About Prelude Ventures
Prelude Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 1998. It is primarily based out of San Francisco, United States. As of Aug 2026, Prelude Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 98 companies, with 9 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Series A round in United States based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from High Tech to Enterprise Applications and Environment Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series B round of Quaise Overall, Prelude Ventures portfolio has seen 5 unicorns, 6 IPOs and 11 acquisitions including key companies like Lime, Planet and QuantumScape. A lot of funds co-invest with Prelude Ventures, with names like Breakthrough Energy sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Prelude Ventures has team of 5 people including 2 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Series A, Seed & 6 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Deals in last 12 months
Prelude Ventures' List of Top Investments
Prelude Ventures has a portfolio of 98 companies, including 5 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Renew Financial and Ripple Foods.Their portfolio spans across United States, Canada, United Kingdom and 4 more locations. They have invested in High Tech, Enterprise Applications, Environment Tech and 24 other sectors, across stages such as Series A, Seed and 6 more. Here is the list of top investments by Prelude Ventures:1. Lime
App-based rental platform providing self-drive electric kick-scooter. The platform enables users to find the nearest available scooter and start the ride by scanning their QR code or access code. Users should provide rider details, payment details, location, and more for book the scooter. It offers features like variant payment options, and more. At the end of the ride, users can park the vehicle at their legal locations. Their mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices
Key facts about Lime
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $1.71B
- Employee Count: 2,761 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Meritech, Star Tech NG and 99 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Jul 04, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Planet
Provider of daily satellite imagery and geospatial data analytics services. The organization offers high-frequency imagery, mosaics, on-demand tasking, and analytic feeds. It transforms imagery into insights, providing data for monitoring, change detection, and analysis. The company delivers data products and cloud-based tools, offering solutions across various industries.
Key facts about Planet
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $602M
- Employee Count: 1,749 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Western Technology Investment, HighGear Ventures and 54 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Sep 12, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Public
3. QuantumScape
Developer of solid-state lithium-metal battery technology for electric vehicle applications. The company focuses on next-generation batteries designed for greater energy density and faster charging. The technology aims to enhance safety to support the transition to a lower carbon future. The company developed an anode-less cell design to deliver high energy density.
Key facts about QuantumScape
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: San Jose (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $1B
- Employee Count: 684 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Fidelity Investments, TriplePoint Capital and 16 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Post IPO, Sep 04, 2020, $*****
- Highlight: Public
4. Sense
Smart energy platform providing real-time electricity usage insights for homes and utilities. It uses smart sensors and data analytics to deliver real-time electricity usage insights for homes, utilities, and energy partners. It helps users understand and reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency, and support grid reliability by providing high-resolution monitoring and behavioral energy insights aimed at lowering carbon emissions and accelerating the energy transition.
Key facts about Sense
- Founded Year: 2013
- Location: Cambridge (United States)
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $177M
- Employee Count: 111 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: CRV, Prelude Ventures and 21 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Jan 27, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Mill
Provider of the smart bin. It offers technology that dries, shrinks, and de-stinks waste into fertilizer.
Key facts about Mill
- Founded Year: 2020
- Location: San Bruno (United States)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $70M
- Employee Count: 545 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Investors: Prelude Ventures, Google Ventures and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Dec 16, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Prelude Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Prelude Ventures has invested in 98 companies over the last 26 years, with an average of 7 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 7 investments, while as of Aug 2026, it has made 10 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Tenor and most recent follow-on round was in Quaise.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 6 | 4 | 10 |
2025 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
2024 | 9 | 6 | 15 |
2023 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
2022 | 8 | 9 | 17 |
2021 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
2020 | 8 | 7 | 15 |
2019 | 8 | 4 | 12 |
2018 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
2017 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
Prelude Ventures' Investments by Stage
Prelude Ventures has made 37 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $29.5M, 19 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $5.36M and 14 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $51.4M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Series A | 37 |
Seed | 19 |
Series B | 14 |
Series C | 6 |
Series D | 3 |
Others | 5 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Prelude Ventures' Investments by Sector
Prelude Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the High Tech, Sustainability Tech, Environment Tech, Enterprise Applications and Energy Tech. Notably, it has invested in 87 Tech companies, 80 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 40 Software companies and at least 26 companies focusing on Tech hardware.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
High Tech | 39 |
Sustainability Tech | 39 |
Environment Tech | 31 |
Enterprise Applications | 30 |
Energy Tech | 21 |
Others | 97 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Prelude Ventures' Investments by Geography
Prelude Ventures has made most investments in United States (75), followed by Canada where it has made 3 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 75 |
Canada | 3 |
United Kingdom | 2 |
Australia | 1 |
Brazil | 1 |
Others | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Prelude Ventures' recent investments
Prelude Ventures has made 10 investments in 2026 so far. Quaise and Form Energy are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Prelude Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 27, 2026 | United States | Series B | 7135 | [+2] | |
Aug 12, 2026 | United States | Series G | 5337 | [+17] | |
Jul 27, 2026 | United States | Seed | 2862 | [+4] | |
Jun 30, 2026 | United States | Series B | 7333 | [+2] | |
May 27, 2026 | United States | Series B | 1319 |
Unicorns in Prelude Ventures' Portfolio
Prelude Ventures has 5 unicorns in its portfolio - Rhoda, Lunar Energy, Electric Hydrogen and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Rhoda. It became a unicorn in 2026.Here is a list of unicorns in Prelude Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
57 | Developer of robotic systems utilizing video pre-training for industrial automation | 2024 | Palo Alto | Series A | siflnry | ||
63 | Manufacturer of multiple renewable energy, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics products | 2013 | - | San Francisco | Series D | hsgfr{c | |
64 | Manufacturer of advanced electrolyzer systems for clean hydrogen production solutions | 2020 | San Carlos | Series C | e{vojqd | ||
69 | Clean energy technology platform developing long-duration iron-air battery systems | 2017 | Somerville | Series G | spjqpja | ||
58 | Developer of microbial nitrogen products designed for crop nutrition enhancement | 2010 | Berkeley | Series D | nliwrbf |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Prelude Ventures' Portfolio
6 of Prelude Ventures' portfolio companies have become public. Lime got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Jul 2026 at marketcap of $1.6B and Fervo Energy got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) at marketcap of $7.45B.Here are Prelude Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 01, 2026 | - | - | 9411 | |
May 13, 2026 | Aug 22, 2022 | Series C | 6035 | |
Feb 03, 2022 | - | - | 1798 | |
Apr 30, 2021 | - | - | 8048 | |
Aug 21, 2020 | Sep 04, 2020 | Post IPO | 2092 |
Acquired companies in Prelude Ventures' Portfolio
11 companies from Prelude Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Evo Security in Jul 2026 by Barracuda for $*****.Here are Prelude Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 07, 2026 | May 06, 2024 | Series A | 6082 | |
Feb 04, 2025 | Oct 03, 2023 | Seed | 1445 | |
Aug 01, 2022 | Dec 21, 2018 | Series A | 4269 | |
Jul 25, 2022 | Oct 19, 2016 | Series B | 6552 | |
Oct 05, 2021 | May 2019 | Series A | 9951 |
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Team profile of Prelude Ventures
Prelude Ventures has a team of 5 members including 2 Partners and 1 Principal located in United States. Prelude Ventures' team sits on the board of 4 companies.Here is a list of all team members in Prelude Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | San Francisco | Form Energy, Ripple Foods and 2 more | ||
Partner | Palo Alto | - | ||
Principal | - | - |
Co-investors of Prelude Ventures
Over the past 26 years, 747 investors have co-invested in Prelude Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Prelude Ventures: OSTI, National Science Foundation and 176 others have invested in rounds before Prelude Ventures. There are 10 companies where OSTI has invested before Prelude Ventures and 6 companies where National Science Foundation has invested before Prelude Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Prelude Ventures: 258 investors entered a company along with Prelude Ventures. These include investors like Breakthrough Energy (13 companies).
- Invested after Prelude Ventures: A total of 311 investors have invested in Prelude Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include OSTI (6 companies), Energy Impact Partners (4 companies) and DOE (4 companies).
Recent News related to Prelude Ventures
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Quaise Energy Closes $180 Million Series B with $35 Million Investment from Nabors IndustriesKorea Newswire•Aug 28, 2026•Nabors, Quaise, Prelude Ventures, Idemitsu Kosan and 2 others
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Quaise Energy Secures Funding for Next-Generation Geothermal Power Plant DevelopmentStartup Log•Jun 25, 2026•Quaise, Prelude Ventures, Idemitsu Kosan, JERA
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Thea Energy Raises $100M to Scale Fusion PlantsVentureburn•May 27, 2026•Usitfund, Thea Energy, Orion Resource Partners, Hitachi Ventures and 12 others
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UnblockPay Raises $4.5M Seed Round Led by PreludeLatamList•Mar 30, 2026•UnblockPay, Wintermute, Signatureventures, Plug and Play Tech Center and 1 other
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Zero Homes Raises $16.8M to Digitize Home Upgrades for AccessibilityGlobeNewswire•Feb 17, 2026•Prelude Ventures, SJF Ventures, Overture, VoLo Earth Ventures and 2 others
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Lunar Energy raises $232 million to accelerate development of residential storage, VPP softwarepv magazine USA•Feb 05, 2026•Lunar Energy, B Capital, Activate Capital, Prelude Ventures and 7 others
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Ripple Foods Announces New Funding, Appoints Next CEOQuality Assurance & Food Safety Magazine•Dec 18, 2025•Euclidean, Prelude Ventures, Ripple Foods, Fall Line Capital and 4 others
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Ripple Foods Secures $17M Funding, Appoints Becky O'Grady as CEOPR Newswire•Dec 02, 2025•Rich Products Ventures, Material Impact, Ripple Foods, Tao Capital Partners and 5 others
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Copper Closes $28 Million Series A to Expand Battery-Powered Appliance Operationssvdaily.com•Aug 28, 2025•Copper, Leap Forward Ventures, Collab Fund, Voyager and 6 others
