Tower Research Ventures
About Tower Research Ventures
Tower Research Ventures (TRV) is the venture arm of Tower Research Capital that partners with startups at the earliest stages, from incubating ideas with founders to investing in pre-seed and seed rounds.
Tower Research Ventures is the venture arm of Tower Research Capital, a quantitative trading firm founded in February 1998 by Mark Gorton and Alistair Brown and headquartered in New York City. PitchBook lists the venture firm as founded in 1998. Jared Young, Director of Venture Capital, leads the venture business, according to the firm's site. The Ventures team also includes Pietro Decio, Amelia Steinmetz and Frank Odom, who previously led machine learning engineering at early-stage startups. Fund sizes are not public.
The firm lists AI/ML among its focus areas, alongside deep tech, crypto/web3, fintech and developer infrastructure. Its AI holdings include Assembli, which offers AI-powered construction estimating, and CaseBlink, which automates immigration casework. CaseBlink's $2 million pre-seed round in March 2025 included TRV. TRV led the pre-seed round for Procurement Sciences, an AI platform for government contractors, and later took part in its Series A, which was led by Battery Ventures. In May 2024 TRV co-hosted an AI x Wall Street Night with Edge AI Research Lab, OpenBB and Cohere. Guard Owl, an agentic AI security platform, closed a $3 million seed round in early 2026 that Tower Ventures led.
TRV invests from incubation through pre-seed and seed. A third-party listing gives a check size range of $250K to $3M and says the firm can either lead rounds or join alongside other investors. The firm's own site does not state a check size.
- Assembli: AI-powered estimating for construction professionals.
- Atomic Canyon: AI for data sharing and operations in the nuclear energy sector; $7M Series A led by Energy Impact Partners (May 2025).
- CaseBlink: AI workflow automation for immigration practices; $2M pre-seed (March 2025).
- Procurement Sciences: all-in-one AI platform for government contractors; TRV led the pre-seed; $30M Series B (November 2025).
- Guard Owl: agentic AI for private security management; $3M seed (early 2026), led by Tower Ventures.
- Pine Sports: AI sports analytics and modeling for US sports bettors.
- Mentium: AI-powered payment automation for shippers, brokers and factoring companies; raised $3.2M (October 2025).
- tower-research.com/ventures
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/94239-10
- crunchbase.com/organization/tower-research-capital-llc
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Research_Capital
- f4.fund/firms/tower-research-ventures
- leadiq.com/c/tower-research-capital/5a1d8934240000240062b1fb
- linkedin.com/company/tower-research-capital
- simplify.jobs/c/Tower-Research-Capital
Investing activity
Tower Research Ventures appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $3M. The most recent is Guard Owl (Seed, $3M, Jan 2026).
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Tower Research Ventures
When was Tower Research Ventures founded?
PitchBook lists Tower Research Ventures as founded in 1998. Its parent, Tower Research Capital, was started in February 1998.
What stages does Tower Research Ventures invest in?
The firm invests from incubation through pre-seed and seed. Its site says it works with founders on early ideas before those rounds.
Does Tower Research Ventures invest in AI startups?
Yes. AI/ML is listed among its focus areas, and its portfolio includes AI companies in construction estimating, immigration workflows, government contracting and security.
How can founders contact Tower Research Ventures?
The firm's site lists a contact form for partnership inquiries and the address ventures@tower-research.com.
Who leads Tower Research Ventures?
Jared Young is listed as Director of Venture Capital and leads the venture business, according to the firm's site.
What AI companies has Tower Research Ventures invested in?
Tower Research Ventures's AI investments include Guard Owl. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Tower Research Ventures based?
Tower Research Ventures is based in New York, United States.
What stage does Tower Research Ventures invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Tower Research Ventures has invested at Seed, with a median round of $3M. Tower Research Ventures led 1 of those rounds.
How can founders reach Tower Research Ventures?
Founders on Lounge can see Tower Research Ventures's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Tower Research Ventures to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.