About First Star Ventures
First Star Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2014. It is primarily based out of Cambridge, United States. As of Nov 2025, First Star Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 49 companies, with 2 new investments in the last 12 months. 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 High Tech and Food and Agriculture Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Extellis Overall, First Star Ventures portfolio has seen 1 unicorn, 2 IPOs and 12 acquisitions including key companies like SugarCRM, Ambarella and Swiftly. A lot of funds co-invest with First Star Ventures, with names like Khosla Ventures sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. First Star Ventures has team of 3 people including 2 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
First Star Ventures' List of Top Investments
First Star Ventures has a portfolio of 49 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investments are in Iorgan and Bot Auto.Their portfolio spans across United States, Canada, United Kingdom and 2 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Food and Agriculture Tech and 22 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by First Star Ventures:
1. SugarCRM
AI-based open-source CRM software. The platform enables collaboration across the customer lifecycle with features such as revenue analytics, automation of sales and marketing, customer service, and case routing. It caters to marketing, sales, and services teams.
Key facts about SugarCRM
- Founded Year: 2004
- Location: Cupertino (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $152M
- Employee Count: 575 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: SeedFord Partners, Millennium Technology Value Partners and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Aug 10, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
2. Ambarella
Manufacturer of AI-enabled image processors. The platform provides users with solutions for ADAS, security cameras, and autonomous driving. It also offers chip architecture based on the computer-vision algorithm it produces. Its features include low power consumption, optimized compression efficiency, and image quality.
Key facts about Ambarella
- Founded Year: 2004
- Location: Santa Clara (United States)
- Annual Revenue: $100M - $500M as on Jan 31, 2026
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $15.4M
- Employee Count: 778 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Northgate Capital, Riverwood Capital and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Jul 17, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Public
3. Swiftly
Provider of retail technology platform for grocers and consumer brands. The platform offers solutions for audience optimization, alcohol cashback, and retail media networks. It provides tools to personalize content, enhance customer engagement, and improve targeting across digital touchpoints. The platform aims to help retailers and brands connect with shoppers and increase sales.
Key facts about Swiftly
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Seattle (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $220M
- Employee Count: 178 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, Liquid 2 Ventures and 12 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Sep 19, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Developer of software defined radio hardware and network management systems. This technology enables the deployment of wireless infrastructure across multiple generations of cellular standards. The architecture utilizes cloud native principles to facilitate network orchestration and automation. These systems support various deployment scenarios for indoor and outdoor wireless coverage and capacity requirements. The platform provides tools for monitoring and managing network performance through centralized software control.
Key facts about Parallel Wireless
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: Nashua (United States)
- Annual Revenue: ₹100 - ₹500 Cr as on Mar 31, 2025
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $20M
- Employee Count: 791 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: G Squared, Mojo.capital and 5 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Jan 01, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Resilinc
Cloud-based supply chain risk and resilience management software. It provides supply chain resilience and risk management intelligence and analytics. It helps companies to prepare for unexpected risk events, respond and recover quickly from disruptions, and manage risks.
Key facts about Resilinc
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: Milpitas (United States)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $15M
- Employee Count: 284 as on Apr 30, 2026
- Investors: Shasta Ventures, Trinity Capital and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, May 08, 2023, $*****
First Star Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
First Star Ventures has invested in 49 companies over the last 12 years, with an average of 3 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 3 investments. Its most recent first time investment was in Extellis and most recent follow-on round was in Bedrock Energy.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2024 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
2023 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
2022 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
2021 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2020 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2019 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2018 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
2017 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
First Star Ventures' Investments by Stage
First Star Ventures has made 17 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $4.63M, 10 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $14.1M and 1 investment in Series C stage with an average round size of $71M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 17 |
Series A | 10 |
Series C | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
First Star Ventures' Investments by Sector
First Star Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Life Sciences, Vertical SaaS and Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications. Notably, it has invested in 44 Tech companies, 42 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 37 Software companies and at least 20 companies focusing on Saas.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 19 |
High Tech | 9 |
Life Sciences | 5 |
Vertical SaaS | 5 |
Artificial Intelligence - Industry Applications | 4 |
Others | 43 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
First Star Ventures' Investments by Geography
First Star Ventures has made most investments in United States (23), followed by Canada where it has made 3 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 23 |
Canada | 3 |
Iceland | 1 |
Israel | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
First Star Ventures' recent investments
First Star Ventures has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by First Star Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 10, 2025 | United States | Seed | 7419 | [+4] | |
Nov 04, 2025 | United States | Seed | 9133 | [+4] | |
Jan 22, 2025 | United States | Series A | 4794 | [+7] | |
Oct 21, 2024 | Canada | Seed | 3561 | [+1] | |
Sep 27, 2024 | United States | Seed | 6195 |
Unicorns in First Star Ventures' Portfolio
First Star Ventures has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - Swiftly. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Swiftly which became a unicorn in 2022, 3 years before First Star Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in First Star Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
65 | Provider of retail technology platform for grocers and consumer brands | 2017 | Seattle | Series C | uahtqja |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in First Star Ventures' Portfolio
2 of First Star Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. Cambridge Cognition got listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in Apr 2013 at marketcap of $112M and Ambarella got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) at marketcap of $56.1M.Here are First Star Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 18, 2013 | - | - | 1807 | |
Oct 10, 2012 | - | - | 5580 |
Acquired companies in First Star Ventures' Portfolio
12 companies from First Star Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Talla in Jul 2023 by Bloomfire for $*****.Here are First Star Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 19, 2023 | - | - | 7127 | |
Jul 14, 2023 | Oct 06, 2022 | Series A | 5545 | |
Jan 13, 2023 | Feb 16, 2016 | Series A | 4808 | |
Jan 11, 2023 | Nov 18, 2019 | Series A | 8294 | |
Oct 25, 2022 | May 13, 2015 | Seed | 3715 |
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Team profile of First Star Ventures
First Star Ventures has a team of 3 members including 2 Partners and 1 Venture Partner located in United States and Singapore. First Star Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in First Star Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Boston | - | ||
Partner | Cambridge | - | ||
Venture Partner | Singapore | - |
Co-investors of First Star Ventures
Over the past 12 years, 169 investors have co-invested in First Star Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before First Star Ventures: Climate Capital, Trinity Capital and 23 others have invested in rounds before First Star Ventures. There are 2 companies where Climate Capital has invested before First Star Ventures and 1 company where Trinity Capital has invested before First Star Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of First Star Ventures: 93 investors entered a company along with First Star Ventures. These include investors like Khosla Ventures (2 companies).
- Invested after First Star Ventures: A total of 51 investors have invested in First Star Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include National Science Foundation (2 companies), Partech Partners (1 company) and Inventus Capital Partners (1 company).
Recent News related to First Star Ventures
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Bedrock Energy Raises $12M Series A to Scale Geothermal Heating and Coolingintelligence360•Feb 06, 2025•Bedrock Energy, Titanium Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Sustainable Future Ventures and 6 others
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Bedrock Energy Raises $12M in Series A FundingFinSMEs•Jan 22, 2025•Bedrock Energy, Titanium Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, Sustainable Future Ventures and 6 others
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Atlanta Deep Tech Team Lands Over $7 Million Seed RoundHypepotamus•Jan 15, 2025•SoloPulse, First Spark Ventures, EVE Atlas, Georgia Tech Foundation and 9 others
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Phaseshift Technologies Closes US $3 (CA $4.1) Million Seed Financing to Design Next-Generation Materials Using A.I.intelligence360•Oct 31, 2024•Phaseshift, Innospark, Draper, First Star Ventures and 1 other
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Phaseshift Technologies: Advanced Materials Company Raises $3 Million (Seed)Pulse 2.0•Oct 22, 2024•Phaseshift, Innospark, Draper, First Star Ventures and 1 other
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Bot Auto Secures $20M in Pre-A Funding to Commercially Deploy Autonomous Truckingintelligence360•Oct 10, 2024•Bot Auto, Brightway Future Capita, Cherubic Ventures, EnvisionX Capital and 6 others
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Hou Xiaodi's New Company Botauto Announced The Completion Of $20 Million Pre-a Round Of FinancingInvestorscn•Oct 03, 2024•, Linear Venture, M31 Capital, Brightway Future Capita and 6 others
