Felicis
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Felicis literally puts it in their term sheets that they'll always vote with founders in board matters — this isn't just marketing fluff, they actually do it. They also commit 1% of every first check to founder coaching and therapy, paid from partners' management fees. The founder alignment is real, but here's what's interesting: when Mercor's CEO wasn't planning to raise, Felicis invited him to race Ferraris in Vegas, asked his valuation range of $1-2B, and went straight to the top. They move with serious conviction and speed. They famously wrote Notion's seed term sheet on a napkin and often go from first meeting to term sheet in 24 hours. With 11% of their companies becoming unicorns vs 1% industry average, they clearly know how to pick winners early. The downside? They're generalists in an increasingly specialized world, so make sure they actually understand your specific market.
- —Best for: Founders who want true alignment and fast decisions with serious conviction backing
- —Watch out for: Generalist approach means they might not have deep sector expertise in your niche
- —Known for: Ferrari-racing, napkin-term-sheet-writing VCs who actually vote with founders
Felicis' core investment thesis centers on supporting AI-native, disruptive technology companies, with over 70% of their active portfolio being AI-native companies. They explicitly reject the notion that "luck isn't made" – believing instead that it is "engineered."
94% of Felicis investments are Seed or Series A, and they actually execute on this — they lead or co-lead more than 83% of their investments. They invest broadly across AI, infrastructure, cybersecurity, global resilience (defense and energy), health/biotech, vertical SaaS, fintech, and proptech. Despite the marketing speak, they're genuinely multi-sector generalists who move fast.
He was the first product manager at Google and helped launch their first ten international sites. An original super angel turned multi-stage investor, he's been named on the Forbes Midas List for twelve consecutive years (2014-2025). Known for his 10x or nothing investment filter and hands-on support in founder storytelling.
As a founding member of Felicis, Sundeep led investments in companies like Mercor, Coalition, and Plaid. He's known for jumping in when "the water is still cold" and making small bets to learn before writing bigger checks in categories. Been with the firm for over 11 years.
Focuses on databases, dev tools, infrastructure, and AI from inception through Series A. Recently joined from investing in companies like Shopify, Canva, Notion, and Supabase. Known for deep technical infrastructure investing thesis.
General Partner at Felicis with focus on security and infrastructure investments. Actively involved in security founder dinners and CISO events in NYC. Part of the investing team's operational support structure.
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