Factorial Capital
Factorial Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing $500k–$1M in technical founders building AI infrastructure, applications, and consumer products from angel through Series A, backed by a $25M fund and a network of practitioner investment partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Factorial Capital does
Factorial Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2022 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, focused exclusively on artificial intelligence startups. The firm is led by Founder and Managing Partner Matt Hartman, who spent nearly a decade as a partner at Betaworks where he was the first investor in Hugging Face, Anchor (acquired by Spotify), and Squad (acquired by Twitter). Factorial invests $500k–$1M per company at the angel, pre-seed, seed, and selective Series A stages, targeting founders who code and are building AI infrastructure, B2B applications, and consumer products at the technical frontier.
The firm's core product is a single $25 million Startup Venture Fund that reached final close in 2025. Its differentiation rests on a network of technical practitioners serving as investment partners — including builders from Hugging Face, Nvidia, Nomic, Patronus AI, and Casper — who perform technical diligence and source deals. Investment decisions require agreement from only one investment partner plus Matt Hartman, enabling rapid first-yes commitments at the prototype stage. The portfolio spans 60+ companies including Modal Labs, Pika, Factory AI, Slingshot AI, Patronus AI, Oboe, Nomic, LMArena, Black Forest Labs, and Decart AI, with a notable exit of Software Applications Inc. acquired by OpenAI.
Factorial generates revenue through conventional venture capital economics — management fees on committed fund capital and potential carried interest from exits. The firm operates with a two-person core team (Hartman and Chief of Staff Becca Lewy), supported by the broader investment partner network. Distribution is driven by founder referrals, technical community engagement, and Matt Hartman's Substack writing on AI primitives, rather than traditional marketing channels.
Factorial Capital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Factorial Capital
- Website
- https://factorialcap.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Factorial Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm investing $500k–$1M in technical founders building AI infrastructure, applications, and consumer products from angel through Series A, backed by a $25M fund and a network of practitioner investment partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Factorial Capital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-Stage Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Financial Vehicles (525990), Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
Keywords
Where Factorial Capital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Factorial Capital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Returns: Factorial Capital generates returns through equity ownership in early-stage AI startups. The firm invests $500k-$1m per company at angel, pre-seed, seed, and selective Series A stages, seeking capital appreciation through fund returns and carried interest.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Factorial Capital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Factorial Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests $500k–$1m per company in angel, pre-seed, seed, and selective Series A rounds of AI startups. The firm operates a $25 million Startup Venture Fund and employs technical practitioners (late-stage/exited founders from companies such as Hugging Face and Nvidia) as investment partners to source deals and perform technical diligence, enabling rapid, high-conviction investment decisions at the earliest stages of company formation.
Product overview
Factorial Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm purpose-built for the AI era, investing $500k-1m in technical founders building at the frontier of AI infrastructure, B2B and consumer applications. The firm operates a single Startup Venture Fund as its core investment vehicle, leveraging investment partners who are technical practitioners to make fast, high-conviction decisions on angel, pre-seed, seed, and selective Series A investments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Startup Venture Fund A $25 million early-stage investment fund targeting AI startups, deploying $500k–$1m per company at angel, pre-seed, seed, and selective Series A stages. The fund employs a unique sourcing model involving active builders (technical practitioner investment partners) as partners to support founders with technical diligence and early deal flow.
Companies that use Factorial Capital
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Factorial Capital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Factorial Capital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Factorial Capital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Andreessen Horowitz: Mega-fund with a dedicated AI strategy across infrastructure, applications, and bio. Comparable as a co-investor in Factorial's portfolio (e.g., Oboe Series A) and as the dominant benchmark for AI-native venture investing, though with vastly larger check sizes and brand.
- Greylock Partners: Established early-stage venture firm with a strong AI investing practice, often partnering with technical founders. Comparable to Factorial as a category-leading AI seed/Series A investor, though with deeper operating resources and broader stage coverage.
- Lux Capital: Established venture firm investing in frontier science and AI across consumer, enterprise, and infrastructure. Comparable as a thesis-driven AI investor, though with materially larger fund sizes and broader stage coverage than Factorial.
- Khosla Ventures: Large venture firm with significant early-stage AI exposure across infrastructure and applications. Comparable in AI-thesis conviction and willingness to back technical founders at the earliest stages, but with much larger fund and check sizes.
Direct peers
- Bloomberg Beta: Early-stage venture firm focused on the future of work, machine intelligence, and enterprise software. Comparable to Factorial in stage (pre-seed/seed), check size, and thesis-driven AI/intelligent-software focus.
- Conviction: Venture firm founded by Sarah Guo that invests in early-stage AI startups with a thesis-driven, founder-led approach. Directly comparable to Factorial in stage focus (pre-seed/seed AI), check size philosophy, and operator-led sourcing model.
- Root Ventures: Pre-seed and seed venture firm that invests in technical founders building infrastructure and developer tools. Comparable to Factorial's emphasis on technical practitioners and earliest-stage investing, though broader than pure-play AI.
- AIX Ventures: AI-focused early-stage venture fund backed by AI practitioner investors. Directly comparable to Factorial's practitioner-partner model and pre-seed/seed AI focus, with similar LP and founder targets.
- Zetta Venture Partners: Early-stage venture firm focused on AI-first companies, investing at seed and Series A stages. Directly comparable to Factorial given similar AI-vertical specialization, founder-led technical diligence, and check sizes in the early-stage range.
Emerging players
- South Park Commons: Founder community and pre-seed investor that supports technical operators exploring AI and frontier-tech ideas. Comparable to Factorial in serving technical founders at the earliest, pre-company stage, with a community-based sourcing model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Factorial Capital social profiles
Digital presenceFactorial Capital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Factorial Capital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Factorial Capital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Factorial Capital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments74 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Factorial Capital
What does Factorial Capital do?
Factorial Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests $500k–$1m per company in angel, pre-seed, seed, and selective Series A rounds of AI startups. The firm operates a $25 million Startup Venture Fund and employs technical practitioners (late-stage/exited founders from companies such as Hugging Face and Nvidia) as investment partners to source deals and perform technical diligence, enabling rapid, high-conviction investment decisions at the earliest stages of company formation.
Is Factorial Capital a public or private company?
Factorial Capital is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Factorial Capital founded?
Factorial Capital was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Factorial Capital based?
Factorial Capital is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Factorial Capital make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Capital Returns.
Who are Factorial Capital's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Lux Capital and Khosla Ventures. Direct peers are Bloomberg Beta, Conviction, Root Ventures, AIX Ventures and Zetta Venture Partners. South Park Commons is listed as an emerging player.
Does Factorial Capital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Factorial Capital.
What industry is Factorial Capital in?
Factorial Capital's product category is Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAI, Micro-VC & Angel Funds, with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 525990 and its SIC code is 6282.