John Nay
About John Nay
John Nay is the founder and CEO of Norm Ai, a company that builds regulatory AI agents. He founded it in mid-2023. Before that he spent about a decade on research at the intersection of AI and law, most recently as a Fellow at Stanford CodeX, the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics. He also taught what has been described as the first AI course at NYU School of Law.
Nay was founding CEO and later chairman of Brooklyn Investment Group, an AI-powered investment software platform and SEC-registered investment adviser. TIAA Nuveen acquired it. He holds an MS (2013) and a PhD (2017) from Vanderbilt, was a postdoctoral fellow at NYU, and became a Visiting Scholar in AI and Law at Vanderbilt Law in 2023.
Norm Ai has raised funding from investors including Blackstone, Bain Capital, Coatue, Vanguard, New York Life, TIAA and Citi. In 2026 it announced a $120M Series C at a $1.2B valuation, led by Khosla Ventures.
Little of Nay's angel activity is public. The one investment we could confirm is Sycamore, where he is named as an angel investor in the company's seed announcement and on its About page. We found no public fund, syndicate or angel check-size disclosures from him.
Sycamore announced a $65M seed round in March 2026. It builds an operating system for autonomous enterprise AI agents, covering security, governance and human oversight. Coatue and Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round. Sycamore's founder is Sri Viswanath, a former CTO of Atlassian. The company lists Nay, founder of Norm Ai, among its angel investors alongside other AI and enterprise software executives.
Nay has not published a thesis, preferred stage or check size for angel investing. The one confirmed investment is a seed-stage enterprise AI infrastructure company with a governance and trust angle. That fits his operating work on regulated AI at Norm Ai. One investment is not a stated focus, so founders should treat it as context and not as a rule. Nay is based in New York.
- Sycamore: enterprise AI agent operating system with governance and oversight controls; Nay is a named angel in its $65M seed round announced in March 2026.
- sycamore.so/about
- sycamore.so/press-releases/sycamore-raises-65m-seed
- techcrunch.com/2026/03/30/former-coatue-partner-raises-huge-65m-seed-f
- law.stanford.edu/directory/john-nay
- fedsoc.org/bio/john-nay
- lawnext.com/2026/07/norm-ai-hits-unicorn-status-with-120m-series-c-at-
- mlq.ai/news/norm-ai-raises-120m-series-c-led-by-khosla-ventures-at-12b
- law.vanderbilt.edu/converting-regulations-into-ai-agents
Investing activity
John Nay appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $65M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $65M. The most recent is Sycamore (Seed, $65M, Mar 2026).
John Nay most often invests alongside Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, Soham Mazumdar and Dell Technologies Capital, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about John Nay
Is John Nay an angel investor in AI startups?
Yes, in at least one case. Sycamore names him as an angel in its $65M seed round announced in March 2026. He is mainly an operator, as founder and CEO of Norm Ai.
What is John Nay's angel check size?
No check size is public. We found no statement from Nay on how much he invests.
What does John Nay look for in startups he backs?
He has not published criteria. His one confirmed angel investment is in enterprise AI agent infrastructure with governance and security. His own company works on AI for regulated industries.
Who is John Nay?
He is the founder and CEO of Norm Ai and a Stanford CodeX Fellow. He previously founded Brooklyn Investment Group, which TIAA Nuveen acquired.
How can founders contact John Nay?
His public channels are LinkedIn (johnjnay), X (@johnjnay) and johnjnay.com. Founders usually do better with a warm introduction from someone in his network, such as other Sycamore or Norm Ai investors.
Is John Nay an angel investor?
Yes. John Nay invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has John Nay invested in?
John Nay's AI investments include Sycamore. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does John Nay invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, John Nay has invested at Seed, with a median round of $65M.
Who does John Nay co-invest with?
John Nay's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Lightspeed Venture Partners (1 deal), Coatue (1 deal), Soham Mazumdar (1 deal), Dell Technologies Capital (1 deal) and Rajiv Gupta (1 deal).
How can founders reach John Nay?
Founders on Lounge can see John Nay'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 John Nay to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.