Pre-seed & seed VC, US

500 Global

Venture capital firm · San Francisco · Founded 2010

Quick read

500 Global is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010, headquartered in San Francisco, CA. It manages $2.4 billion in AUM and has backed 5,000+ founders across 3,000+ companies in 80+ countries, including 35+ unicorns. The firm combines direct investing with government and institutional partnerships to build startup ecosystems in emerging markets globally.

Key facts

Founded
2010
Founders
Dave McClure, Christine Tsai
Employees
50-200
Sectors
generalist
Website
500.co

Investment thesis

500 Global writes small early-stage checks at pre-seed and seed across sectors and geographies, running accelerator programs and partnering with governments and institutions in markets where capital access is limited — betting on volume and global network effects to generate outsized returns.

Recent activity

  • Jul 2025press
    500 Global celebrated its 15th anniversary in July 2025. CEO Christine Tsai reflected on the milestone in a LinkedIn post, noting the firm's growth since founding in 2010. 500.co
  • Q2 2025leadership
    Dr. Alaa Murabit joined 500 Global as Managing Partner of Sustainable Growth. She previously directed a $300M global portfolio at the Gates Foundation and served as Senior Advisor at Bain & Company. 500.co
  • Q2 2025leadership
    Iris Sun was promoted to Partner at 500 Global, recognized for her AI investment thesis and early-stage conviction in companies before consensus forms. linkedin.com
  • 2025press
    TIME and Statista named 500 Global one of America's Top Venture Capital Firms of 2025, highlighting its global-first approach as a differentiator. linkedin.com
  • Dec 2025investment
    500 Global co-invested in Halogen Capital's $3.2M round alongside Digital Currency Group and Mythos. foresightnews.pro
  • Sep 2025investment
    500 Global led GRVT's $19M Series A alongside ZKsync and Further Ventures. foresightnews.pro
  • 2025press
    500 Global co-hosted a private dinner during London Climate Action Week with Shell Foundation, bringing together investors and philanthropists focused on scaling proven climate approaches. linkedin.com
  • 2025product
    VC Unlocked: Silicon Valley, run in collaboration with the Stanford Engineering Center for Global & Online Education, announced its next cohort for August 24–September 4. Over 500 investors have graduated from the program to date. linkedin.com
  • Jul 2026product
    500 Global and Sanabil Investments announced Batch 11 of the Sanabil Accelerator by 500 Global, selecting eight startups from 690+ applications. The cohort ran April 5 to July 1, 2026, with a Demo Day on July 1. Sectors covered: AI, fintech, payments infrastructure, healthcare diagnostics, digital risk and fraud, insurance distribution, compliance, and content/IP monetization. businesswire.com
  • 2026leadership
    Iris Sun was promoted to Partner at 500 Global, recognized for her work in AI investing and founder relationship-building. linkedin.com
  • 2026investment
    500 Global co-led DeepInfra's $107M Series B alongside Georges Harik, with participation from A.Capital Ventures and Crescent Cove. linkedin.com
  • 2026investment
    500 Global backed Elorian AI's $55M seed round led by Striker Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Altimeter, and NVIDIA. Elorian focuses on spatial and visual understanding for AI. linkedin.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Christine Tsai · Co-Founder & CEO
  • Courtney Powell · COO
  • Mei Chel Tan · Global Managing Partner
  • Sung Woo Ahn · Partner, Seoul

Sources

Other VCs in United States

Explore VCs by sector

Globally

Frequently asked

What is 500 Global?+

500 Global is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2010, headquartered in San Francisco, CA. It manages $2.

Where is 500 Global headquartered?+

500 Global is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.

When was 500 Global founded?+

500 Global was founded in 2010 by Dave McClure, Christine Tsai.

What sectors does 500 Global invest in?+

500 Global focuses on generalist. They primarily invest in these sectors.

Who is the CEO of 500 Global?+

Christine Tsai is the CEO of 500 Global.

How do I prepare for a meeting with 500 Global?+

Brief generates a structured pre-meeting briefing on any person at 500 Global — quick read, recent activity, points of view, and conversation openers tailored to what you sell. Sign in to get personalised openers for your product.

Meeting with someone at 500 Global?

Brief generates a structured pre-meeting briefing on any person in seconds.

Try Brief →

Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated August 20, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →