Max Levchin
About Max Levchin
Max Levchin was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved to the US in 1991, settling in Chicago. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He co-founded PayPal (originally Confinity) in 1998 and was its CTO until eBay acquired it in 2002.
After PayPal he founded Slide, which Google acquired in 2010. He later founded Affirm, a buy-now-pay-later company, and co-founded the fertility app Glow. Affirm and Glow both came out of his San Francisco innovation lab, HVF (Hard, Valuable, Fun). He is also a former chairman of Yelp. Affirm went public in January 2021.
Levchin invests personally and through SciFi VC, which he founded with his wife Nellie Levchin. Third-party databases count his individual deals differently: Crunchbase lists 112 investments, PitchBook 136 and Tracxn 50. These counts depend on each database's coverage and are not figures he has published.
SciFi VC began as the investment arm of HVF and was formerly called HVF Investments. Among his listed deals, Pomelo shows a seed round in May 2021 and a Series A in October 2021. Black Ore had a $60M seed in November 2023, and Cavalry appears in April 2024.
His most visible AI-era deal in the sources is Bland AI, where Tracxn records a $16M Series A on August 28, 2024, alongside Scale Venture Partners and Y Combinator. PitchBook shows further Bland AI deal entries dated October 2024 and January 2025. SciFi VC's own positioning mentions fintech, AI and science. Founders should treat that as a sector interest, not a stated AI thesis.
SciFi VC describes itself as investing in early-stage companies whose defensibility comes from hard technical feats, network effects, or complex, highly regulated industries. Third-party profiles list pre-seed, seed and Series A as its core stages, with some later rounds. Sectors named include fintech, AI, deeptech, health and marketplaces.
Aggregators VC Sheet and F4 list a $100K to $1M check range for SciFi VC. NFX Signal lists the same range for Levchin personally. These come from third parties, not from a statement by Levchin or the fund, so confirm before relying on them. The fund is based in San Francisco and invests mainly in the US.
- Bland AI: Tracxn lists a $16M Series A in August 2024 with Levchin participating.
- Black Ore: financial software company with a $60M seed in November 2023.
- Brex: corporate credit cards for startups, named as a holding by third-party profiles.
- Opendoor: named as a notable investment by Tracxn and other profiles.
- Pomelo: seed in May 2021 and Series A in October 2021, per NFX Signal.
- Cavalry: business software company, deal recorded in April 2024 by PitchBook.
- CoPilot: Series A in June 2023, per NFX Signal.
- investors.affirm.com/management/max-levchin
- cnbc.com/2021/01/05/affirm-ceo-max-levchin-to-become-next-billionaire-
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Levchin
- ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/max-levchin
- signal.nfx.com/investors/max-levchin
- vcsheet.com/who/max-levchin
- f4.fund/firms/scifi-vc
- crunchbase.com/person/max-levchin
Investing activity
Max Levchin is listed on Lounge as an angel investor based in San Francisco, CA. The deals desk records Series A and later AI rounds and seeds over $10M, so smaller checks may not show here yet.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Max Levchin
Does Max Levchin invest in AI startups?
Yes. He participated in Bland AI's $16M Series A in August 2024, per Tracxn. SciFi VC also lists AI among its sectors.
What is Max Levchin's check size as an angel?
He has not published one. NFX Signal and VC Sheet list $100K to $1M, which is a third-party estimate.
What stage does Max Levchin invest in?
Mostly early stage. Third-party profiles list pre-seed, seed and Series A for SciFi VC, with some later-stage rounds.
What does SciFi VC look for in founders?
SciFi VC says it backs companies defensible through hard technical feats, network effects, or complex regulated industries. Its partners have described the founder-market fit and technical depth they look for.
Who runs SciFi VC?
Max Levchin is founder and general partner, and Nellie Levchin is a partner. Brooks Hosfield and Matt Therian are also listed as partners.
Where can founders contact Max Levchin?
His public handles are LinkedIn and @mlevchin on X, and his site is levchin.com. SciFi VC also has a site at scifi.vc.
Is Max Levchin an angel investor?
Yes. Max Levchin invests personally as an angel.
Where is Max Levchin based?
Max Levchin is based in San Francisco, CA.
How can founders reach Max Levchin?
Founders on Lounge can see Max Levchin'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 Max Levchin to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.