Our approach
We lead pre-seed and seed rounds and at times co-lead a syndicate. We also believe in backing select proven companies with additional investment.
What We Look For
An Unstoppable Founder
We deploy capital when we believe we have discovered a founder who has the grit to succeed and the gravitas to be a great fundraiser, inspirational leader, and team player. This is a founder who is resilient, relentless, who pursues solutions and focuses on what matters—even when others say it can't be done. The quality of the idea and plan to make it happen matter. At the seed stage, the addressable market, business model, alignment with our thesis, and idea are critical, but the founder leads the way.
Size OF OPPORTUNITY
Market size matters. The entrepreneur’s understanding of a bottom up and top down view of the obtainable and addressable markets must be nuanced and realistic. We’re looking to identify companies and teams that have markers which indicate their capacity to build large, sustainable businesses, deeply rooted in technology.
Real progress
Building a market leading company requires multiple rounds of capital. We look for significant progress prior to a seed round. Our expectation is that your product is launched, the early customers are paying and finding value (beyond pilots), and the buyer and user have clearly identifiable profiles.
Ai STREet cred
We look for a business plan that understands Applied AI’s corresponding labor unit offset. The team must have the models mapped out, understand the specifics of tuning and training, and the technical skills to execute it all. We don’t typically invest in companies without at least one technical co-founder.
Proprietary Building blocks
We look for evidence of unique components that can lead to longterm differentiation in an AI world. Proprietary training data and access methods, synthetic data, probabilistic models, and sticky Human/AI interfaces that create trust all provide next generation moats that deliver investment returns.
The Applied AI Opportunity
Commerce, media, martech, and fintech represent 10T gross domestic product.
While these industries have seen massive transformation over the years — TV to streaming, spreadsheets to custom databases, credit cards to online payments systems, cash to mobile transactions — tremendous opportunity remains untapped. Applied AI innovation in these sectors lies ready to be unlocked, practical applications developed, and markets reinvented.
Success in applied AI depends on access to the right data and partnerships from day one.
At Grit, we serve as the critical bridge linking startups with corporations and platform players, which house the vertically essential training data that can fuel, train, and perfect AI models. We help connect founders to datasets, customers, and distribution channels. Our deep industry relationships create unique partnership opportunities that accelerate growth for both parties. As a result, Grit-backed companies can grow faster and stronger – much sooner.
We invest early and commit fully—serving as active, engaged partners from inception to exit, seed to success.
