Brainworks Ventures, AI-native venture capital fund led by DARPA alumnus Dr. Phillip Alvelda and a global team of veteran investors and innovators, announced the launch of its $50 million fund designed for what Managing Partner Dr. Alvelda calls “the new mathematics of AI-native companies.”
The fund is targeting a first close of $15 million by Q1 2026, with “a target fund size of $50 million, scalable to $75 million.”
The company understands the venture capital playbook that has driven Silicon Valley for the past 20 years is “broken and the transformation they’re betting on is exponential.”
Brainworks Ventures’ initial fund will focus “on AI applications, infrastructure, and tooling, healthcare and life sciences, enterprise productivity, and education.”
With investment sizes ranging from $250,000 to $10 million and geographic reach across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Brainworks aims to capture “AI-native founders wherever they’re building.”
Alongside Alvelda, Brainworks brings together Volker Hirsch, who has reportedly spent 13 years investing in early-stage companies, “including 6 years as Partner at Amadeus Capital Partners, often called Europe’s most active AI investor, whose recent exits include OrganOx (acquired by Terumo) and Cryptosense (acquired by Eric Schmidt-chaired SandboxAQ).”
Louis Rajczi, with 14 years at Forté Ventures and 9 years at Siemens Venture Capital, “rounds out the advisory team.”
The team has reportedly collaborated for over 2 decades, “beginning in 2000, long before AI became fashionable.”
Upon selling his low power AI chip business, Dr. Ryad Benoseman credits Alvelda with “offering the critical support to create his company.”
Where, according to Pitchbook, cloud-era startups typically “needed $150 million across five financing rounds and 12 years to reach a listing, AI-native companies are reaching similar outcomes with as little as $6 million in capital in less than four years.”
Co-founder and Managing Partner, Phillip Alvelda, reportedly turned $25 million in initial company formation grants “from the government into a portfolio of health-tech companies valued at over $2 billion while serving as the Director of DARPA’s Neural Engineering Systems Design program.”
That type of track record in identifying AI companies early, and supporting them with “real operating experience to achieve significant and impactful outcomes, forms the foundation of the Brainworks Ventures thesis.”
By using artificial intelligence to automate deal flow, portfolio design, diligence, and operations, the team has “expanded its capacity to source, review, analyze deals and support its portfolio companies compared to traditional venture funds.”
As noted in the update, Brainworks Ventures is an AI-native venture capital fund investing “in pre-seed, seed, and Series A companies that leverage artificial intelligence to solve global challenges.”
Operating as a fund with AI-enabled operations, Brainworks partners with AI-native startups to build “transformative technology companies.”
With expertise reportedly spanning AI research, company building, and venture investing across four continents, the Brainworks team brings “experience to the AI venture landscape.”