What Ad Astra Ventures does

Ad Astra Ventures is a privately-held venture capital firm founded in 2018 and headquartered in Solana Beach (San Diego), California, with an exclusive investment focus on women-led companies. The firm operates a single integrated offering centered on its Venture Builder Program—a bespoke 6-8 month engagement that pairs staged equity capital (Pre-Seed at $25K, Seed at $25K-$50K, Series A at $25K-$50K) with mentorship, business model refinement, product-market fit sharpening, team strengthening, and fundraising strategy support. Investment criteria are tightly defined: Pre-Seed rounds capped at $500K with $2M-$4M valuations, Seed rounds capped at $1M with $5M-$10M valuations, and Series A rounds capped at $5M with $8M-$20M valuations.

The firm is led by Founding Partner Allison Long Pettine and partners Vidya Dinamani and Silvia Mah, with Courtney Burnett serving as AAV Fund Lead and Maria Gonzalez-Blanch on the Investment Committee. Returns are generated through equity stakes in portfolio companies, with no disclosed proprietary technology platform; the firm's intellectual property is concentrated in its venture-building methodology and its 140-founder alumni network built since inception. Its disclosed portfolio spans more than 21 companies across 10+ verticals including SaaS, Women's Health, Consumer, Sustainability, and Med Tech, supported by a mentor ecosystem drawn from Keshif Ventures, Halogen Ventures, Rethink Impact, Anthem Ventures, and Correlation Ventures. The firm monetizes through investment returns and runs a separate AAV Fund vehicle.

Name

Ad Astra Ventures

Legal name

Ad Astra Ventures

Website

https://adastra.ventures

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ad Astra Ventures is a San Diego-based venture capital firm founded in 2018 that exclusively funds and supports women-led early-stage startups through a 6-8 month Venture Builder Program, investing $25K-$50K at Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A stages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Venture Capital Fundraising Placement (FSAEALAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Venture builder program
• Female founder funding
• Early-stage startup funding
• Seed-stage investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Solana Beach

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns / Equity Stakes: Ad Astra Ventures generates returns through equity investments in portfolio companies. They invest $25K at Pre-Seed, $25K-$50K at Seed, and $25K-$50K at Series A stages. Returns are realized through portfolio company exits, acquisitions, or IPOs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ad Astra Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests equity capital in early-stage startups led by female founders. It pairs investments of $25K at Pre-Seed and $25K-$50K at Seed and Series A with a bespoke 6-8 month Venture Builder program delivering programming, mentorship, and strategic guidance on business model refinement, product-market fit, team strengthening, and fundraising strategy.

Product overview

Ad Astra Ventures is a venture capital firm that operates as a single integrated offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The firm provides staged investment capital (Pre-Seed at $25K, Seed at $25K-$50K, Series A at $25K-$50K) combined with its flagship Venture Builder Program—a bespoke 6-8 month program that pairs investment with programming, mentorship, and strategic guidance. The firm focuses exclusively on female founders and provides holistic support including business model refinement, product-market fit sharpening, team strengthening, and fundraising strategy development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers10 records

Segments3 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.

• Complete College AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2025Ad Astra and Complete College America released a joint report on academic scheduling that found 26% of program requirements are not offered when indicated, nearly one-quarter of course sections are overloaded, and 45% are underutilized across U.S. colleges. The report offers five recommendations for using scheduling as a tool to improve course access, reduce delays, and boost graduation rates.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Halogen Ventures: Halogen Ventures is an early-stage VC firm investing in female-founded consumer technology companies. It is one of the most directly comparable peers, also targeting female founders across seed and Series A stages and referenced as part of Ad Astra's mentor network.
• Rethink Impact: Rethink Impact is a female-led VC firm investing in impact-driven companies often led by women and people of color. Directly comparable as a values-aligned early-stage investor, also cited within Ad Astra's mentor network.
• Female Founders Fund: Female Founders Fund is an early-stage venture fund focused on female-founded companies in consumer, enterprise, and healthcare. Highly comparable to Ad Astra in thesis, stage, and target founder demographic.
• BBG Ventures: BBG Ventures (formerly AOL Build) is a seed-stage fund investing in female-founded consumer and enterprise startups. Directly comparable in stage and founder-segment focus, with check sizes typically larger than Ad Astra's.
• Cleo Capital: Cleo Capital is a venture capital fund backing female and diverse founders at the seed stage. Comparable in stage and founder demographic focus, with a similar thesis around underserved founder populations.
• SoGal Ventures: SoGal Ventures is a female-led global venture firm investing in diverse founders. Directly comparable as a diversity-focused early-stage investor targeting similar founder segments with seed-stage checks.
• Golden Seeds: Golden Seeds is an early-stage investment firm focused on women-led companies across sectors. Comparable as an early-stage investor prioritizing female founders, with a broader angel network structure.
• Backstage Capital: Backstage Capital is a venture fund investing in underrepresented founders, including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. Highly comparable in diversity-led thesis and seed-stage focus.

Emerging players

• Portfolia: Portfolia runs curated investment funds focused on women and women's health, including femtech. Comparable in focus area and LP base, though structured more as a fund-of-funds/syndicate platform than a traditional VC.
• Keshif Ventures: Keshif Ventures is a pre-seed/seed venture firm investing in overlooked founders. Mentioned in Ad Astra's mentor network, with overlapping thesis around underserved founder segments.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adastravc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ad-astra-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments6 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Ad Astra Ventures