20 early stage venture capital firms in New York [2024]

Are you looking to secure investment for your startup growth in New York? Early-stage venture activity is high in Manhattan. But with so many VCs to choose from, finding the right fit can feel overwhelming.

To make it easier, we’ve compiled a go-to list of active New York venture capital firms, with details like their investment focus and notable portfolio companies to help you find the right backer for your startup’s journey.

1. Union Square Ventures

Investment focus: Transforming tech sectors, focusing on internet services like fintech, enterprise, cryptocurrency, and consumer tech.

They’re great because: they have a well-established track record with iconic tech companies and are known for their thoughtful, founder-focused approach.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Twitter, Etsy, Coinbase, Twilio.

Investment stage: Early-stage, Growth-stage, Late-stage

Investments made: 480+

2. Lux Capital

Investment focus: Deep tech, life sciences, and innovative hardware, investing in science and tech ventures like engineering, aerospace, physics, and biochemistry.

They’re great because: they’re known for backing transformative scientific and technological ventures and supporting long-term innovation.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Mythic, Shapeways, VulnCheck.

Investment stage: Pre-seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 200+

3. Greycroft

Investment focus: Tech startups across fintech, healthcare, consumer internet, and enterprise software, focusing on internet and mobile markets.

They’re great because: they have a diverse portfolio with both early and growth-stage investments, along with a strong presence in NYC and LA.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Venmo, Scopely, The RealReal.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 500+

4. FirstMark

Investment focus: Early-stage tech companies in enterprise, consumer, and frontier tech sectors.

They’re great because: they have a hands-on approach to supporting startups and are well-connected within the NYC ecosystem.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Pinterest, Shopify, Riot Games.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 200+

5. FJ Labs

Investment focus: Invests broadly but focuses on marketplaces, ecommerce, and tech-enabled services, especially businesses with network effects.

They’re great because: they have a founder-friendly approach and a large network, investing in hundreds of startups globally.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Airbnb, Mubi, Shopify.

Investment stage: Stage-agnostic

Investments made: 1000+

6. Insight Partners

Investment focus: Software, internet, and data service companies.

They’re great because: they have extensive resources for scaling companies and a strong track record of IPOs.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Twitter, Shopify, Wix.

Investment stage: Early-stage, Growth-stage, Late-stage

Investments made: 800+

7. Thrive Capital

Investment focus: Media, software, fintech, and internet companies.

They’re great because: they are early backers of some of the largest tech firms, known for supporting transformative businesses.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Stripe, OpenAI, GitHub.

Investment stage: Early-stage, Growth-stage, Late-stage

Investments made: 400+

8. Tiger Global Management

Investment focus: Internet, software, consumer, and fintech sectors globally.

They’re great because: they have a significant international presence and invest in leading tech companies worldwide.

Notable companies in their portfolio: UiPath, Shein, Blank Street Coffee, LinkedIn.

Investment stage: Early-stage, Growth-stage, Late-stage, Pre-IPO

Investments made: 1,300+

9. Lerer Hippeau

Investment focus: Tech, media, healthcare, and consumer startups.

They’re great because: they are one of NYC’s most active seed-stage funds, supporting founders with comprehensive resources.

Notable companies in their portfolio: BuzzFeed, Casper, Allbirds.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 700+

10. BoxGroup

Investment focus: Technology companies generally.

They’re great because: they’re founder-friendly and open to investing in a broad array of sectors.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Blue Apron, ClassPass, Glossier.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 800+

11. RRE Ventures

Investment focus: Startups in software, media, financial services, internet, and communications.

They’re great because: they’ve been a staple in NYC’s venture scene since the 90s, with a founder-first investment style.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Venmo, Business Insider, BuzzFeed.

Investment stage: Early-stage

Investments made: 650+

12. AlleyCorp

Investment focus: Tech startups, focusing on healthcare, consumer, and SaaS sectors.

They’re great because: they incubate many of their portfolio companies, helping founders from concept through to scale.

Notable companies in their portfolio: MongoDB, Business Insider, Gilt Groupe.

Investment stage: Early-stage

Investments made: 100+

13. Primary Venture Partners

Investment focus: Companies in business products, mobile, software, IT, enterprise SaaS, commerce, manufacturing, and energy.

They’re great because: they’re dedicated to building NYC’s tech ecosystem and have a team of specialists to support portfolio companies.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Mirror, K Health, Slice.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 250+

14. Andreessen Horowitz

Investment focus: Technology companies across consumer tech, enterprise software, biotech, fintech, and crypto.

They’re great because: they bring extensive resources to portfolio companies, from recruitment to regulatory support.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Airbnb, Coinbase, Stripe.

Investment stage: Early-stage, Growth-stage, Late-stage

Investments made: 1,700+

15. Two Sigma Ventures

Investment focus: Data-driven tech startups in data science, healthcare, and fintech at early and growth stages.

They’re great because: they leverage deep expertise in data science to support their investments.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Bark, Socure, Remote.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 200+

16. Gaingels

Investment focus: Invests across sectors, focusing on LGBTQIA+ founders and diverse leadership.

They’re great because: they prioritize underrepresented founders and diversity in their investments.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Better, Carta, Eight Sleep.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 800+

17. Accel Partners

Investment focus: Technology companies across sectors like cloud, consumer internet, and fintech.

They’re great because: they have decades of experience backing iconic companies and helping them scale.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Facebook, Slack, Spotify.

Investment stage: Early-stage, Growth-stage, Late-stage

Investments made: 2,559+

18. SOSV

Investment focus: Deep tech and life sciences startups, with accelerator programs in hardware, life sciences, and food.

They’re great because: they run several accelerator programs and have a vast network in the deep tech space.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Formlabs, Opentrons, NotCo.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 2,800+

19. Fifth Wall Ventures

Investment focus: Focused on PropTech, invests in tech solutions for real estate, addressing climate change, infrastructure, and housing accessibility.

They’re great because: they focus on addressing critical real estate issues like sustainability, efficiency, and innovation in real estate and construction.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Aurora Solar, Blend, Doma.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage, Growth-stage

Investments made: 170+

20. Plug and Play Tech Center

Investment focus: Technology startups across various sectors, including fintech, IoT, and health, from pre-seed to growth stages.

They’re great because: they connect startups with large corporations for partnerships and growth.

Notable companies in their portfolio: Dropbox, PayPal, Lending Club.

Investment stage: Seed, Early-stage

Investments made: 1,500+

Raising money this year?

If you’re raising investment for your startup, the below resource could help you understand more about startup funding and how to raise it.

QSBS: The tax break founders need to know about: Our QSBS guide for founders breaks down how you could use qualified small business stock to be able to save your investors and yourself a lot of tax.