January Ventures

Quick read

January Ventures is a pre-seed VC firm founded in 2018, headquartered in Boston, MA with a presence in London. Previously known as Jane VC, it backs B2B software founders — especially those from underrepresented backgrounds — at the angel and pre-seed stage in the US and Europe. Fund III began deploying in April 2025, and the firm has made 50+ investments to date across enterprise software, fintech, digital health, and AI.

Key facts

Founded

2018

Founders

Maren Bannon, Jennifer Keiser Neundorfer

Employees

10-50

Sectors

generalist, saas, fintech, healthcare, ai

Website

www.january.ventures/

Investment thesis

January Ventures invests at the angel and pre-seed stage in B2B software startups — primarily future of work, fintech, and digital health — in the US and Europe. The firm deliberately replaces the friends-and-family round by accepting cold applications, backing founders on tenacity rather than pedigree, and prioritising underrepresented founders.

Recent activity

• Feb 2026investment
  January Ventures invested in Flock AI, a business and productivity software company, as part of Fund III's active deployment. f4.fund
• Apr 2025fundraise
  Fund III opened for deployment in April 2025 and is actively investing across healthcare, manufacturing, AI, and enterprise software. f4.fund
• Nov 2025press
  Co-founder Jennifer Neundorfer appeared on TechCrunch's Equity podcast at TechCrunch Disrupt, discussing AI market dynamics, funding trends for underrepresented founders, and venture markets outside San Francisco. techcrunch.com
• Nov 2025investment
  As of November 2025, January Ventures had invested in 46 companies total, with 3 new investments in the prior 12 months. Most recent disclosed deal: led rye.energy's $1.16M seed round alongside CapitalT, with participation from Earth Capital. tracxn.com
• 2025investment
  Portfolio company Ultralight closed $9.3M in seed funding. Ultralight builds an AI-powered operating system for longevity and personalized medicine clinics. linkedin.com
• 2025press
  Co-founder Maren Bannon spoke at the Precursor Ventures Pre-seed Bootcamp in London, advising European founders on raising US capital. linkedin.com
• 2025press
  Maren Bannon confirmed she shifted her social media activity from X to LinkedIn, citing stronger engagement with target audiences. She had not posted on X in over a year. ideas.everywhere.vc
• Feb 2026investment
  January Ventures invested in Flock AI, a business/productivity software company, marking the firm's most recent known deal. pitchbook.com
• Apr 2025fundraise
  Fund III opened for deployment in April 2025. The fund represents a significant step up from Fund II's $21M, with reported assets over $200M. superscout.co
• Nov 2025press
  Jennifer Neundorfer appeared on TechCrunch's Equity podcast at TechCrunch Disrupt, discussing fundraising in an AI-heavy market, funding trends for minority and women founders, and venture activity outside San Francisco. techcrunch.com
• Nov 2025press
  Co-founder Jennifer Keiser Neundorfer appeared on TechCrunch's Equity podcast at Disrupt to discuss fundraising in an AI-driven market, funding for diverse founders, and venture activity outside San Francisco. techcrunch.com
• Apr 2025fundraise
  Fund III opened for deployment, with the firm actively writing pre-seed checks across healthcare, manufacturing, and AI domains. f4.fund

Notable investments

• Flock AIPre-seedFeb 2026f4.fund
• UltralightSeed2025linkedin.com
• rye.energySeed2025tracxn.com
• Flock AISeedFeb 2026pitchbook.com
• Flock AIPre-seed/SeedFeb 2026pitchbook.com
• UltralightSeed ($9.3M)2025linkedin.com
• rye.energySeed ($1.16M)2024tracxn.com
• Vault PlatformAcquiredtracxn.com
• SonanticAcquiredtracxn.com

Key people

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

• Jennifer Keiser Neundorfer · Co-Founder & Managing Partner
  LinkedIn
• Maren Bannon · Co-Founder & Partner
  LinkedIn

Sources

• January Ventures – Official Website
• January Ventures – Team
• January Ventures – Tracxn Profile
• January Ventures – PitchBook
• TechCrunch – Jennifer Neundorfer on Equity Podcast
• January Ventures – Investment Thesis & Preferences
• January Ventures – LinkedIn
• Maren Bannon – LinkedIn
• January Ventures – OpenVC
• January Ventures – VC Sheet
• https://superscout.co/investor/january-ventures
• https://ideas.everywhere.vc/p/vc-twitter-is-moving-to-linkedinheres

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