About Protagonist
Protagonist is a venture capital firm founded in 2022. It is primarily based out of Miami, United States. As of Aug 2026, Protagonist is an active investor, having invested in 36 companies, with 6 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 High Tech to Blockchain Technology and Enterprise Applications. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series E round of Tenstorrent Overall, Protagonist portfolio has seen 4 unicorns including key companies like Mysten Labs, Tenstorrent and Epirus. A lot of funds co-invest with Protagonist, with names like Paper Ventures sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Protagonist has team of 5 people including 3 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Count
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 2 more
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Deals in last 12 months
Protagonist's List of Top Investments
Protagonist has a portfolio of 36 companies, including 4 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Era and BLOK.Their portfolio spans across United States, France, Switzerland and 8 more locations. They have invested in High Tech, Blockchain Technology, Enterprise Applications and 11 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 2 more. Here is the list of top investments by Protagonist:
1. Mysten Labs
Blockchain platform offering Web3 infrastructure solutions. Its product portfolio includes an open-source wallet packed with features to help developers access, learn, and transact on the Sui network, Sui Explorer for digging into metrics, searching for transactions, Sui name service to register identity, and more. It also offers digital collectibles called SuiFrens.
Key facts about Mysten Labs
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Palo Alto (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $336M
- Employee Count: 186 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Redpoint Ventures, Hack VC and 42 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Sep 08, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Tenstorrent
Developer of hardware and open-source software for artificial intelligence acceleration. The company provides tools for optimizing workloads on its hardware. It offers an open-source compiler designed to integrate with its AI software library. The company provides resources such as documentation and developer tutorials.
Key facts about Tenstorrent
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Toronto (Canada)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $2.68B
- Employee Count: 1,311 as on Oct 31, 2026
- Investors: T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Investments and 40 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Aug 26, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Epirus
Developer of high-power microwave systems for electronic warfare and air defense. The company combines solid-state, long-pulse high-power microwave systems with artificial intelligence and advanced electronics. It offers systems for layered short-range air defense and maneuver short-range defense. The company also provides testing and validation for electronic effects on long-range targets. It develops capabilities to defend high-value assets and provides compact electronic warfare. The company delivers air domain awareness using perception capabilities.
Key facts about Epirus
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Los Angeles (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $537M
- Employee Count: 250 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: T. Rowe Price, Greenspring Associates and 34 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Oct 09, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. RedStone
Key facts about RedStone
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Baar (Switzerland)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $22.9M
- Employee Count: 67 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: b2venture, Collider and 42 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Jul 02, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Levitate
AI based marketing platform for real estate businesses. It simplifies social media scheduling by offering ready-made posts specific to users industries. Features include email marketing, social media scheduling, personalized texting, meeting booking, and more. It generates reports and analytics about email performance, including open rates, click-through rates, and more.
Key facts about Levitate
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Raleigh (United States)
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $71M
- Employee Count: 493 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Northwestern Mutual, Bull City Venture Partners and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Mar 05, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Protagonist's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Protagonist has invested in 36 companies over the last 3 years, with an average of 10 new investments annually in the last 3 years. In 2025, it made 12 investments, while as of Aug 2026, it has made 5 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in Tenstorrent and most recent follow-on round was in Era.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 5 | 0 | 5 |
2025 | 11 | 1 | 12 |
2024 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
2023 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Protagonist's Investments by Stage
Protagonist has made 23 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $10.5M, 8 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $83.8M, 2 investments in Series C stage with an average round size of $38M and 1 investment in Series E stage with an average round size of $1.5B.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 23 |
Series A | 8 |
Series C | 2 |
Series E | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Protagonist's Investments by Sector
Protagonist has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the High Tech, Blockchain Technology, Enterprise Applications, FinTech and Blockchain - Industry Applications. Notably, it has invested in 29 Tech companies, 20 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 17 Software companies and at least 13 companies focusing on Blockchain.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
High Tech | 13 |
Blockchain Technology | 10 |
Enterprise Applications | 10 |
FinTech | 10 |
Blockchain - Industry Applications | 6 |
Others | 21 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Protagonist's Investments by Geography
Protagonist has made most investments in United States (20), followed by France where it has made 3 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 20 |
France | 3 |
Switzerland | 2 |
Argentina | 1 |
Bermuda | 1 |
Others | 7 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Protagonist's recent investments
Protagonist has made 5 investments in 2026 so far. Tenstorrent and mara are the latest among them.Here are the most recent investments by Protagonist:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 26, 2026 | Canada | Series E | 2240 | [+14] | |
Aug 26, 2026 | United States | Seed | 6185 | [+5] | |
Aug 21, 2026 | United States | Series A | 9369 | [+6] | |
Feb 21, 2026 | France | Seed | 5784 | [+3] | |
Feb 11, 2026 | Switzerland | Seed | 3273 | [+6] |
Unicorns in Protagonist's Portfolio
Protagonist has 4 unicorns in its portfolio - Fab2, Mysten Labs, Epirus and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Fab2. It became a unicorn in 2026.Here is a list of unicorns in Protagonist's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | Manufacturer of semiconductor fabrication equipment and integrated circuit design software | - | San Francisco | Series A | phqrwzo | ||
77 | Blockchain platform offering Web3 infrastructure solutions | 2021 | Palo Alto | Series B | gbokp{b | ||
69 | Developer of high-power microwave systems for electronic warfare and air defense | 2017 | Los Angeles | Series D | un{kpvy | ||
70 | Developer of hardware and open-source software for artificial intelligence acceleration | 2016 | Toronto | Series E | jepswce |
Team profile of Protagonist
Protagonist has a team of 5 members including 3 Partners and 1 Principal located in United States. Protagonist's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Protagonist:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Miami Beach | - | - | |
Partner | Los Angeles | - | - | |
Partner | United States | - | ||
Principal | New York | - | - |
Co-investors of Protagonist
Over the past 3 years, 368 investors have co-invested in Protagonist's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Protagonist: Lemniscap, Fidelity Investments and 97 others have invested in rounds before Protagonist. There are 2 companies where Lemniscap has invested before Protagonist and 1 company where Fidelity Investments has invested before Protagonist.
- Top Co-investors of Protagonist: 238 investors entered a company along with Protagonist. These include investors like Paper Ventures (5 companies).
- Invested after Protagonist: A total of 31 investors have invested in Protagonist's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include MaC Venture Capital (2 companies), Northwestern Mutual (1 company) and Harbert Management (1 company).
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