Matt Schlicht
About Matt Schlicht
Matt Schlicht moved to Silicon Valley in 2008 without a college degree. His profile on Wellfound lists him as a Y Combinator alum, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and a product team member at Ustream for four years. His X bio gives his YC batch as W12. He was CEO of Hipset from 2011 to 2013 and founded ZapChain, where he was CEO from 2014 to 2016. He also advised Socialcam.
In April 2016 he started Chatbots Magazine, a trade publication for the bot industry. In May 2016 he launched Octane AI, a messenger marketing and e-commerce marketing company, where he is CEO and co-founder with Ben Parr.
In January 2026 he launched Moltbook, a social network built for AI agents. Wikipedia reports that Meta acquired Moltbook in 2026 and that he joined Meta Superintelligence Labs.
Crunchbase lists three personal investments: Clouted, Mirai and Feltsense Holdings, all at seed. It also lists two partner investments made through Theory Forge Ventures. Tracxn dates his most recent recorded angel deals to February 2026. These are Feltsense (seed, $5.1M, 5 February) and Mirai (seed, $10M, 19 February).
In 2024 he and Ben Parr started Theory Forge Ventures, where both are founder and managing partner. Crunchbase says the fund has invested in over 20 companies since 2024.
Feltsense Holdings raised a $5.1M seed round announced on 4 February 2026 to build AI agents that act as autonomous founders. Draper Associates led the round. Precursor Ventures and Liquid 2 Ventures also took part, and Schlicht is listed as an angel investor.
Through Theory Forge, Crunchbase shows a seed investment in Sauna by Wordware. Wikipedia says the fund has also backed Payman, a payments company, and Orita, an email marketing tool.
Theory Forge describes itself as an operator-led AI pre-seed and seed fund that backs founders building with AI. Tracxn classifies Schlicht's personal investments mainly under High Tech and Enterprise Applications, and all are in the United States. He has not publicly stated a personal check size, and no Theory Forge fund size or check range was found in the sources reviewed.
- Feltsense Holdings: builds autonomous AI "agentic founders"; $5.1M seed led by Draper Associates, announced February 2026.
- Mirai: seed round of $10M in February 2026, per Tracxn.
- Clouted: seed investment listed on Crunchbase; date not public.
- Sauna by Wordware: seed round, invested through Theory Forge Ventures per Crunchbase.
- Payman: payments company backed by Theory Forge Ventures.
- Orita: email marketing tool backed by Theory Forge Ventures.
- crunchbase.com/person/matt-schlicht
- crunchbase.com/organization/theory-forge-ventures
- tracxn.com/d/people/matt-schlicht/__LQbshD_8sTkUyVyLxeztdtcERkB4-yYXPP
- wellfound.com/p/matt
- x.com/mattprd
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Parr
- tech.yahoo.com/social-media/articles/meet-matt-schlicht-man-behind-202
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/feltsense-raises-5-1m-to-launch-agentic-f
Investing activity
Matt Schlicht appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $5M. The most recent is Feltsense Holdings (Seed, $5.1M, Feb 2026).
Matt Schlicht most often invests alongside Draper Associates, Bee Partners, Liquid 2 Ventures and Jager McConnell, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Matt Schlicht
Is Matt Schlicht an angel investor?
Yes. Crunchbase lists three personal investments (Clouted, Mirai, Feltsense Holdings), and his X bio says he invests at Theory Forge Ventures.
What is Matt Schlicht's check size?
No personal check size is public. Neither he nor Theory Forge states a range in the sources we reviewed.
What stage does Matt Schlicht invest in?
His recorded personal investments are seed rounds. Theory Forge Ventures describes itself as a pre-seed and seed fund.
What is Theory Forge Ventures?
It is an AI-focused pre-seed and seed fund started in 2024 by Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr. Crunchbase says it has invested in over 20 companies.
Did Matt Schlicht invest in Feltsense?
Yes. He is listed as an angel in Feltsense Holdings' $5.1M seed round, which Draper Associates led and which was announced in February 2026.
What companies has Matt Schlicht founded?
He founded Octane AI, Chatbots Magazine and Moltbook, and earlier ran Hipset and ZapChain.
What AI companies has Matt Schlicht invested in?
Matt Schlicht's AI investments include Feltsense Holdings. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Matt Schlicht invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Matt Schlicht has invested at Seed, with a median round of $5M.
Who does Matt Schlicht co-invest with?
Matt Schlicht's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Draper Associates (1 deal), Bee Partners (1 deal), Liquid 2 Ventures (1 deal), Jager McConnell (1 deal) and Western Technology Investment (1 deal).
How can founders reach Matt Schlicht?
Founders on Lounge can see Matt Schlicht'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 Matt Schlicht to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.