Immad Akhund
About Immad Akhund
Immad Akhund is the co-founder and CEO of Mercury, the banking platform for startups and small businesses. He was born in Pakistan, raised in the U.K. and studied computer science at the University of Cambridge. He moved to the U.S. in 2007 to join Y Combinator with his earlier startup, and he later returned to YC as a part-time partner in 2017.
Before Mercury he co-founded and was CTO of Clickpass, then co-founded and ran Heyzap, a mobile developer tools and ad company. Heyzap was acquired by Fyber in 2016 for a reported $45 million. He started Mercury in 2017 with Max Tagher and Jason Zhang. Its business accounts launched in 2019 with $25 million led by Andreessen Horowitz. In March 2025 Mercury raised $300 million at a $3.5 billion post-money valuation. A 2026 Milken Institute speaker bio says it serves more than 300,000 entrepreneurs and has reached $650 million in annualized revenue.
He lives in San Francisco, posts on X as @immad, and co-hosts the Founders in Arms podcast.
TechCrunch reports that Akhund has been an active angel investor since 2016 and has backed more than 350 startups at their earliest stages. Companies named in that coverage include Airtable, Applied Intuition, Decagon, Gecko Robotics, Linear and Substack. Other profiles also list Rippling, Rappi, Deel and Nurx. His X bio lists Etched, Deel, Applied Intuition, Stoke Space, Decagon and Substack.
Counts differ by source because each database tracks only the deals it can see. Crunchbase shows 50 investments. NFX Signal records 124. Press coverage cites 350 or more. In May 2025 he announced a $26 million debut fund that formalizes this angel activity. Yash Doshi, an early Mercury investor, joined as a partner. Akhund said he remains focused on Mercury.
CB Insights lists OpenPipe as a portfolio exit, with the acquisition recorded in September 2025.
Crunchbase counts 32 AI investments by Akhund since 2023. Its AI list includes Blue, Amplifier Security, Natural, Runlayer, Decagon, David AI, Gumloop, Substrate, Clara, Lio, Assort Health and Additive AI.
Some deals have public dates. Gumloop's AI automation platform announced a $3.1 million seed round led by First Round Capital, with Akhund among the angels. CB Insights records him in Natural's $9.8 million seed in October 2025 and in ego AI's $6.7 million seed the same month. It also records the $8 million Super Labs seed in November 2025. NFX Signal lists Runlayer's $11 million seed in November 2025. NFX also ranks him in its AI seed and pre-seed investor lists.
He has also commented publicly on AI trends. VC Sheet notes that he pointed to Mercury customer spending data showing new startups spending more on Anthropic than on OpenAI.
Mercury's investor database lists pre-seed and seed as his stages and says he invests in most industries outside biotech and hard tech. His portfolio does include some hard-tech names, such as Gecko Robotics and Stoke Space. VC Sheet lists fintech, SaaS, enterprise, consumer and health among his sectors.
Check size is reported in two ways. Mercury's investor database and NFX Signal both list a $50,000 to $100,000 range, and NFX gives $50,000 as his sweet spot. In a 20VC interview summarized by BidClub, he described the new fund as about 60 non-lead investments averaging roughly $150,000. He said he prefers investing alongside a lead rather than leading rounds. These figures come from third parties, so confirm them with him directly.
On the fund, TechCrunch reports that it targets founders with a proven record of building impactful products. It also targets markets of $10 billion or more and startups pursuing solutions that advance humanity. Another profile of the fund says it does not limit itself to one vertical. Mercury's database asks founders to check an investor's interests and check size before reaching out. He says he is responsive to DMs on X.
- Decagon: AI customer support company; named in TechCrunch's list of his investments and in Crunchbase's AI list.
- Gumloop: AI automation platform; he joined its $3.1M seed led by First Round Capital.
- Runlayer: AI company; NFX lists his participation in its $11M seed in November 2025.
- Natural: AI company; CB Insights records its $9.8M seed in October 2025.
- Airtable: no-code database and app platform; an early angel investment named by Mercury and TechCrunch.
- Substack: newsletter publishing platform; named in TechCrunch and Mercury's profiles.
- Applied Intuition: vehicle software company; named by TechCrunch and in his X bio.
- Rappi: Latin American delivery and commerce app; named in Mercury's investor profile.
- techcrunch.com/2025/05/12/mercurys-ceo-formalizes-bets-on-early-stage-
- mercury.com/investor-database/immad-akhund
- signal.nfx.com/investors/immad-akhund
- cbinsights.com/investor/immad-akhund
- milkeninstitute.org/events/global-conference-2026/speakers/immad-akhun
- crunchbase.com/person/immad-akhund
- gumloop.com/blog/seed-round
- bidclub.ai/e/20vc-exclusive-mercury-founder-launches-first-26
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Immad Akhund has made 50 investments according to Crunchbase. 32 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including Blue, Amplifier Security, Natural, Runlayer and Decagon.
Immad Akhund appears in 4 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $46M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $15M and the largest at $16M. The most recent are Ellis (Seed, $10M, Jul 2026), Vorflux (Seed, $15M, Jul 2026) and Pit (Seed, $16M, May 2026).
Immad Akhund most often invests alongside Initialized Capital, Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital and Westbound, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Immad Akhund
What check size does Immad Akhund write?
Mercury's investor database and NFX Signal list $50,000 to $100,000. In a 20VC interview, as summarized by BidClub, he described his fund as averaging about $150,000 per non-lead check.
Does Immad Akhund invest in pre-seed and seed AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase counts 32 AI investments since 2023, and NFX Signal ranks him among AI seed and pre-seed investors. Recent examples include Natural, Runlayer, Gumloop and Decagon.
Does Immad Akhund lead rounds?
Crunchbase shows 0 lead investments. He has said he prefers non-lead checks alongside another investor who leads.
What does Immad Akhund look for in founders?
For his fund, TechCrunch reports he looks for a proven record of building impactful products, markets of $10 billion or more, and solutions that advance humanity.
How can founders contact Immad Akhund?
He is active on X as @immad and has said he responds to DMs there. He is also on LinkedIn. Check his stage and sector fit before reaching out.
Is Immad Akhund still running Mercury?
Yes. He is Mercury's co-founder and CEO. When he announced his $26 million fund in 2025, he said he remained fully focused on Mercury.
Is Immad Akhund an angel investor?
Yes. Immad Akhund invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 50 investments.
What AI companies has Immad Akhund invested in?
Immad Akhund's AI investments include Blue, Amplifier Security, Natural, Runlayer, Decagon, David AI, Gumloop and Substrate. The 4 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Immad Akhund based?
Immad Akhund is based in San Francisco, United States.
What stage does Immad Akhund invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Immad Akhund has invested at Seed, with a median round of $15M.