What Carbide Ventures does

Carbide Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2021 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with a regional office in Tokyo, Japan. The firm invests in pre-seed, seed, and Series A companies, with a stated preference for B2B businesses selling to large enterprises and a thematic focus on the "New Age of Compute" — encompassing artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, materials, and related enabling technologies. The firm differentiates itself through an operator-investor model, with a team drawn largely from Treasure Data alumni (including founding CEO Hiro Yoshikawa and CFO/COO Dan Weirich) and augmented by Special Limited Partner Bill Tai, whose prior portfolio includes 23 companies that became publicly listed.

The firm operates two fund vehicles — Carbide Ventures Fund I, L.P. and Carbide Ventures Fund II, L.P. — with parallel GP and Blocker entities structured for cross-border deployment. Carbide Ventures runs a distinctive US-Japan corridor strategy, maintaining a Tokyo office and a Japanese SPBQII regulatory filing that supports both inbound Japanese deals and outbound expansion of Japanese companies into global markets, while also deploying globally across North America, Asia, and Europe. Disclosed portfolio investments include zypl.ai (synthetic data AI for financial services, led at $80M valuation), LakeFusion (Databricks-native master data management), Lumber (AI-powered construction workforce management), and Bifrost AI (3D simulation for physical-world AI).

Carbide Ventures earns returns through equity stakes in portfolio companies, with revenue generated via management fees on committed fund capital and carried interest upon exits. The firm has recorded at least two realized exits (Calyptia acquired by Chronosphere in 2023; OfferFit acquired by Braze in 2025). It maintains a small team (1–10 employees) and does not publicly disclose fund sizes, management fee revenue, or LP composition, consistent with the disclosure norms of an emerging private fund manager.

Name

Carbide Ventures

Legal name

Carbide Ventures Management, LLC

Website

https://www.carbideventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carbide Ventures is a Palo Alto-based early-stage venture capital firm investing pre-seed through Series A in B2B companies in AI, blockchain, and quantum computing, with a US-Japan corridor focus and a Tokyo office.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Debt Providers (FSANAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Early stage venture capital
• Seed series A investing
• B2B startup funding
• US Japan corridor investing
• Artificial intelligence venture

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: Returns generated through equity stakes in portfolio companies, realizing returns upon exits via IPOs, acquisitions, or secondary sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Carbide Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that makes high-conviction equity investments in pre-seed, seed, and Series A B2B technology startups, particularly those selling to large enterprises. The firm invests via two fund vehicles (Fund I and Fund II), targeting the "New Age of Compute" including AI, blockchain, quantum computing, and materials. Portfolio companies also receive operator mentorship and US-Japan market entry support.

Product overview

Carbide Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that makes high conviction investments in pre-seed, seed and Series A companies. The firm focuses on B2B companies, especially those selling to large enterprises, and maintains a preference for the New Age of Compute including artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, materials and more. The firm operates with a US-Japan corridor strategy, supporting companies with Japan market entry and helping Japanese companies expand globally. Carbide Ventures provides capital, guidance, and operational support to portfolio companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carbide Ventures Fund I, L.P. First fund vehicle deploying early-stage equity capital into pre-seed, seed, and Series A B2B technology startups for limited partner investors.
• Carbide Ventures Fund II, L.P. Second fund vehicle deploying early-stage equity capital into pre-seed, seed, and Series A B2B technology startups, with continued US-Japan corridor emphasis and New Age of Compute thematic focus.

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 indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DCVC (Data Collective): Deep-tech-focused early-stage fund investing in AI, data infrastructure, quantum, and advanced materials — directly comparable to Carbide's vertical specialization and seed/Series A check sizes.
• Pear VC: Operator-led pre-seed and seed firm working with founders across enterprise and AI — strongly comparable to Carbide's operators-turn-investors positioning at the same stage.
• Susa Ventures: Operator-led early-stage fund backing founders in enterprise software and AI; closely comparable to Carbide on stage, operator DNA, and B2B/enterprise orientation.
• Lux Capital: Early-stage venture firm with a deeply technical, deep-tech thesis spanning AI, quantum, materials, and aerospace — directly overlapping Carbide's 'New Age of Compute' focus area with comparable seed/Series A entry points.
• Foundation Capital: Early-to-growth enterprise and AI venture firm that co-invested with Carbide in Lumber's Series A, demonstrating direct overlap on B2B AI/seed-to-A deals and shared syndication relationships.

Regional players

• ZhenFund: Asia-rooted early-stage fund with US-China founder flows; relevant comparable for Carbide's cross-border Japan-US thesis and Seed/Series A check profile.
• Spiral Ventures: Japan-headquartered early-stage venture firm with cross-border US-Japan investing — directly comparable to Carbide's US-Japan corridor and Tokyo office footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Broad-spectrum venture platform with deep AI, infra, and crypto deployment, including dedicated seed funds; the benchmark incumbent for early-stage AI-focused managers.
• Sequoia Capital: Large multi-stage venture investor with significant early-stage activity across AI and deep tech; sets competitive context for Carbide despite orders-of-magnitude larger AUM.

Others

• Allen & Company: Private investment bank focused on technology M&A and IPO advisory — relevant 'OTHERS' adjacency since Bill Tai's 23 IPO exits place Carbide within his broader tech-capital ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/carbideventures
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbideventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments30 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Carbide Ventures