Declan Kelly
About Declan Kelly
Declan Kelly is the founder and general partner of Foreword (Foreword.vc), which describes itself as an early-stage micro fund backing startups in their initial chapters. One investor database lists him as based in Berlin.
His earlier work was in the startup events and venture ecosystem. Crunchbase lists him as a former Head of Investors at Web Summit, and a profile on Shizune says he was a founding member of Web Summit's venture fund, Amaranthine. Crunchbase also lists him as Director EMEA at Techstars Ventures, Expert in Residence at Seedcamp, and Venture Partner at MS&AD Ventures since January 2021. Shizune's profile describes the Techstars role as past.
This page is about the Foreword founder. It is not about the Irish-American Teneo and Consello executive of the same name.
Crunchbase shows 14 personal investments for Declan Kelly, with Archestra.AI as the most recent. Tracxn's earlier profile lists Sorare, Jeeves and Gradient Labs (seed, August 2024) among his investments. Crunchbase also lists SimpleStudy, Payable, Tactic, Overwatch Research, Clarisights and Localyze. Exact dates and amounts for most of these are not public in the sources found.
His latest AI deal on the Lounge deals desk is Archestra.AI's $10M seed round, announced on 2 June 2026 and led by 20VC. Archestra's announcement lists him as Founder & GP at Foreword among the participating investors. The company says total funding is now $13.5M.
Archestra is London-based and builds an open-source platform that connects AI agents to corporate data with guardrails, governance and observability. Gradient Labs is also on his Crunchbase list.
Third-party databases put his investing at pre-seed and seed, with some Series A deals. They list the UK, US and Germany as the main geographies. His portfolio spans enterprise software, fintech and AI. Kelly has not published a check size or a written thesis that we could find, so none is stated here. Founders should confirm fit with him directly.
- Archestra.AI: open-source platform for secure AI agent access to enterprise data; $10M seed, June 2026
- Gradient Labs: seed round, August 2024 per Tracxn
- Sorare: listed in Tracxn's portfolio of Kelly's investments
- Jeeves: listed in Tracxn's portfolio of Kelly's investments
- SimpleStudy: pre-seed, per Crunchbase
- Payable, Tactic, Overwatch Research: seed rounds, per Crunchbase
- Clarisights: Series A, per Crunchbase
- Localyze: listed on Crunchbase
- crunchbase.com/person/declan-kelly-2
- archestra.ai/blog/archestra-announces-10m-seed
- archestra.ai/about
- startup.eu/investments/archestra-10-m-seed-06-2026
- shizune.co/investors/software-angel-investors-ireland
- tracxn.com/d/people/declan-kelly/__SWYkZ8OKFmYeUltQEBfefNdady3BXFDg3Sl
- linkedin.com/in/kellydeclan
Investing activity
Declan Kelly appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $10M. The most recent is Archestra.AI (Seed, $10M, Jun 2026).
Declan Kelly most often invests alongside The Twenty Minute VC, Aloniq, Gerhard Eschelbeck and Tenacity Capital, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Declan Kelly
Who is Declan Kelly the angel investor?
He is the founder and general partner of Foreword, an early-stage micro fund. He previously worked in Web Summit's investor relations and with Techstars Ventures, and he is an Expert in Residence at Seedcamp.
Did Declan Kelly invest in Archestra.AI?
Yes. Archestra's announcement lists him among the investors in its $10M seed round, which 20VC led on 2 June 2026.
What stage does Declan Kelly invest in?
Databases show mostly pre-seed and seed investments, with some later rounds such as Clarisights' Series A. He describes Foreword as backing startups in their early chapters.
What check size does Declan Kelly write?
No check size is public in the sources we found. Founders should ask him directly rather than rely on the round-size ranges in third-party databases.
Where is Declan Kelly based and where does he invest?
One investor database lists him in Berlin. His known investments are mainly in UK and US companies.
How can founders contact Declan Kelly?
His LinkedIn profile and personal site (deckelly.com) are public. We did not find a verified X profile.
Is Declan Kelly an angel investor?
Yes. Declan Kelly invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Declan Kelly invested in?
Declan Kelly's AI investments include Archestra.AI. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Declan Kelly invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Declan Kelly has invested at Seed, with a median round of $10M.
Who does Declan Kelly co-invest with?
Declan Kelly's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are The Twenty Minute VC (1 deal), Aloniq (1 deal), Gerhard Eschelbeck (1 deal), Tenacity Capital (1 deal) and 20Product (1 deal).