Zach Frankel
About Zach Frankel
Zach Frankel is an angel investor who, according to a profile by The Information summarized by Dealroom, invests only his own money. The same summary describes him as 37 and based in Miami, with a low public profile. Founders in his network reportedly call him "ZF". Crunchbase lists his location as New York.
He co-founded Better.com with Vishal Garg and sat on Juul's board. With Harvard friends Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh, he was the first investor and a board member at Paribus, which Capital One later bought, and then did the same at Ramp. He also interned at Founders Fund. In 2023 he co-started Long Lake Management with CEO Alex Taubman.
Crunchbase lists him as an advisor to Mixhalo and records a PhD in Machine Learning from the University of Oxford. He declined to comment for The Information's profile, and parts of that reporting rest on unnamed sources.
According to the Dealroom summary of The Information, Frankel wrote the first cheques into Ramp and Cognition. He also backed Applied Compute, Together AI and Modal. He sits on Cognition's board, and CEO Scott Wu reportedly leans on him for strategy.
The profile does not size his personal capital or his stakes. It also notes he is invested in both Cognition and its rival Factory. Crunchbase counts 10 personal investments and PitchBook counts 5, so the public data is incomplete.
Three recent AI rounds on the Lounge deals desk include Frankel: Noetive's $41M Seed (September 2026), AIR Security's $40M Seed (August 2026) and NavigateAI's $25M Seed (May 2026). Crunchbase and PitchBook also list him in Noetive, NavigateAI and Air Security. His earlier AI infrastructure and applied AI positions include Together AI, Modal, Applied Compute and Cognition.
His public record shows early-stage backing: first cheques at Ramp and Cognition, and seed rounds at Noetive, NavigateAI, AIR Security and Together AI. His AI exposure spans model infrastructure, coding agents and applied products. He has also backed fintech, in Paribus and Ramp. Check size, target ownership and stated criteria are not public, so this page does not give any.
- Ramp: corporate card and spend management company. Frankel wrote one of its first cheques and was on its board.
- Cognition: maker of the Devin AI software agent. Early backer and board member.
- Together AI: AI infrastructure company. Listed by Crunchbase as a seed investment.
- Modal: backed according to The Information profile. Year not public.
- Applied Compute: backed according to The Information profile and PitchBook.
- Paribus: first investor and board member, with Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh. Capital One later acquired it.
- Noetive: $41M Seed, September 2026.
- AIR Security: $40M Seed, August 2026.
- NavigateAI: $25M Seed, May 2026.
Investing activity
Zach Frankel appears in 3 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $106M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $40M and the largest at $41M. The most recent are Noetive (Seed, $41M, Sep 2026), AIR Security (Seed, $40M, Aug 2026) and NavigateAI (Seed, $25M, May 2026).
Zach Frankel most often invests alongside Swish VC, Eclipse, The Westly Group and Incite Ventures, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Zach Frankel
Who is Zach Frankel?
Zach Frankel is an angel investor who, per The Information's profile, invests his own money. He co-founded Better.com and was an early investor in Ramp and Cognition.
What AI startups has Zach Frankel invested in?
Recent rounds on the Lounge deals desk are Noetive, AIR Security and NavigateAI. Earlier AI positions include Cognition, Together AI, Modal and Applied Compute.
What is Zach Frankel's check size?
It is not public. No source found gives his check size, ownership targets or fund size, and he invests personal capital rather than a fund.
What stage does Zach Frankel invest in?
His public record is mostly early stage. He was the first cheque at Ramp and Cognition and has joined seed rounds at Noetive, NavigateAI and AIR Security.
Does Zach Frankel take board seats?
Yes, in some cases. He sits on Cognition's board, and he was a board member at Paribus and Ramp. He also sat on Juul's board.
How can founders contact Zach Frankel?
His LinkedIn profile is linkedin.com/in/zach-frankel. No personal website or public X account turned up, and he keeps a low public profile, so warm introductions from his network may be the more realistic route.
Is Zach Frankel an angel investor?
Yes. Zach Frankel invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Zach Frankel invested in?
Zach Frankel's AI investments include Noetive, AIR Security and NavigateAI. The 3 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Zach Frankel invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Zach Frankel has invested at Seed, with a median round of $40M.
Who does Zach Frankel co-invest with?
Zach Frankel's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Swish VC (2 deals), Eclipse (1 deal), The Westly Group (1 deal), Incite Ventures (1 deal) and Liquid 2 Ventures (1 deal).