Transcend Network Fund
About Transcend Network Fund
Transcend Fund was founded in 2020 by game industry veterans, who cite more than 70 years of operator experience and $10B+ in lifetime revenue from large game franchises. The firm is based in San Francisco. Its first fund launched in 2020 with $50M for seed-stage game investments. A second fund of about $60M closed in November 2023. Shanti Bergel (Managing Director and Founding Partner), Andrew Sheppard (Managing Director) and Brett Krause (Managing Director) lead the investing team. Tracxn lists six team members, four of them partners.
The firm describes itself as backing AI-native entrepreneurs building interactive entertainment. Its stated view is that AI is changing the economics of games, so it looks for teams that treat AI as core architecture rather than a shortcut. Brett Krause has said the larger opportunity is building AI into the player experience itself, such as new game mechanics and more dynamic worlds. Examples include welevel, an AI-native studio where Transcend said it led the Series A; Live Aware Labs, an AI-powered developer feedback tool that raised a $4.8M seed in October 2024; and Heroic Story, a tabletop RPG platform that uses AI to help storytellers create characters, plots and realms.
The firm says it invests from pre-seed through Series A. The firm does not publish check sizes in the sources I found. Third-party listings disagree: f4.fund shows $2M to $15M, while investgame.net shows up to $5M. I found no public source showing Series C+ investments, so that stage is not listed here.
- welevel: AI-native game studio; Transcend said it led the Series A. A tracker lists a $6.0M seed in March 2025.
- Fyxer AI: $10.0M Series A listed for March 2025 in a third-party tracker of Transcend's investments.
- Live Aware Labs: AI-powered developer feedback tool; $4.8M seed in October 2024.
- Heroic Story: tabletop RPG platform using AI to help storytellers build characters, plots and realms; round not public.
Investing activity
Transcend Network Fund is listed on Lounge as a venture capital investor based in USA. 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 Transcend Network Fund
When was Transcend Fund founded and who founded it?
Transcend Fund was founded in 2020 by game industry veterans and is based in San Francisco. Its public sources name Shanti Bergel, Andrew Sheppard and Brett Krause as key team members.
Does Transcend Fund invest in AI startups?
Yes. The firm backs AI-native game studios and tools for making games, from pre-seed through Series A. Recent examples include welevel and Live Aware Labs.
What is Transcend Fund's check size?
The firm does not publish its check size in the sources reviewed. Third-party listings range from up to $5M to $2M to $15M, so confirm terms directly with the team.
Is Transcend Network the same as Transcend Fund?
No. Transcend Network is a separate fellowship focused on learning and work, and some listings describe its venture arm as Transcend Fund. This profile covers the games and AI firm at transcend.fund.
Which AI companies has Transcend Fund backed?
Public examples include welevel, Fyxer AI, Live Aware Labs and Heroic Story. Rounds and dates come from third-party trackers and may be incomplete.
Where is Transcend Network Fund based?
Transcend Network Fund is based in USA.
How can founders reach Transcend Network Fund?
Founders on Lounge can see Transcend Network Fund'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 Transcend Network Fund to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.