Ed Sim
About Ed Sim
Ed Sim is the founder and managing partner of boldstart ventures. Boldstart describes itself as a $1.1B AUM firm that has written first checks for technical founders since 2010. Sim is based in Miami. Boldstart has joint headquarters in New York and Miami, and Sim has said this keeps the firm close to Fortune 500 buyers.
Before boldstart he co-founded Dawntreader Ventures. At Dawntreader he led inception investments in Greenplum (sold to EMC, then part of Pivotal, which went public), GoToMeeting (sold to Citrix) and LivePerson (IPO). Earlier he worked at J.P. Morgan, where he learned to code and build quantitative trading models. He graduated from Harvard College and played four years of men's lacrosse there.
Sim also co-founded MState, an enterprise blockchain lab built with IBM, which backed Fireblocks at formation. He writes a weekly newsletter, What's Hot, on venture capital, enterprise tech and building startups. Boldstart's site now describes it as covering AI infrastructure and venture. Forbes has named him to its Midas Seed List, and Business Insider ranked him No. 1 on its Seed 100 in 2023 and 2024.
Sim's public investing record runs mostly through boldstart funds, not a separate personal angel portfolio. Crunchbase lists only 3 investments, 3 portfolio companies and 2 exits under his personal profile. That is much narrower than the firm's activity, so founders should not read it as the full record.
Boldstart has taken early positions in companies that later exited. Kustomer was sold to Meta for a reported $1B, Protect AI to Palo Alto Networks for over $700M, and Superhuman to Grammarly. Sim has held board or observer seats at several portfolio companies, including Snyk, Kustomer, BigID and Blockdaemon. He has not published a personal check size for angel investments.
Boldstart's 2024 recap says the firm does not label itself an AI investor. It also says nearly every portfolio company and new team is building AI into its product. The 2024 recap lists Tessl, a platform for AI-native software development, as a $25M Inception round. CrewAI, a multi-agent platform, is also listed, with a $2M Inception round and an $18M Series A. The recap says the firm led Inception rounds in domain-specific foundation models for robotics and biology.
On the boldstart site, Protect AI (AI security) is listed as backed since 2022. Generalist AI (general-purpose robotics) is listed since 2024, and Keycard (identity and access for AI agents) since 2025. Boldstart announced Fund VII, a $250M fund for the autonomous enterprise, in July 2025. Sim has framed that thesis as software, agents and machines acting on a company's behalf.
Boldstart invests at Inception, which often means before a product, a pitch deck or a company name exists. It leads pre-product rounds and sells itself as the first institutional partner. The firm names cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, physical AI and agents as its areas. Earlier boldstart materials also name developer tools and SaaS, and the Fund VII announcement mentions crypto.
Fund VII writes initial checks from $500K to $15M. It can follow on through the existing $175M Opportunities III fund. In 2024 the firm partnered with 14 new founding teams, up from 9 in 2023. Initial checks that year ranged from $500K to $12.5M. For Fund VII, Sim said the firm expects to back roughly 10 to 12 new founding teams per year across three partners.
This is a firm fund, not a personal angel check. Pitch it as a seed fund led by someone who prefers technical founders at formation and enterprise buyers as design partners.
- Snyk: developer-first security, now positioned as an AI security company. Day-one boldstart investment, with Sim on the board.
- Protect AI: AI security company. Boldstart has backed it since 2022. It was acquired by Palo Alto Networks for over $700M.
- Kustomer: customer support software, sold to Meta for a reported $1B.
- Superhuman: email client acquired by Grammarly. Boldstart was a day-one investor.
- Clay: GTM engineering platform. Boldstart has backed it since 2017.
- Tessl: AI-native software development platform. Boldstart led its $25M Inception round in 2024.
- CrewAI: multi-agent platform. Boldstart invested at Inception and in the Series A.
- Keycard: identity and access for AI agents. Boldstart has backed it since 2025.
- Generalist AI: general-purpose robotics. Boldstart has backed it since 2024.
- Hypernative, Blockdaemon, Spectro Cloud, SecurityScorecard, Front and BigID: other investments or board roles named by Sim or boldstart.
- crunchbase.com/person/ed-sim
- boldstart.vc/team/ed-sim
- boldstart.vc
- boldstart.vc/news/boldstart-ventures-2024-recap-on-inception-investing
- boldstart.vc/news/boldstart-2025-recap
- pulse2.com/boldstart-ventures-250-million-fund-vii-launched-for-invest
- newcomer.co/p/exclusive-boldstart-ventures-raises
- gunder.com/en/news-insights/client-news/boldstart-ventures-announces-d
Investing activity
Ed Sim has made 3 investments according to Crunchbase across 3 portfolio companies, and has seen 2 exits and founded 3 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Ed Sim
Does Ed Sim invest in AI startups?
Yes, through boldstart ventures. The firm backs AI infrastructure, agents, AI security and robotics and biology models, including Protect AI, Tessl, CrewAI, Keycard and Generalist AI. It says it does not label itself an AI-only investor.
What is Ed Sim's check size?
Ed Sim has not published a personal angel check size. Boldstart's Fund VII says it writes initial checks from $500K to $15M. In 2024 its initial checks ranged from $500K to $12.5M.
What stage does Ed Sim invest in?
Boldstart invests at Inception, often before a product, deck or company name exists, and also leads pre-seed and seed rounds. It can follow on through its Opportunities III fund.
What sectors does Ed Sim back?
Boldstart names cybersecurity, AI infrastructure, physical AI and agents. Earlier materials also cite developer tools, SaaS and data infrastructure, and the Fund VII announcement mentions crypto.
How do I pitch Ed Sim?
Boldstart's website invites founders to say what they are building, and Sim is active on X as @edsim and on LinkedIn. He has said the firm backs a small group of new teams each year, so a clear technical thesis for an enterprise buyer helps.
Where is Ed Sim based?
Ed Sim is based in Miami, Florida. Boldstart has joint headquarters in New York and Miami.
Is Ed Sim an angel investor?
Yes. Ed Sim invests personally as an angel and is Founder & Managing Partner at boldstart ventures. Crunchbase counts 3 investments and 2 exits.
How can founders reach Ed Sim?
Founders on Lounge can see Ed Sim'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 Ed Sim to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.