Wayfinder Ventures

What Wayfinder Ventures does

Wayfinder Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2019 by Yuri Sagalov, a former Y Combinator partner (2014-2018) and angel investor who personally seeded over half a dozen unicorns with combined enterprise value exceeding $25 billion. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco and invests $300,000 to $1,000,000 checks into early-stage technology founders, typically as the first institutional capital into the business. Its current vehicle, Wayfinder II, is a $35 million seed-stage fund launched in 2024, building on a first fund and bringing total assets under management to $85 million or more.

The fund backs 80+ startups and 200+ founders across software, climate, frontier tech, AI, logistics, and adjacent B2B/B2B2C verticals. Notable portfolio companies include Supabase (Dev Tools, $2B valuation in April 2025), Stoke Space (reusable rockets, $260M Series C in January 2025), Decagon (AI customer support), Leya (AI legal assistant), AstroForge (asteroid mining), Albedo (high-resolution satellite imagery), Compound (digital family office), Fazeshift (AI-native AR automation), and Dagger (CI/CD). Combined portfolio valuation is approximately $2 billion, with portfolio companies headquartered in the US, UK, Sweden, Nigeria, Mexico, India, and Indonesia.

Wayfinder's revenue model follows standard VC economics: a roughly 2% annual management fee on committed capital under management, supplemented by carried interest on successful portfolio exits (typically 20% after return of capital). Differentiation from other seed funds is operational rather than financial—partners provide office hours, early sales assistance, hiring support, GTM guidance, and team interviewing, in addition to capital. The firm's go-to-market is sales-led and network-driven, sourcing deals through inbound applications, outbound outreach, and founder referrals amplified by the YC alumni and portfolio networks.

Name

Wayfinder Ventures

Legal name

Wayfinder Ventures

Website

https://wayfinder.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wayfinder Ventures is a San Francisco-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2019 that writes $300k-$1M checks as the first institutional capital into early-stage technology founders. The firm manages $85M+ across two funds and backs 80+ startups across software, climate, AI, and frontier tech.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seed-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Seed-stage venture capital
• Early-stage startup funding
• Pre-seed investments
• Venture capital fund
• Portfolio company support

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Management fees: VC funds typically charge 2% annual management fee on committed capital under management.
2. Carried interest (carry): Standard VC fund structure where the fund earns a percentage of profits from successful portfolio exits, typically 20% after return of capital.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wayfinder Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests in early-stage technology startups, typically as the first institutional capital into the business. Through its $35M Wayfinder II fund, it writes $300,000 to $1,000,000 checks at the pre-seed and seed stages, and supplements the capital with hands-on operational support including office hours, early sales assistance, hiring help, go-to-market guidance, and team interviewing.

Product overview

Wayfinder Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups across technology sectors including software, climate, frontier tech, AI, logistics, and more. The fund provides capital and operational support to founders, with a portfolio of over 80 companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wayfinder II Seed-Stage Fund
• Portfolio Operational Support

Quantifiable outcome

• Combined portfolio valuation of $2B+
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hustle Fund: Pre-seed and seed VC writing $250k-$1M checks into founders globally, with an explicit focus on diverse and international founders. Matches Wayfinder in check size, stage, and global geographic reach.
• Pear VC: Pre-seed and seed-stage VC founded by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson, with strong ties to Y Combinator alumni. Invests $250k-$2M checks into technical founders, mirroring Wayfinder's early-stage, B2B-leaning thesis and founder-support orientation.
• Bedrock Capital: Early-stage VC writing $500k-$2M checks into technical founders, often with Y Combinator alumni ties. Comparable to Wayfinder in stage, check size, and founder-support orientation.
• Susa Ventures: Early-stage VC led by Leo Polovets investing in technical B2B founders at seed. Highly comparable thesis (B2B software, technical founders) and stage focus to Wayfinder's seed investing model.
• Pioneer Fund: Seed-stage fund led by YC alumni (including Daniel Gross) investing initial checks into early founders. Closely comparable to Wayfinder in stage, check size, and YC-rooted deal sourcing.
• Initialized Capital: Early-stage VC co-founded by YC alumni Garry Tan and Alexis Ohanian, writing first checks into technical founders. Highly comparable in thesis (early B2B, technical founders), check size discipline, and YC ecosystem sourcing.

Broad incumbents

• First Round Capital: Established seed-stage firm known for community-driven founder support (First Round Review, product/design resources). A broader incumbent in the seed category that shares Wayfinder's emphasis on hands-on portfolio support, but at much larger scale and AUM.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Multi-stage venture giant running programs like a16z Speedrun that overlap directly with seed-stage founders in the same YC-adjacent talent pool. Comparable as a competitor for early checks and co-investor in deals like Orbital, but operates at vastly greater scale.
• Base10 Partners: Early-to-growth-stage investor focused on automation and AI-enabled businesses. Comparable as a peer because it co-invests in Wayfinder portfolio companies (e.g., Greenboard Series A) and shares frontier-tech exposure.
• F-Prime Capital: Large venture firm (Fidelity-affiliated) that leads seed and Series A rounds in B2B software and techbio. Comparable as a co-investor in Wayfinder's portfolio (e.g., led Fazeshift's Series A) and operates in the same seed-to-Series A funnel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WayfinderVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wayfinder-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments77 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Wayfinder Ventures