TF Capital

What TF Capital does

TF Capital is a private venture capital firm founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Francisco, operating with a small team (1-10 employees) and focused exclusively on deep-tech and AI-native startups. The firm positions itself as a 'global expansion partner' rather than a capital-only investor, offering portfolio companies strategic introductions into Asia-Pacific markets through an LP and advisor base of regional industrialists, technology leaders, and operators.

The firm's core offering is direct equity investment alongside value-add services: APAC market entry support, strategic banking partnerships, and introductions to industrial customers. Reported portfolio activity includes participation in Skild AI's $1.4 billion Series A (January 2026, led by SoftBank) and Vivatides Therapeutics' $54 million Series A (April 2026, led by Qiming Venture Partners). The portfolio spans 25+ companies across foundational layers of the AI stack — inference chips (Groq, D-Matrix), foundation models (Anthropic, Fireworks AI), robotics (Skild AI), data infrastructure (Databricks, Crusoe), agent infrastructure (Exa AI), and consumer platforms (ByteDance, Canva, Discord, Cursor) — alongside selective non-AI deep-tech bets.

The firm is led by three partners with operator backgrounds: Abhishek Malik (Partner & Investment Committee, IIT Kanpur-trained, built and sold proprietary AI technology), James Matin-Lewis (Partner, 15+ years structuring deals from $10M to $2B, ex-EY Wealth & Asset Management), and Conrad Bates (Senior Venture Partner, co-founded C3 Business Solutions which was sold to EY, former EY Global Chief Data Officer). Revenue mechanics follow a traditional VC fund model — management fees and carried interest on successful exits — though no fund size, AUM, or revenue figures are disclosed in the available data.

Name

TF Capital

Website

https://tf.capital

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TF Capital is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invests in AI-native and deep-tech startups, providing capital alongside Asia-Pacific market expansion support through its network of regional industrialists, technology leaders, and operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bengaluru

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns / Fund Management Fees: TF Capital generates returns through equity investments in AI companies. As a VC fund, they likely operate on a traditional fund model with management fees and carried interest from successful portfolio exits. Their focus on 'category-defining companies' suggests they seek significant ownership in transformative AI infrastructure companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

TF Capital is an AI-native venture capital firm that provides equity capital and strategic support to founders building category-defining companies at foundational layers of the AI stack. The firm invests from early-stage rounds up to $2B transactions and leverages a deep Asia-Pacific network of industrialists, technology leaders, and operators to facilitate market entry, strategic partnerships, and real-world deployment pathways for portfolio companies.

Product overview

TF Capital is a venture capital firm that provides investment services to AI-native companies, with a focus on Asia-Pacific market expansion. The firm offers a portfolio of 25+ category-defining AI companies including Anthropic, Cursor, ByteDance, Canva, Crusoe, Databricks, D-Matrix, Exa, Fireworks, Groq, and Skild AI. TF Capital serves as a global expansion partner with deep APAC networks across industrialists, technology leaders, and operators, helping portfolio companies accelerate growth through strategic introductions and market access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investment Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Facilitated Skild AI's early alignment with a $25B automotive manufacturer
• +1 more outcomes

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 indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Coatue Ventures: Co-invested with TF Capital in Skild AI's Series A. Coatue has built a significant AI infrastructure portfolio as a crossover and venture investor.
• Andreessen Horowitz: Major AI-focused venture investor with dedicated AI infrastructure theses and a16z infra funds. Comparable focus on foundational AI layers but at much greater scale and with a broader portfolio of category-defining AI companies.
• Lightspeed Venture Partners: Co-invested with TF Capital in Skild AI's $1.4B Series A. Lightspeed is a broad tech VC with deep AI exposure across multiple funds and geographies.
• Macquarie Capital: Co-invested with TF Capital in Skild AI's Series A and brings APAC reach. Macquarie is a broad incumbent with substantial infrastructure and growth investing capability across the region.
• Sequoia Capital: Participated as co-investor with TF Capital in Skild AI's Series A and is a leading backer of AI infrastructure companies. Sequoia is a broad incumbent with a much larger fund footprint and stronger brand pull in AI deals.
• SoftBank Vision Fund: Mega-fund that led Skild AI's $1.4B Series A alongside TF Capital. Both target category-defining AI infrastructure companies at billion-dollar check sizes, though SoftBank operates at materially greater scale and across geographies.

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: AI and deep-tech focused venture firm with comparable thesis around foundational, hard-tech categories. Both firms position as operator-leaning investors backing frontier technology categories at the infrastructure layer.
• Khosla Ventures: Long-standing deep-tech and AI infrastructure investor with a similar thesis around category-defining, high-impact technology. Both firms emphasize founder support and operator backgrounds.

Regional players

• GGV Capital: US-APAC venture investor with comparable cross-border thesis spanning foundational technology and AI. Similar operator-network value-add model in APAC market entry for portfolio companies.
• Qiming Venture Partners: Led Vivatides Therapeutics' Series A alongside TF Capital. Asia-focused VC with deep healthcare and tech coverage in China and beyond — comparable as APAC-rooted co-investor in TF Capital's deal flow.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tf-capital-frontier

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

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about TF Capital