of 200+ proven vertical software founders, operators, and executives (including leadership from Toast, ServiceTitan, Procore, Mindbody, Veeva, Clio, and Electric) that provides portfolio companies with tactical mentorship, operational guidance, and downstream customer and capital introductions. Euclid complements this with a proprietary research and content engine: a weekly Substack newsletter (The Verticalist), long-form essays on market sizing and GTM strategy on its website, and the Verticals Podcast — all positioned to establish Euclid as a category-defining voice in Vertical AI investing.

Economically, Euclid operates as a traditional venture capital fund manager: it earns management fees on committed capital and seeks carried interest through portfolio company exits (acquisitions and IPOs). It does not sell software, does not have a disclosed fund size or AUM, and its revenue model is therefore non-public. The firm is privately held by its two General Partners with backing from undisclosed limited partners.

Name

Euclid Ventures

Legal name

Euclid Venture Partners

Website

https://euclid.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Euclid Ventures is a San Francisco-based, first-check venture capital firm that invests in Vertical AI founders at the inception and pre-seed stages, supported by a 200+-member operator community called the Vertical Collective.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Early-Stage Investment

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Vertical AI investing
• Early-stage investment
• Startup partnership
• Vertical software funding

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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. Fund Management / Carried Interest: Euclid generates returns by managing venture capital funds, investing equity in early-stage Vertical AI and vertical software companies. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits (acquisitions and IPOs). The firm makes selective, high-conviction bets in exceptional founders at inception stage, with initial investments up to $2M and follow-on capital available.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Euclid Ventures is a first-check venture capital firm that invests in Vertical AI founders at inception and pre-seed stages, deploying initial checks of up to $2 million with ample follow-on capital. The firm partners with domain-expert founders before they incorporate, build product, or achieve traction, and supplements capital with the Vertical Collective, an invite-only network of 200+ vertical software operators that provides mentorship and tactical guidance.

Product overview

Euclid Ventures is a first-check VC firm for Vertical AI founders, offering a single unified investment and partnership service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Their core offering is venture capital investment from inception stage through follow-on funding, complemented by The Vertical Collective (an invite-only founder network), Euclid Insights (a research publication branded as The Verticalist), and the Verticals Podcast. They invest up to $2M initially with ample capital to follow-on, working with founders before incorporation, product, or traction. The firm is led by General Partners Omar El-Ayat and Nic Poulos, who collectively have 15+ years of experience supporting vertical software founders from idea to exit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Vertical Collective: An invite-only leadership community connecting top founders and executives in vertical software.
• The Verticalist
• Verticals Podcast

Products and services

• Vertical AI Investment Services First-check venture capital investment and partnership for Vertical AI founders at inception and pre-seed stages, with initial checks up to $2 million and follow-on capital reserved for portfolio companies.
• The Vertical Collective An invite-only leadership community connecting top founders and executives in vertical software, providing portfolio companies with mentorship, tactical operational guidance, and network access. Includes 200+ members from companies such as Toast, ServiceTitan, Procore, Mindbody, Veeva, Clio, and Electric.
• The Verticalist (Euclid Insights) Weekly Substack newsletter and long-form essays providing proprietary data, market-sizing analysis, and research on Vertical AI topics, written by Euclid's investment team.
• Verticals Podcast Podcast covering Vertical AI topics featuring founders, operators, and investors in the vertical software ecosystem, hosted at verticals.show.

Quantifiable outcome

• Euclid's target beachhead SAM could be as low as 10% of a $15B TAM / $100M ARR potential path, with a floor SOM likely in the few hundred million range.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

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.

• Vertical CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuclid operates the Vertical Collective, an invite-only leadership community connecting top founders and executives in vertical software. With 200+ members including leaders from Toast, ServiceTitan, Procore, Mindbody, Veeva, Clio, Electric, and others, the collective provides portfolio companies with mentorship, tactical guidance, and network access. This is Euclid's primary ecosystem-building and portfolio-support mechanism.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bowery Capital: Early-stage VC focused on B2B software; co-founded by GP Nic Poulos before Euclid. Highly comparable as a seed-stage vertical-agnostic B2B software investor with similar check sizes and founder-led thesis.
• Fifth Wall: VC firm specializing in real estate and property technology (PropTech), where Nic Poulos was previously a GP. Comparable as a thesis-driven, sector-specialist early-stage investor with a community/network-led approach.
• Crosslink Capital: Early-stage venture firm where Omar El-Ayat was previously a Partner. Comparable as an early-stage investor with deep vertical software exposure (e.g., participated alongside Euclid in Roofr Series B).
• Work-Bench: NYC-based early-stage VC focused on enterprise B2B software with a community/network-led model. Comparable as a thesis-driven seed investor building an enterprise software founder community similar to Euclid's Vertical Collective.
• Bonfire Ventures: Early-stage VC focused exclusively on B2B software, with an emphasis on vertical SaaS. Comparable as a thesis-driven seed investor targeting vertical software founders — directly adjacent to Euclid's Vertical AI thesis.
• Fika Ventures: Seed-stage VC focused on B2B SaaS with an emphasis on vertical and applied AI applications. Comparable as an early-stage investor targeting the same vertical-AI founder pool Euclid pursues.
• Eniac Ventures: Seed-stage VC investing in B2B software with thesis-driven vertical coverage. Comparable as an early-stage B2B software specialist competing for similar vertical-AI founder deals at similar check sizes.
• Uncork Capital: Early-stage VC with a focus on B2B software and SaaS, frequently investing at the inception/seed stage. Comparable as a small, founder-focused seed fund with similar check sizes and operator-network support models.
• Lerer Hippeau: Seed-stage VC focused on early-stage consumer and B2B software companies. Comparable as an early-stage thesis-driven investor with a community-led founder support model similar to Euclid's Vertical Collective.

Emerging players

• NfX: Early-stage VC with a thesis around network effects and category-defining companies, publishing thought leadership content similar to Euclid's Verticalist. Comparable as a thesis-led seed investor leveraging content and network community to source deals.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/euclidventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments10 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Euclid Ventures