Rampersand
Rampersand is a Melbourne-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests seed and pre-seed capital into ambitious ANZ-born technology founders building globally, concentrating in vertical AI, deep tech, and climate, with A$100M+ deployed across four funds.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Rampersand does
Rampersand is a Melbourne-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 by Paul Naphtali, specializing in inception, pre-seed, and seed investments into ambitious technology founders from Australia and New Zealand. The firm deploys capital through four ESVCLP-structured funds totaling A$100M+, writing first cheques of A$250K to A$2.5M with 50-60% reserves for follow-on, and concentrating theses in vertical AI, horizontal AI agents, deep tech (quantum, climate, robotics), and life sciences. The firm operates from Melbourne (Cremorne HQ), Sydney (Surry Hills), and San Francisco, with a deliberately small team of three partners and approximately ten total staff.
Rampersand's business model follows standard VC economics: a 2% annual management fee on committed capital and 20% carried interest on fund returns. Limited Partners comprise APRA-regulated super funds, family offices, and approximately 40% from ANZ founders who have previously exited — minimum commitments start at A$500K for founders/operators, A$1M for family offices, and A$10M+ for institutional investors. The firm generates deal flow through the Giant Warm Intro program (1,200+ curated founder-investor meetings since 2019), the Ramplify newsletter (1,000+ subscribers, 52-64% open rate), 40+ annual founder events, and direct pitch submissions with a 48-hour response guarantee.
Beyond capital, Rampersand differentiates through a structured value-add stack: Product Counsel (monthly sessions chaired by Rod Hamilton, ex-12-year CPO of Culture Amp), Code & Coffee (direct Anthropic and OpenAI access for engineers), and a 400+ operator network spanning ex-Canva, Stripe, Atlassian, and Walmart executives. The firm has 40+ active portfolio companies including Cuttable (US$100M 2026 valuation), PredictHQ ($22M Series B led by Sutter Hill), JigSpace (A$13M Series B, Apple Vision Pro launch partner), Quantum Brilliance (A$25.7M Series A), and Goterra (A$10M bridge, Woolworths partnership).
Rampersand firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rampersand
- Legal name
- Rampersand Management Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://rampersand.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Rampersand is a Melbourne-based venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests seed and pre-seed capital into ambitious ANZ-born technology founders building globally, concentrating in vertical AI, deep tech, and climate, with A$100M+ deployed across four funds.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rampersand industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital / Seed-stage Investing
- 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 industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Rampersand is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Rampersand business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Fund Management: Rampersand generates revenue through management fees (2% of committed capital) and carried interest (20% of fund returns) on their venture capital funds. They have operated four funds since 2013, deploying capital into early-stage technology companies in Australia and New Zealand.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Rampersand product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rampersand is an Australian/NZ seed-stage venture capital firm that leads and co-leads inception, pre-seed, and seed investments into ambitious technology founders from Australia and New Zealand building globally. They deploy capital across four funds (A$100M+ deployed since 2013) focused on AI-native software, vertical AI, deep tech, climate, and life sciences, while also providing operational support programs (Product Counsel, Giant Warm Intro, Code & Coffee) and managing capital from institutional, family office, and founder-operator limited partners.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Rampersand Seed Venture Funds (Fund I–IV) ESVCLP-structured early-stage venture capital funds offering Australian LPs tax-efficient exposure to ANZ-born seed-stage technology companies. Management fee 2%, carry 20%. Minimum LP commitments of A$500k for founders/operators, A$1M+ for family offices, and A$10M+ for institutional/super funds.
- Giant Warm Intro Program Cohort-based program matching early-stage ANZ founders with investors through a curated introduction network. 1,200+ founder-investor meetings facilitated and $10M+ capital raised by participants since 2019; 87% of 2024 cohort identified as underrepresented founders.
- Product Counsel Monthly working sessions for portfolio company founders providing direct access to senior product operators for hands-on product strategy, pricing, and positioning advice.
- Code & Coffee Recurring technical sessions for portfolio engineers and ANZ developers providing direct lines to frontier AI labs (Anthropic, OpenAI) for model evaluation, day-one credits, and debugging support.
- Ramplify Newsletter Fortnightly newsletter and Substack publication covering early-stage investing in ANZ, investment memos, IC frameworks, and portfolio deep-dives. 142 essays published since 2016.
Quantifiable outcome
- 1,200+ founder-investor meetings facilitated through Giant Warm Intro since 2019
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Rampersand
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Rampersand technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Rampersand partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- AnthropiccoreDirect working relationships with Anthropic through Code & Coffee program. Provides portfolio founders with direct access to frontier AI labs for model evaluation, credits, and technical guidance.
- OpenAIcoreDirect relationships with OpenAI providing day-one credits and model evaluation support for portfolio companies through Code & Coffee.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Rampersand competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
Direct peers
- Blackbird Ventures: One of ANZ's leading early-stage venture capital firms, headquartered in Sydney with a similar seed/pre-seed focus on Australian and New Zealand technology founders. Blackbird is Rampersand's most direct competitor for ANZ seed deal flow and LP capital.
- AirTree Ventures: Major ANZ venture capital firm investing from seed through growth across Australian technology companies. AirTree co-led Expert360's Series B (one of Rampersand's long-held portfolio companies) and is a direct competitor for follow-on participation.
- Square Peg Capital: Large ANZ-focused venture capital firm with seed-to-Series C mandate and strong track record. Square Peg co-led Cuttable's seed extension with Rampersand participating—illustrating the regular co-investment dynamic between the two firms.
- Main Sequence Ventures: ANZ deep-tech-focused VC firm that co-led Quantum Brilliance's Pre-Series A with Breakthrough Victoria. Main Sequence is Rampersand's natural co-investor in deep tech and competes for hardware/quantum/life sciences deals in the region.
- Skalata Ventures: ANZ pre-seed and seed venture capital firm that co-invested in Cor alongside Rampersand. Skalata targets similar early-stage ANZ founders and competes directly for pre-seed deal flow.
- Black Sheep Capital: ANZ venture capital firm focused on early-stage technology companies. Black Sheep co-invested in Cor alongside Rampersand and shares a similar ANZ-seed orientation.
- Archangel Ventures: Australian early-stage venture capital firm that co-invested in Cor's pre-seed round alongside Rampersand. Archangel is a direct peer in ANZ pre-seed deal flow.
- Investible: ANZ early-stage VC and accelerator program that co-led JigSpace's Series A and participated in Hatch with Rampersand. Investible is a direct peer targeting the same early-stage ANZ founder pool.
Regional players
- Startmate: ANZ accelerator and seed fund (with Rod Hamilton, Rampersand's Venture Partner, also investing via Startmate). Startmate is an adjacent peer and ecosystem participant, with overlapping founder networks and shared deal-flow patterns in the ANZ seed market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rampersand social profiles
Digital presenceRampersand financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rampersand leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Rampersand funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rampersand M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments58 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rampersand
What does Rampersand do?
Rampersand is an Australian/NZ seed-stage venture capital firm that leads and co-leads inception, pre-seed, and seed investments into ambitious technology founders from Australia and New Zealand building globally. They deploy capital across four funds (A$100M+ deployed since 2013) focused on AI-native software, vertical AI, deep tech, climate, and life sciences, while also providing operational support programs (Product Counsel, Giant Warm Intro, Code & Coffee) and managing capital from institutional, family office, and founder-operator limited partners.
Is Rampersand a public or private company?
Rampersand is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Rampersand founded?
Rampersand was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Rampersand based?
Rampersand is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Rampersand make money?
One revenue line is on record: fund Management.
Who are Rampersand's main competitors?
Tidal Ventures is listed as an others. Direct peers are Blackbird Ventures, AirTree Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Main Sequence Ventures, Skalata Ventures, Black Sheep Capital, Archangel Ventures and Investible. Startmate is listed as a regional player.
Does Rampersand have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rampersand.
What industry is Rampersand in?
Rampersand's product category is Venture Capital / Seed-stage Investing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.