What House Capital does

House Capital, operating as The House Fund, is a Berkeley-based pre-seed and early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 that invests exclusively in startups with at least one founder affiliated with UC Berkeley—as alumni, faculty, students, or other affiliates. The fund deploys two investment programs: pre-seed checks up to $1,000,000 (often as first investor or syndicate participant) and early-stage checks up to $2,000,000 (typically leading or co-leading Seed rounds, also participating in Seed or Series A syndicates). Since 2016, the firm has positioned itself as a commercialization platform for Berkeley-origin AI innovation, operating an AI Accelerator and the BAIR Grant program to support Berkeley AI Research-affiliated researchers.

The fund's portfolio spans more than 100 startups across AI infrastructure (Ayar Labs, PsiQuantum), consumer (Sprinter, Bezi), defense manufacturing (Amca), creator economy (Night Media), healthcare (Silna Health), fintech (Savvy Wealth), and enterprise SaaS (Perceptis). Portfolio outcomes include 7 unicorns (6 built at inception stage), 20+ exits, and $5.2B+ in follow-on capital raised by portfolio companies. Tier-1 follow-on syndicate partners include Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Redpoint, Greylock, Khosla Ventures, Accel, NEA, Gradient Ventures, and Cota Capital. Endorsements from Scott Shenker (Databricks) and Vivek Sodera (Superhuman) anchor brand credibility.

As a venture capital fund, House Capital does not develop proprietary technology products. Revenue mechanics follow standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed capital and carried interest on realized exits. The firm maintains a small team (1-10 employees) at its Berkeley headquarters. Notable 2026 investment activity includes participation in Amca's $300M Series B, Night Media's $70M minority round, and Sprinter's consumer expansion.

Name

House Capital

Legal name

The House Fund

Website

https://house.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

House Capital (The House Fund) is a Berkeley-based pre-seed and early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 that invests exclusively in UC Berkeley-affiliated founders, deploying up to $1M pre-seed and $2M early-stage checks with an AI-focused origination thesis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Pre-seed investments
• Early-stage capital
• University venture funds
• AI startup funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: House Capital generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups, receiving ownership stakes in portfolio companies in exchange for capital infusion. Returns are realized through follow-on capital raises, acquisitions, and IPOs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

House Capital is a pre-seed and early-stage venture capital fund that invests exclusively in founders affiliated with UC Berkeley (alumni, faculty, students, and affiliates). The fund deploys up to $1M at the pre-seed stage and up to $2M at the early stage, with a stated focus on AI startups, and complements its investments with the BAIR Grant program and an AI Accelerator for portfolio and prospective founders.

Product overview

House Capital (also operating as The House Fund) is a pre-seed and early-stage venture capital fund that invests in Berkeley alumni, faculty, students, and affiliates. The fund offers two investment programs: pre-seed investments up to $1,000,000 for early-stage companies and early-stage investments up to $2,000,000 for Seed or Series A rounds. The fund also operates an AI Accelerator program and the BAIR Grant funding initiative for Berkeley AI researchers. As a VC firm, House Capital does not offer a product or service in the traditional SaaS/software sense—it provides capital investment and ecosystem support to startups rather than a technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-seed Investment Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 7 unicorns built with portfolio founders, 6 from inception stage
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 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.

• UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC Berkeley is the academic foundation of The House Fund, providing exclusive deal flow through alumni, faculty, and student networks. The fund collaborates with the university's innovation ecosystem including BAIR (Berkeley AI Research).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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

Investments9 records

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

Frequently asked questions about House Capital