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 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
  • 2026investment
    500 Global invested in humans&'s $480M seed round. The company is building AI products described as next-generation AI neolab. linkedin.com
  • 2026leadership
    500 Global appointed Sung Woo Ahn as Partner to lead its Seoul office. businesswire.com
  • 2026press
    500 Global co-hosted a private dinner with Shell Foundation during London Climate Action Week, bringing together leaders from investment, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship. linkedin.com
  • 2025leadership
    500 Global appointed Sung Woo Ahn as Partner to lead its Seoul office and head 500 Korea. Ahn brings 20+ years across private equity, investment banking, and management consulting, most recently as President and CIO of Mirae Asset Global Investments' PE division, where he chaired the Investment Committee and led a KRW 516B fund anchored by Korea's National Pension Service. 500.co
  • 2025investment
    500 Global co-led RemotePass's $17.4M oversubscribed Series B alongside EBRD VC. RemotePass is an HR and fintech platform for global workforces, headquartered in MENA. linkedin.com
  • 2025investment
    500 Global co-led DeepInfra's $107M Series B in equity and debt alongside Georges Harik, with participation from A.Capital Ventures, Crescent Cove Advisors, Felicis, NVIDIA, PEAK6, Samsung Next, and Supermicro. DeepInfra is building an inference cloud platform. linkedin.com
  • 2025investment
    500 Global participated in Vision Lab's $6M seed round, led by Race Capital, alongside Y Combinator and Foothill Ventures. linkedin.com
  • 2025investment
    Portfolio company Elorian AI closed a $55M seed round led by Striker Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Altimeter, and NVIDIA. 500 Global backed the company from day one. 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

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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?+

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

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