About Brainchild
Brainchild is a venture capital firm founded in 2009. It is primarily based out of New York City, United States. As of Sep 2020, Brainchild has invested in 120 companies. It primarily invests in Seed round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to Consumer and Retail. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series C round of Biorez Overall, Brainchild portfolio has seen 6 unicorns, 7 IPOs and 50 acquisitions including key companies like Warby Parker, Hinge and Oscar. A lot of funds co-invest with Brainchild, with names like BoxGroup sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio.Key Metrics
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Soonicorns
Brainchild's List of Top Investments
Brainchild has a portfolio of 120 companies, including 6 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in The Wing and Hero.Their portfolio spans across United States, Canada, Indonesia and 2 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, Consumer, Retail and 26 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by Brainchild:1. Warby Parker
Internet first brand offering eyewear for men and women. The product catalog includes eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, and other eyewear accessories. The company also provides home-try-on program for customers to choose frames from the website.
Key facts about Warby Parker
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $500M - $1B as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $573M
- Employee Count: 2,758 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: T. Rowe Price, equitywestsecurities.com and 36 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series F, Aug 27, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Gusto
Cloud-based payroll, benefits, and HR software for small and medium-sized businesses. Its core offering is software delivered online, with API integrations and automation features designed to help SMBs manage back-office operations more efficiently.
Key facts about Gusto
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $718M
- Employee Count: 4,474 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, Glynn Capital and 85 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, May 13, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Hinge
App-based platform offering personality-based dating and matchmaking services. The platform enables users to get matched profile and initiate a conversation based on their personality. It offers features like an engaging platform, in-app chatting, and more. The mobile application is available for both Android and iOS platforms.
Key facts about Hinge
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $26.8M
- Employee Count: 516 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Shasta Ventures, Graph Ventures and 18 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Dec 24, 2014, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
4. Oscar
Provider of health insurance plans offering virtual and in-person medical care. The organization facilitates access to prescription medications and virtual urgent care services. It offers resources such as a care team and a network of doctors. The entity provides options for individuals, families, and businesses seeking health coverage.
Key facts about Oscar
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $1B+ as on Dec 31, 2025
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $1.63B
- Employee Count: 2,738 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, Glynn Capital and 47 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Dec 17, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
5. ClassPass
ClassPass is a membership program for fitness classes across multiple gyms and studios. Members can access multiple varieties of classes and engagement in their fitness regime, all at a fixed price. Participating studios benefit by attracting new students and profitably filling excess capacity in classes. ClassPass has also started corporate membership programs.
Key facts about ClassPass
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: New York City (United States)
- Last Known Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $550M
- Employee Count: 914 as on Jun 30, 2026
- Investors: eversourcecap.com, Spur Capital and 64 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Jan 08, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
Brainchild's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Brainchild has invested in 120 companies over the last 16 years, with an average of 1 new investment annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in Biorez and most recent follow-on round was in Heyday.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2018 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
2017 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Brainchild's Investments by Stage
Brainchild has made 7 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $1.42M, 5 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $9.22M and 2 investments in Series C stage with an average round size of $16.8M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 7 |
Series A | 5 |
Series C | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Brainchild's Investments by Sector
Brainchild has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Consumer, HealthTech, High Tech, Retail and Enterprise Applications. Notably, it has invested in 109 Tech companies, 64 Consumer (B2C) companies, 61 Enterprise (B2B) companies and at least 61 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Consumer | 6 |
HealthTech | 4 |
High Tech | 4 |
Retail | 4 |
Enterprise Applications | 3 |
Others | 16 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Brainchild's Investments by Geography
Brainchild has made most investments in United States (14).Brainchild's recent investments
Brainchild has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Brainchild:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 09, 2020 | United States | Series C | 5812 | [+3] | |
Feb 27, 2019 | United States | Series C | 9989 | [+3] | |
Nov 13, 2018 | United States | Series A | 8391 | [+3] | |
Oct 24, 2018 | United States | Seed | 9429 | [+1] | |
Oct 16, 2018 | United States | Series A | 6763 |
Unicorns in Brainchild's Portfolio
Brainchild has 6 unicorns in its portfolio - SeatGeek, Astranis, Color and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is SeatGeek. It became a unicorn in 2022, 11 years after Brainchild first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Brainchild's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 | Company providing a digital platform that enables users to search and book events | 2009 | New York City | Series E | gchvuws | ||
65 | Developer of satellite-based communication services | 2015 | San Francisco | Series E | mrnrpka | ||
66 | Provider of end-to-end Virtual clinic offering cancer-based solutions | 2013 | Burlingame | Series E | ajg{slt | ||
66 | Provider of AI platform delivering real-time event, threat, and risk intelligence | 2009 | New York City | Series F | fqiyoyk | ||
69 | Provider of medicare advantage plans and related services | 2014 | Jersey City | Series E | bquolpb |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Brainchild's Portfolio
7 of Brainchild's portfolio companies have become public. Reformation got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in Jul 2026 at marketcap of $886M and Sweetgreen got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at marketcap of $3B.Here are Brainchild's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 30, 2026 | - | - | 1375 | |
Nov 18, 2021 | - | - | 1587 | |
Nov 03, 2021 | - | - | 7097 | |
Sep 29, 2021 | - | - | 2422 | |
Mar 03, 2021 | - | - | 9691 |
Acquired companies in Brainchild's Portfolio
50 companies from Brainchild's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was The New York Distilling Company in May 2025 by Loch Lomond Group for $*****.Here are Brainchild's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
May 21, 2025 | - | - | 4417 | |
Jan 30, 2025 | - | - | 6452 | |
Sep 30, 2024 | - | - | 4855 | |
Jun 04, 2024 | - | - | 3467 | |
Apr 29, 2024 | - | - | 1730 |
Co-investors of Brainchild
Over the past 16 years, 156 investors have co-invested in Brainchild's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Brainchild: SV Angel, Y Combinator and 32 others have invested in rounds before Brainchild. There are 2 companies where SV Angel has invested before Brainchild and 2 companies where Y Combinator has invested before Brainchild.
- Top Co-investors of Brainchild: 56 investors entered a company along with Brainchild. These include investors like BoxGroup (4 companies).
- Invested after Brainchild: A total of 66 investors have invested in Brainchild's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include L Catterton (1 company), Apax (1 company) and Temasek (1 company).
Recent News related to Brainchild
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ShiftOne App Reduces Restaurant Turnover Probability by 50%, Raises $2.6 Million Seed Follow OnPR Newswire•Feb 26, 2019•ShiftOne, Presto, The Entrepreneurs' Fund, Bowery Capital and 8 others
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Heyday Closes Series A Fundraise with over $8 Million Raised as Part of National Expansion, Led by Fifth WallBusiness Wire•Nov 13, 2018•Heyday, Fifth Wall Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, M3 Ventures and 2 others
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This NYC Startup Just Raised Another $8M for the Most Personalized Facial AvailableAlleyWatch•Nov 13, 2018•Heyday, Heyday, Fifth Wall Ventures, Lerer Hippeau and 3 others
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Connected closed-loop adherence platform Hero launches to consumers with $12M backingMobiHealthNews•Oct 16, 2018•Hero, Brainchild, Third Kind Venture Capital, BoxGroup and 9 others
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Backbone PLM Raises $8 Million in Series A FundingBusiness Wire•Aug 15, 2018•Backbone PLM, Signal Peak, Grotech Ventures, Spider Capita and 3 others
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Mirror raises $13 million for virtual fitness classesTechCrunch+•Feb 06, 2018•, , Spark Capital, Lerer Hippeau and 4 others
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This NYC Startup Just Raised $3M to Transform the Modern Day FacialAlleyWatch•Nov 10, 2017•Heyday, Brainchild, Lerer Hippeau, Rosecliff Ventures
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Cabin Raises Over $3M in Seed Funding |FinSMEsFinSMEs•Jun 28, 2017•Ridecabin, Founders Fund, SV Angel, Floodgate and 5 others
