What Crosscut Ventures does

Crosscut Ventures is a Santa Monica-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2008, self-described as "LA's first seed fund." The firm invests in early-stage companies developing frontier technologies aimed at addressing large-scale problems, with a portfolio orientation toward climate and decarbonization themes evidenced by its August 2025 participation in Carbon Ridge's onboard carbon capture financing round (total round size above $20 million, led by Katapult Ocean and Alfa8).

The firm operates with a small team of 1-10 employees led by three co-founders and managing directors — Brian Garrett, Rick Smith, and Brett Brewer — alongside CFO Lisa Riedmiller and principal Nick Kim. As a seed investor, Crosscut Ventures generates revenue through conventional VC economics: management fees on committed capital and carried interest on realized gains from portfolio exits. No fund size, AUM, fund vintage, LP roster, or portfolio breadth is disclosed in the available data, and only one portfolio investment is evidenced.

The firm's digital footprint is currently limited: its corporate website (crosscut.vc) has expired and displays a parking page, which constrains public verification of fund activity, team bios, and deal flow. The single confirmed 2025 investment suggests the partnership retains some level of operational activity, but the absence of broader disclosures — new funds raised, exits, headcount changes, or additional portfolio companies — makes it difficult to characterize current scale or momentum with precision.

Name

Crosscut Ventures

Website

http://www.crosscut.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Crosscut Ventures is a Santa Monica-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2008 that invests in early-stage startups developing frontier technologies, with evidenced activity in climate-tech such as maritime carbon capture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

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

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Seed stage investing
• Frontier technology
• Startup investments
• Early stage capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Core offering

Crosscut Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests in early-stage companies developing cutting-edge frontier technologies. The firm provides capital to entrepreneurs tackling the world's most pressing problems, including climate technology such as onboard carbon capture for the maritime sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seed-stage venture capital fund Pooled capital invested as seed-stage equity into early-stage frontier technology companies, generating returns through investment income and exits for the firm's limited partners and general partners.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Upfront Ventures: Long-standing LA-based venture firm investing across stages, including early-stage. Upfront shares Crosscut's Southern California focus, multi-decade operating history, and broad tech thesis spanning software and frontier categories.
• Mucker Capital: LA-based early-stage fund historically focused on seed-stage software and tech startups. Directly comparable as a Southern California seed investor with a similar small-team operating model.
• Bonfire Ventures: LA-headquartered seed-stage venture firm backing B2B software founders. Comparable in geography, stage (seed), and fund size profile to Crosscut.
• Wonder Ventures: LA-based pre-seed and seed investor focused on early-stage tech companies. Directly comparable as a small, locally focused seed fund operating in the same ecosystem.
• Act One Ventures: LA-based seed fund investing in early-stage software and tech startups. Comparable as a fellow LA seed-stage venture firm with a similar small-team structure.
• Congruent Ventures: Early-stage venture firm focused on climate-tech and sustainability investments. Comparable on the frontier-tech/climate thesis Crosscut is pursuing, particularly evidenced by Crosscut's investment in Carbon Ridge.
• Susa Ventures: Early-stage venture fund with offices in San Francisco and LA investing in seed and Series A. Comparable as a small-team, thesis-driven fund that has historically backed frontier-leaning founders.

Broad incumbents

• Greycroft: Multi-stage venture firm with offices in LA and NY investing across consumer, enterprise, and frontier tech. Comparable on geography and broad tech mandate, though Greycroft operates at materially greater scale and later stages than Crosscut's seed focus.

Others

• Crosscut Ventures (self): Self-reference excluded; not a peer.

Emerging players

• Lowercarbon Capital: Venture firm investing across stages in companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Comparable on climate-tech mandate and willingness to back hardware-intensive decarbonization plays like Carbon Ridge.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/crosscutvc

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

Investments183 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Crosscut Ventures