Pre-seed & seed VC, US

Notation Capital

Venture capital firm · Brooklyn, NY · Founded 2015

Quick read

Notation Capital is a pre-seed and seed-stage VC firm founded in 2015 by Nick Chirls and Alex Lines, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. It's NYC's first dedicated pre-seed fund, writing first checks into very early technical teams — often pre-product or pre-market. The firm runs 80+ portfolio companies and is known for unusual transparency: a public operating manual on GitHub and a podcast demystifying LP decision-making.

Key facts

Founded
2015
Founders
Nick Chirls, Alex Lines
Employees
5-7
Sectors
generalist, ai, devtools, fintech, crypto
Website
notation.vc

Investment thesis

Notation writes the first check into very early-stage technical teams — often pre-product or pre-market — primarily in New York, across enterprise software, AI/ML, devtools, and crypto, providing capital and hands-on support to help founders go from zero to go-to-market.

Recent activity

  • Apr 2026investment
    Notation made its latest investment in Photon Health, a healthcare enterprise systems company. pitchbook.com
  • Jun 2025investment
    Notation led the pre-seed round for Amperon, an energy analytics startup focused on grid decarbonization. amperon.co
  • Feb 2025press
    Notation was cited alongside Afore Capital and K9 Ventures in PitchBook's coverage of the bulging pre-seed market as Afore raised $185M for its fourth fund. tracxn.com
  • Sep 2022investment
    Notation participated in QA Wolf's $20M Series A led by Inspired Capital, alongside Operator Partners and Thiel Capital. leadiq.com
  • Oct 2022investment
    Notation led the $3.5M seed round for Wayfinder Biosciences, an RNA design company, alongside Divergent Capital. leadiq.com
  • 2022leadership
    Former Messari director Katherine Wu joined Notation Capital as a partner, adding crypto-legal expertise to the team. zoominfo.com

Notable investments

Key people

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

  • Nick Chirls · Co-Founder & Partner
  • Alex Lines · Co-Founder & Partner

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Notation Capital?+

Notation Capital is a pre-seed and seed-stage VC firm founded in 2015 by Nick Chirls and Alex Lines, headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. It's NYC's first dedicated pre-seed fund, writing first checks into very early technical teams — often pre-product or pre-market.

Where is Notation Capital headquartered?+

Notation Capital is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, United States.

When was Notation Capital founded?+

Notation Capital was founded in 2015 by Nick Chirls, Alex Lines.

What sectors does Notation Capital invest in?+

Notation Capital focuses on generalist, ai, devtools, fintech, crypto. They primarily invest in these sectors.

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

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated June 5, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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