Builders VC
About Builders VC
Builders VC is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, with additional offices in Chicago and Calgary. The firm focuses on providing strategic investment and operational support to founders in the B2B, AI, and enterprise technology sectors. Builders VC partners with technical founders from the earliest stages, assisting them with go-to-market strategies, product development, and company building.
The firm targets specific verticals, including frontier applications in infrastructure, industrials, and data, as well as transformative enterprise solutions and fintech platforms. Builders VC
Builders VC was founded by Jim Kim, who earlier co-founded Formation 8 and was a general partner at Khosla Ventures. Venture Capital Journal reported that the first fund launched in late 2016 with Paul Lee, formerly of Lightbank. Sources disagree on the founding year (2014, 2017 and 2018 all appear), so this page does not give one. Fund I targeted $200M and had raised about $115.5M from 36 investors at the time of a regulatory filing. BetaKit later described Fund I as $200M. Builders Fund II launched at $250M and closed in late December 2021. Private Equity International lists Fund III as open since January 2024, with no public size. Named general partners include Jim Kim, Mark Blackwell (Calgary, also COO), Mike Rosengarten, Jocelyn Doe and Amit Mehta. Third-party profiles list a Qatar Investment Authority partnership announced in February 2025.
Builders VC does not run a separate AI fund. It invests in AI where it applies to the sectors it already covers. Its recent AI deals are in the built world and in compute. Anori is an AI platform for the pre-development phase of real estate, spun out of Alphabet's X in March 2026. The Biological Computing Co. is building software from the computational principles of living neurons, aimed at faster and cheaper AI models. The Lounge deals desk also lists Astromech (Seed, $20M) and Brilliant Harvest (Seed, $4M, February 2026). Public detail on both is thin, so this page does not describe them further.
BetaKit reports that the firm invests from seed to Series A. A third-party profile (WaveUp) says Builders leads rounds and typically puts in $500,000 to $9M. It also cites a historical average of $2M and a maximum of about $10M. The firm has not published these numbers itself, so treat them as estimates. Fund II capital has gone partly to Canadian startups. Blackwell said Fund I put 15 to 20 percent of its capital into Canada.
- Anori: AI platform for pre-development in real estate, spun out of Alphabet's X. $26M seed in March 2026, with Prologis named as lead and Builders VC participating.
- The Biological Computing Co.: neuron-based computing aimed at making AI models faster and cheaper. $25M seed in March 2026, led by Primary with Builders VC participating (Fortune, via Yahoo Finance).
- Astromech: Seed, $20M, listed on the Lounge deals desk.
- Brilliant Harvest: Seed, $4M, February 2026, listed on the Lounge deals desk.
- betakit.com/builders-vc-debuts-250-million-usd-for-second-fund
- venturecapitaljournal.com/builders-vc-fund-marches-toward-200-mln-targ
- news.crunchbase.com/startups/builders-vc-is-115-5-million-into-raising
- privateequityinternational.com/institution-profiles/builders-vc.html
- hub.waveup.com/funds/builders-vc
- finance.yahoo.com/news/two-neurosurgeons-just-raised-25-125709307.html
- raising.fi/news/anori-undisclosed-march-2026
- aiforproptech.com/companies/anori
Investing activity
Builders VC appears in 4 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $71M, and led 2 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $25M and the largest at $26M. The most recent are Astromech (Seed, $20M, Aug 2026), The Biological Computing (Seed, $25M, Mar 2026) and Anori (Seed, $26M, Mar 2026).
Builders VC most often invests alongside Robert Nelsen, CAZ Investments, PEAK6 and NeoGenesis Capital, and the companies it backs on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Builders VC
Does Builders VC invest in AI startups?
Yes. It backed Anori and The Biological Computing Co. in seed rounds in March 2026. It treats AI as a way to modernize its core sectors, not as a separate fund.
What stage does Builders VC invest at?
BetaKit describes it as a seed to Series A investor. Its funds have focused on early-stage companies.
How big are Builders VC's checks?
The firm has not published check sizes. A third-party profile estimates $500,000 to $9M per round, with a historical average near $2M.
How large are Builders VC's funds?
Fund I targeted $200M and Fund II launched at $250M in late 2021. Fund III has been open since January 2024, and its size is not public.
Who founded Builders VC?
Jim Kim founded it. Paul Lee was named alongside him as a founding partner in 2016 reporting. Current general partners include Mark Blackwell, Mike Rosengarten, Jocelyn Doe and Amit Mehta.
What AI companies has Builders VC invested in?
Builders VC's AI investments include Astromech, The Biological Computing, Anori and Brilliant Harvest. The 4 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Builders VC based?
Builders VC is based in San Francisco, California, United States.
Who does Builders VC co-invest with?
Builders VC's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Robert Nelsen (1 deal), CAZ Investments (1 deal), PEAK6 (1 deal), NeoGenesis Capital (1 deal) and Primary Venture Partners (1 deal).
How can founders reach Builders VC?
Founders on Lounge can see Builders VC's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Builders VC to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.