Moai Capital

What Moai Capital does

Moai Capital is a privately held seed-stage venture capital firm founded in August 2019 by Brian Jacobs, co-founder of Emergence Capital, and headquartered at 15 N. Ellsworth Ave, Suite 205, San Mateo, California. The firm was launched as a $10 million seed capital fund and operates with a lean core team of three (Founder/Managing Partner Brian Jacobs, Operations Manager Kate Winslow, and CFO Paula Brotherson) supplemented by an advisor bench drawn from World Innovation Lab, J4 Ventures, and La Honda Advisors. Its investment mandate spans three verticals — consumer software/hardware, business software/services, and impact investing with a specific focus on autism employment — writing checks of $25,000 to $100,000 at pre-seed, seed, or Series A stages.

The firm has built a portfolio of more than 40 companies since inception, including AnimalBiome (veterinary health), Ultranauts (autism-spectrum quality engineering), Yoodli (AI public-speaking coaching), Kristalic (digital memory), Babyquip (family travel rentals), and portfolio-company exposures inherited via Jacobs' ongoing board work at Emergence (Bill.com, Impartner, Eversight, InsideView). Notable downstream outcomes include Eversight's 2022 acquisition by Instacart and Ultranauts' Series A led by SustainVC. Moai's reputation rests primarily on Jacobs' personal track record (twice on the Forbes Midas List, 50+ board seats, 12 IPOs, 6 unicorn exits) and on its differentiated autism-employment thesis, supported by extensive coverage in CNBC, Forbes, and other outlets.

Revenue is generated through standard venture fund economics: management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on exits. There is no evidence of a successor fund, institutional LP base, or expansion of the core team, and operating geographies are stated as Silicon Valley only. Distribution is relationship-driven — deal sourcing flows from Jacobs' personal network, his Stanford GSB teaching role, and advisor referrals, with no traditional marketing or sales infrastructure.

Name

Moai Capital

Legal name

Moai Capital

Website

https://moai.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Moai Capital is a San Mateo-based seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2019 by Brian Jacobs, deploying a $10M fund into consumer software, business software, and autism-employment startups at pre-seed through Series A with $25K–$100K checks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Seed Investing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Managed Account / SMA Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAL)

Keywords

• Seed capital investing
• Venture capital fund
• Early-stage startup funding
• Impact investing autism
• Pre-seed Series A

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: Moai Capital generates returns through equity investments in startup companies. The firm was launched as a $10 million seed capital fund in August 2019. Revenue is derived from management fees and carried interest on investment returns.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Moai Capital is a seed-stage venture capital firm that invests $25,000 to $100,000 in pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds of early-stage startups. Its investment focus spans three verticals: consumer software/hardware, business software/services, and impact investing with a specific emphasis on startups increasing employment for autistic adults. The firm is based in San Mateo, California and was launched as a $10 million fund in August 2019.

Product overview

Moai Capital is a single unified seed capital investment offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. It operates as a venture capital fund providing seed-stage financing across three investment verticals: Consumer Software/Hardware, Business Software/Services, and Impact Investing with a specific focus on autism employment. The firm's sweet-spot investments range from $25,000 to $100,000 in pre-seed, seed, or Series A rounds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seed Capital Investment Services Seed funding of $25,000 to $100,000 per company for pre-seed, seed, or Series A rounds in consumer software/hardware, business software/services, and impact investing startups. Targeted at maniacally driven early-stage entrepreneurs.
• Impact Investing (Autism Employment Focus) Mission-driven seed investments in startups innovating to increase employment for autistic adults, including portfolio companies such as Ultranauts, auticon, and Forta Health.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 board positions with 12 companies going public and 6 unicorn-scale exits

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Emergence CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 August 2019Brian Jacobs co-founded Emergence Capital and continues to serve as a general partner while focusing new investment activity on Moai Capital. He maintains board positions on several Emergence portfolio companies including Bill.com, Impartner, Eversight, and InsideView.
• World Innovation LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRob Theis, Managing Partner of World Innovation Lab (WiL), serves as an advisor to Moai Capital. He has been instrumental in Moai Capital's motivational and goal-setting strategies and serves as official photographer.
• J4 VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJamie Rapperport, Bruce Jaffe, and John Mitchell are advisors to Moai Capital through their roles at J4 Ventures. They contribute expertise in mobile strategy, deal-making, and AI.
• La Honda AdvisorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDavid Ketsdever, founder of La Honda Advisors, serves as advisor to Moai Capital. Known as a rainmaker with deep Silicon Valley network and transaction expertise.
• Consumer electronics VC ecosystemminorOthersMoai Capital is profiled in a curated guide for consumer electronics founders seeking venture capital, alongside other notable VCs in the space.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• J4 Ventures: Early-stage venture firm whose partners (Jamie Rapperport, Bruce Jaffe, John Mitchell) serve as advisors to Moai Capital. Directly comparable in stage, check size, and consumer/business software focus.
• World Innovation Lab (WiL): Seed-to-Series A consumer/enterprise investor whose Managing Partner (Rob Theis) is a Moai advisor. Comparable in stage, cross-border ambition, and consumer-tech orientation.
• Precursor Ventures: Generalist seed fund led by Charles Hudson writing similarly small checks at pre-seed/seed. Comparable in fund size, deal velocity, and portfolio-construction philosophy to Moai.
• Collaborative Fund: Seed-stage firm combining consumer-tech investing with a values-driven thesis (sustainability, health, economic opportunity). Directly comparable to Moai's mix of consumer + impact verticals.
• Cowboy Ventures: Seed-led fund focused on consumer and enterprise startups with a thesis-driven approach. Comparable stage, check size, and consumer/business-software mix to Moai.
• Lerer Hippeau: Long-running New York seed fund writing small checks across consumer and business models. Comparable in seed-stage concentration, small-ticket philosophy, and consumer-first orientation.
• Obvious Ventures: Mission-driven VC backing companies tackling world-positive outcomes, comparable to Moai's autism-employment impact thesis. Similar stage range and impact-tinged generalist mandate.
• Kapor Capital: Impact-oriented seed fund focused on closing opportunity gaps, including investments in neurodiversity and inclusive hiring. Closest comparable on the autism-employment and diversity-impact thesis.
• Bolt (venture firm): Early-stage consumer and enterprise software investor with small funds and thesis-driven investing, structurally similar to Moai in fund size and stage concentration.

Broad incumbents

• Emergence Capital: Enterprise SaaS-focused VC co-founded by Brian Jacobs; while at Series A/B+ rather than seed, Moai was incubated there and Jacobs still serves as GP, making it the closest institutional affiliate.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MoaiCapital

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

Investments47 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Moai Capital