Austin Rief
About Austin Rief
Austin Rief grew up in Baltimore and studied finance at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. In 2015 he joined Alex Lieberman to launch Morning Brew, a daily business newsletter, as co-founder and COO. He became CEO in 2021.
Morning Brew grew to about 5 million subscribers and added B2B newsletters, a daily news podcast and events. Business Insider bought a majority stake in 2020, reportedly for $75M, and Axel Springer later fully acquired the company. Rief says he left the CEO role in February 2025 and now serves as Executive Chairman.
He is also a co-owner of Oceans, a company that places offshore operations talent with startups. He is based in New York City.
Rief began investing while running Morning Brew, first through a rolling fund on AngelList, then through Austin Rief Ventures, which a 2023 podcast describes as a seed-stage fund run by one person. His personal site lists Austin Rief Ventures and Oceans Talent as his investing activity.
Public databases count roughly 18 to 26 investments, depending on the source, and the counts differ. Recorded deals include ZenGo (Series A, 2021), Firstbase (2021), Underdog Fantasy (Series A, 2021), Blip (seed, 2023), Throne (seed, 2024) and Affiniti (Series A, 2025).
His most recent recorded deal is swsh, a New York company that turns photos and videos fans capture at concerts, games and brand events into shared albums and engagement data using AI. It announced a $4M seed round on June 16, 2026, led by Game Changers Ventures, and Rief took part as an angel.
Outside swsh, the sources I found do not label other deals as AI investments, and he has not published an AI-specific thesis.
Crunchbase describes Austin Rief Ventures as investing at seed and early stage in software, payments and financial services, mainly in the United States and particularly New York and Delaware. NFX Signal ranks Rief for pre-seed and Series A in media/content and consumer internet.
NFX Signal lists an investment range of $50K to $100K with a $75K sweet spot. That figure comes from a third-party profile, not from a statement by Rief, so confirm it with him before you pitch.
- swsh: AI-powered fan engagement platform for live events; $4M seed, June 2026.
- Affiniti: finance software company; Series A, 2025.
- Throne: seed round, October 2024, through Austin Rief Ventures.
- Blip: seed round, February 2023, through Austin Rief Ventures.
- Underdog Fantasy: Series A, 2021, through Austin Rief Ventures.
- ZenGo: crypto wallet; Series A, 2021, through Austin Rief Ventures.
- Oceans: offshore talent placement company where he is co-owner.
- austinrief.com
- austinrief.com/about
- signal.nfx.com/investors/austin-rief
- crunchbase.com/organization/austin-rief-ventures
- crunchbase.com/person/austin-rief-7ff2
- tanktalks.substack.com/p/morning-brew-ceo-austin-rief-on-the
- joinhampton.com/blog/austin-rief
- billboard.com/pro/ai-fan-engagement-platform-swsh-raises-4m-seed-round
Investing activity
Austin Rief appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $4M. The most recent is swsh (Seed, $4M, Jun 2026).
Austin Rief most often invests alongside Game Changers Ventures, Stellation Capital, SignalFire and MaC Venture Capital, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Austin Rief
Does Austin Rief invest in AI startups?
He took part in swsh's $4M seed round in June 2026. swsh is an AI-powered fan engagement platform. The sources I found do not show him describing a broader AI thesis.
What check size does Austin Rief write?
NFX Signal lists a $50K to $100K range with a $75K sweet spot. This is a third-party profile and he has not confirmed it publicly in the sources I found.
What stage does Austin Rief invest in?
Crunchbase describes Austin Rief Ventures as a seed to early-stage investor. NFX Signal ranks him for pre-seed and Series A.
Who is Austin Rief?
He is a co-founder of Morning Brew and its former CEO. He is now its Executive Chairman, co-owns Oceans, and invests through Austin Rief Ventures.
How can founders contact Austin Rief?
He is on X at @austin_rief and on LinkedIn, and publishes at austinrief.com. No public pitch process or submission form turned up in my search.
Is Austin Rief an angel investor?
Yes. Austin Rief invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Austin Rief invested in?
Austin Rief's AI investments include swsh. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Austin Rief invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Austin Rief has invested at Seed, with a median round of $4M.
Who does Austin Rief co-invest with?
Austin Rief's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Game Changers Ventures (1 deal), Stellation Capital (1 deal), SignalFire (1 deal), MaC Venture Capital (1 deal) and Hans Tung (1 deal).
How can founders reach Austin Rief?
Founders on Lounge can see Austin Rief's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Austin Rief to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.