What Amped does

Amped is an AI-native venture studio founded in 2024 by Matt Cimino and headquartered in Wilmington, NC. It serves ambitious founders through three engagement paths: (1) studio-originated builds, where Amped surfaces a problem, designs the company, places a dedicated operator, and builds from day one in exchange for equity; (2) founder partnerships, where outside founders bring ideas or prototypes and Amped contributes product, GTM, operations, capital, and network access in exchange for equity; and (3) AI consulting/implementation for established profitable businesses that need practical AI workflows integrated into operations, billed as professional services without equity. The studio currently maintains a portfolio of three ventures at varying stages — Generational (AI estate planning, in build), HealthOS (open-source health OS, coming soon), and GitChaOne (golf scoring, live) — and anchors a local founder pipeline through quarterly AI Roundtable events co-hosted with NEW (Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington).

The underlying technology and methodology rest on two stated proprietary frameworks: a Venture Studio Framework covering ideation, validation, build, and launch phases, and an AI Integration Playbook that compresses prototype timelines from months to weeks. GTM is sales-led and relationship-based: outreach is via direct email ([email protected]), word-of-mouth within the Wilmington, NC entrepreneurial community, and the AI Roundtable event series. There is no formal sales team, paid advertising, or pricing transparency — the company explicitly states that deal terms are discussed on calls rather than published. Revenue mechanics are a mix of equity participation in studio-originated and partner-led ventures, plus professional services fees from the AI consulting line.

The team is led by Managing Partner Matt Cimino, who previously founded and sold a company also called Amped to Intuit in 2024 and led its integration into Mailchimp. The Board of Advisors includes Mike Burns (Principal, Canapi Ventures, $100M+ deployed; former Navy SEAL officer; UNC Chapel Hill / Berkeley Haas) and Chase Olivieri (Founder, Listo Labs; Duke / University of Miami; 50+ ecommerce experiences with hundreds of millions in GMV), with a third advisor announced as forthcoming. Amped reports 1-10 employees, is privately held, and has no disclosed funding rounds or revenue.

Name

Amped

Legal name

Amped

Website

https://amped.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Amped is an AI-native venture studio founded in 2024 by Matt Cimino in Wilmington, NC that helps ambitious founders build companies by providing capital, an experienced operating team, and a proven playbook across three engagement models.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Studio

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)

Keywords

• Venture studio services
• AI implementation consulting
• Founder partnership program
• Startup company building
• AI-native venture incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Studio-Originated Equity: Amped originates company ideas, designs the company, places a dedicated operator in the lead, and builds from day one. In exchange for studio capital, team, and playbook, Amped takes equity in the ventures.
2. Founder Partnership Equity: Founders bring ideas, prototypes, or sparks. Amped provides product, GTM, operations, capital, and network access. Equity is exchanged for Amped's contributions.
3. AI Consulting/Implementation: Billed professional services work for established businesses wanting practical AI workflows. No equity involved - pure consulting engagement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Amped Ventures is an AI venture studio that partners with ambitious founders to build companies from ideation through launch and growth. The studio provides capital, an experienced operating team, and a proven playbook through three engagement paths: (1) studio-originated builds where they originate the idea, design the company, place a dedicated operator, and build from day one; (2) founder partnerships where outside founders bring an idea or prototype and Amped provides product, GTM, operations, capital, and network support in exchange for equity; and (3) AI consulting/implementation engagements for established businesses that want practical AI workflows integrated into their operations.

Product overview

Amped is a venture studio for ambitious founders that offers capital, an operating team, and a playbook to turn ideas into companies. They provide three engagement paths: studio-originated builds (ideas they originate, design the company, place a dedicated operator, and build from day one with studio capital, team, and playbook), founder partnerships (for founders with an idea or prototype, providing product, GTM, operations, capital, and network), and AI consulting implementation (for established businesses to integrate practical AI workflows that cut manual work and accelerate growth). The studio also maintains a portfolio of ventures including Generational (AI estate planning, in build), HealthOS (open-source OS for health, coming soon), and GitChaOne (golf scoring, live).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Studio-Originated Builds (Ideas We Originate)

Quantifiable outcome

• Development timelines compressed from months to weeks for early product stages (prototype, first customer flow, early infra)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNEW co-hosts the quarterly AI Roundtable events with Amped Ventures, bringing local AI builders, founders, and operators together in Wilmington, NC. This partnership serves as a key pipeline and community-building mechanism for the venture studio.
• IntuitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntuit (NASDAQ: INTU) acquired Matt Cimino's previous company 'Amped' in 2024. Post-acquisition, Matt stayed to lead integration of Amped into Mailchimp, powering experiences for hundreds of thousands of businesses. Matt also partnered closely with Intuit Corp Dev on multiple deals including acquisition of Raleon. This relationship provides strategic insights and potential deal flow.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Beta: Venture studio focused on building and launching new companies with founders, matching Amped's model of supplying capital, operators, and a framework from day zero.
• Founders Factory: Global venture studio that builds and scales startups with corporate partners, comparable to Amped in providing capital, operating resources, and a structured studio playbook from ideation through launch.
• Pioneer Square Labs: Seattle-based venture studio that co-founds and builds software startups from scratch, providing capital, operators, and a playbook—closely matching Amped's studio-originated build model.
• Atomic: Venture studio that partners with founders to build and fund companies from idea to scale, comparable to Amped in originating companies, supplying operators, and providing capital from day zero.
• High Alpha: Indianapolis-based venture studio that conceives, builds, and launches B2B SaaS companies, directly comparable to Amped's approach of staffing an operating team to build companies in-house.
• Contrary: Venture studio and research firm that builds and invests in technology companies, similar to Amped in combining a research-driven thesis with company origination and operator support.
• Science Inc. Operating company and venture studio that builds, funds, and operates digital businesses, similar to Amped in running multiple internal ventures with shared operating resources.
• Expa: Venture studio founded by a repeat operator that builds and launches new technology companies, comparable to Amped in combining an operator-led studio model with selective founder partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• Idealab: Long-running, established venture studio that has originated dozens of companies over decades, comparable to Amped's studio-originated build model but operating at much greater scale and tenure.

Emerging players

• Human Ventures: Venture studio and early-stage fund that builds companies alongside founders, similar to Amped's founder-partnership track and shared operating support, though it leans more on external founders than on fully studio-originated builds.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Amped