Paul Palmieri
About Paul Palmieri
Paul Palmieri is Managing General Partner and founder of Grit Capital Partners. He is based in Maryland and splits his time between New York City and Maryland. He graduated from Mount St. Mary's University, where he is Trustee Emeritus and founder of the Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship.
He co-founded Millennial Media, a mobile advertising company, and served as its Chairman and CEO from 2006 to 2014. Third-party profiles say it grew from no revenue to $341 million over seven years and went public in a $1.4 billion IPO. Before that he led mobile data at Verizon Wireless, growing it from $30M to $4B by his own account. He is also co-founder and Executive Chairman of Incremental, which Crunchbase describes as an AI company. Third-party profiles describe it as measurement and prediction for retail media.
His venture path began with a venture advisor role at New Enterprise Associates (2014 to 2016) and a venture partner role at BlueRun Ventures (2016 to 2018), according to NFX Signal. He then built Grit. He is a former Global Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association and served on the board of the IAB. He has been a national judge for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year program and won the award in the technology category.
Palmieri invests mainly through Grit Capital Partners rather than as a solo angel, so founders should expect to pitch a fund. His Crunchbase bio says he has led the firm's investments in more than a dozen companies. It also says Grit delivered two top-decile pilot funds and over $1B in exit enterprise value.
Crunchbase's personal profile lists 6 investments, 6 portfolio companies, 1 lead investment and 2 exits, with none by IPO. PitchBook's firm-level page shows a larger set: 42 investments, 24 portfolio companies and 13 exits. The two sources count differently, so treat both as approximate. He sits on the boards of portfolio companies Niche and Incremental.
Grit describes its focus as applied AI products and services that change how people engage, interact and transact. Palmieri's bio frames his focus as applied AI used to transform commerce, media and martech.
Recent Grit deals listed by PitchBook include Layo and MadConnect (both late 2024 or early 2025), Averi AI (May 2025), Monark Markets (June 2025) and Kira (August 2025). These are firm deals and are not all confirmed as led by Palmieri. His own company, Incremental, applies AI to measuring the effect of commerce and retail media spend.
PitchBook describes Grit as a New York venture firm founded in 2017 that focuses on seed-stage applied AI startups in commerce, media, martech and fintech. A Wellfound profile lists his core areas as digital media, SaaS, adtech and the developer ecosystem. Another profile describes consumer software, marketing technology, media and commerce platforms.
NFX Signal lists an investment range of $1M to $2.5M with a sweet spot of $2.0M. This comes from a third-party listing and not from a statement by Palmieri, so confirm it with him before you rely on it. He has not made a public statement on check size that we could find. His background is in advertising, mobile and commerce, so founders in those markets have the most direct overlap.
- Incremental: co-founded by Palmieri, who is Executive Chairman. It offers measurement and applied AI for retail and commerce media. Grit's Crunchbase timeline shows a funding round in 2020.
- Niche: Grit portfolio company where Palmieri serves on the board. Crunchbase shows a Grit-linked round on its firm timeline, with the date unclear.
- Zeel: appears on Grit's Crunchbase timeline with a funding round from Grit Capital Partners.
- Loupe: appears on Grit's Crunchbase timeline as a funding round, with the date unclear.
- Maglev Aero: funding round from Grit Capital Partners and Moai Capital.
- StreamMetrics: appears on Grit's Crunchbase timeline.
- Averi AI: Grit deal dated May 2025 on PitchBook.
- Kira: Grit deal dated August 2025 on PitchBook.
- Monark Markets: Grit deals dated June 2025 on PitchBook.
Investing activity
Paul Palmieri has made 6 investments according to Crunchbase across 6 portfolio companies, and has led 1 round, seen 2 exits and founded 3 companies.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Paul Palmieri
Who is Paul Palmieri?
Paul Palmieri is founder and Managing Partner of Grit Capital Partners. He co-founded Millennial Media and is co-founder and Executive Chairman of Incremental.
What does Paul Palmieri invest in?
He focuses on applied AI in commerce, media and martech. PitchBook also lists fintech as a Grit focus area.
What check size does Paul Palmieri write?
NFX Signal lists a range of $1M to $2.5M with a $2.0M sweet spot. This is a third-party listing and he has not confirmed it publicly.
What stage does Paul Palmieri invest at?
PitchBook says Grit Capital Partners focuses on seed-stage startups. Crunchbase describes his work as early-stage venture investing.
Which companies has Paul Palmieri invested in?
Grit's portfolio includes Incremental, Niche, Zeel, Loupe, Maglev Aero, StreamMetrics, Averi AI, Kira and Monark Markets. He serves on the boards of Niche and Incremental.
How can founders pitch Paul Palmieri?
He invests through Grit Capital Partners (grit.vc). The best fit is a seed-stage applied AI company in commerce, media or martech. A warm introduction through a shared investor or network may help.
Is Paul Palmieri an angel investor?
Yes. Paul Palmieri invests personally as an angel and is Managing General Partner / Founder at Grit Capital Partners. Crunchbase counts 6 investments and 2 exits.
Where is Paul Palmieri based?
Paul Palmieri is based in Maryland, United States, North America.
How can founders reach Paul Palmieri?
Founders on Lounge can see Paul Palmieri'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 Paul Palmieri to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.