Pre-seed & seed VC, US

Cleo Capital

Venture capital firm · San Francisco · Founded 2018

Quick read

Cleo Capital is a generalist pre-seed and seed VC fund founded by Sarah Kunst in 2018, headquartered in San Francisco. The fund writes $500K–$1M checks, typically targeting ~15% ownership, and leads rounds in Delaware C-corps with software businesses. It has backed companies across fintech, consumer, climate, and beyond, including Ellevest, FalconX, and KoBold Metals.

Key facts

Founded
2018
Founders
Sarah Kunst
Employees
8
Sectors
generalist
Website
www.cleocap.com/

Investment thesis

Cleo Capital backs exceptional founders at pre-seed and seed, writing $500K–$1M checks for a ~15% stake in Delaware C-corps building software companies with multi-billion-dollar potential. The fund is generalist but has defined focus areas in the Future of Income, Complicated Consumer, Decentralized Enterprise, and, most recently, Energy and Fertilizer.

Recent activity

  • Oct 2025investment
    Cleo Capital achieved an exit from Groq, an AI chip startup, which reached a $6.9 billion valuation. superscout.co
  • 2026press
    Managing Director Sarah Kunst named to the 2026 Forbes Midas Brink List. linkedin.com
  • 2025investment
    Cleo Capital confirmed a $250,000 pre-seed investment, continuing its focus on early-stage software companies. superscout.co
  • Nov 2024product
    Cleo Capital launched a $250K cybersecurity accelerator program. crunchbase.com
  • 2026press
    Sarah Kunst appeared on Bloomberg Television discussing Apple's legal ruling, tariffs, Meta's AI pivot, and Microsoft's cloud strategy. cleocap.com
  • 2026press
    Sarah Kunst appeared on CNBC Worldwide Exchange discussing Apple's device sales outlook and Alphabet's AI positioning. cleocap.com
  • 2026press
    Sarah Kunst named to the 2026 Forbes Midas Brink List, recognizing her as a rising figure in venture capital. linkedin.com
  • 2026press
    Sarah Kunst named to the 2026 Forbes Midas Brink List. linkedin.com
  • 2025product
    Cleo Capital announced a new thesis area focused on Energy and Fertilizer startups, actively soliciting pitches in that space. linkedin.com

Notable investments

Key people

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

  • Sarah Kunst · Managing Director
    LinkedIn

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Cleo Capital?+

Cleo Capital is a generalist pre-seed and seed VC fund founded by Sarah Kunst in 2018, headquartered in San Francisco. The fund writes $500K–$1M checks, typically targeting ~15% ownership, and leads rounds in Delaware C-corps with software businesses.

Where is Cleo Capital headquartered?+

Cleo Capital is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.

When was Cleo Capital founded?+

Cleo Capital was founded in 2018 by Sarah Kunst.

What sectors does Cleo Capital invest in?+

Cleo Capital focuses on generalist. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Cleo Capital?+

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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 →