Presence Capital

What Presence Capital does

Presence Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in December 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, that invests exclusively in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) startups. The firm was established as the first VC vehicle dedicated solely to early-stage VR and AR companies, deploying capital from a single $10 million inaugural fund into founders building new applications of immersive technology across communications, work, and entertainment. The fund is led by three founding managing partners — Amitt Mahajan, Paul Bragiel, and Phil Chen — whose combined operating experience spans Zynga (FarmVille co-creator), Epic Games (Unreal Engine), HTC (founder of HTC's VR business and broker of the Valve-HTC partnership), and early advisor roles at Uber and Unity.

The firm does not develop proprietary technology products. Its offering to portfolio companies is capital plus operational support, leveraging the partners' networks, prior exits (MyMiniLife/Zynga, Toro/Google), and category-specific relationships with hardware OEMs and platform companies. The disclosed initial portfolio includes Harmonix (Rock Band franchise), Baobab (cinematic VR experiences), and Waygo (Asian-language translation), with additional unannounced investments at first close.

Presence Capital generates returns through traditional venture capital mechanics: equity investments in early-stage startups followed by exits via acquisition or IPO. There is no disclosed pricing or fee structure beyond standard fund economics, and the firm maintains minimal marketing infrastructure (a website and a Twitter account). Marketing channels and outbound distribution are relationship-driven rather than scaled; deal flow originates through partner networks rather than inbound brand demand. As a 1–10 employee micro-firm operating a single $10M fund, Presence Capital's revenue is structurally constrained to fund management economics, and the firm has not publicly disclosed follow-on vehicles, exits, or expanded AUM.

Name

Presence Capital

Legal name

Presence Capital

Website

https://presencecap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Presence Capital is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in December 2015 that invests exclusively in virtual reality and augmented reality startups, deploying a $10 million inaugural fund led by three partners with deep operating experience in gaming and immersive technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Virtual reality investing
• Augmented reality investing
• Early-stage startup funding
• Immersive technology investment

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Presence Capital generates returns through equity investments in early-stage VR and AR startups. As an investor, the firm earns returns through exit events such as acquisitions or IPOs of portfolio companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Presence Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in and supports virtual reality and augmented reality startups. The firm deploys equity capital from its inaugural $10 million fund and provides hands-on operational support, industry expertise, and partner networks to entrepreneurs building AR/VR applications for communication, work, and entertainment.

Product overview

Presence Capital operates as a single unified venture capital fund focused on early-stage VR and AR startups. The firm deploys capital from its $10 million inaugural fund to support talented entrepreneurs developing AR and VR technologies that transform how people communicate, work, and play.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Presence Capital VR/AR Fund (Inaugural $10M Fund) Early-stage venture capital fund that provides equity capital and operational support to founders of virtual reality and augmented reality startups building new communication, work, and entertainment experiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• First VC firm focused solely on VR/AR companies
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 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 indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lux Capital: Lux Capital is an early-stage VC with deep exposure to frontier tech including AR, computer vision, and spatial computing, making it a broader incumbent that competes for VR/AR deal flow but with a wider mandate.
• Sequoia Capital: Sequoia Capital is a top-tier generalist VC with material exposure to VR/AR companies across its portfolio, representing a broader incumbent competing for category-defining deals against vertical specialists like Presence Capital.
• Andreessen Horowitz: Andreessen Horowitz is a leading generalist VC that has made landmark VR/AR investments (notably leading Facebook's acquisition of Oculus) and maintains a dedicated games/metaverse practice, serving as a broad incumbent in the same category.
• GGV Capital: GGV Capital is a global venture firm with active investments across VR/AR, gaming, and immersive media, representing a broader incumbent with material presence in the same category as Presence Capital.

Direct peers

• Boost VC: Boost VC is an early-stage accelerator and fund that has historically invested in VR/AR among other emerging tech verticals, sharing Presence Capital's early-stage ticket size and founder-support orientation.
• The Venture Reality Fund: The Venture Reality Fund (formerly The VR Fund) is a venture firm focused exclusively on VR, AR, and mixed reality startups, making it the closest direct peer to Presence Capital in terms of vertical specialization, stage focus, and target founder profile.
• Super Ventures: Super Ventures is an early-stage fund and accelerator exclusively focused on augmented reality, with a similar vertical-specialist profile to Presence Capital but narrowed to the AR subset of the same category.
• LDV Capital: LDV Capital is a thesis-driven early-stage fund investing in people building businesses powered by visual technology, including VR, AR, and computer vision — directly comparable to Presence Capital's visual/immersive tech focus.
• HTC Vive X: HTC's Vive X accelerator and investment program is a corporate-backed VR-focused fund that invests in early-stage VR/AR startups globally, directly overlapping with Presence Capital's mandate and stage.

Regional players

• Colopl VR Fund: Colopl's VR-focused corporate venture fund invests in early-stage VR/AR startups primarily in Japan and Asia, representing a regional peer with the same vertical mandate but different geographic focus than Presence Capital's US-centric portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/presencecapital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amittmahajan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments52 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Presence Capital