What founders, investors and partners ask us most about Alchemist.
Alchemist is an early-stage venture firm that backs deeply technical teams building for the enterprise, then guides them to enterprise traction. We invest at pre-seed and seed.
Every founder in our portfolio benefits from our Founder Experience. Highlights include an equity-aligned Partner matched to their company, a proven enterprise method built on playbooks refined over fourteen years, the Vault with our network of 40,000 mentors, over $500K in perks, and a community of founders that stays with them for the long haul.
Alchemist was founded by Ravi Belani in 2012 and is based in San Francisco. We have made more than 750 investments, with founders from 60+ countries.
Alchemist no longer considers itself an accelerator. We are an early-stage venture firm, and our focus is guiding deeply technical teams to enterprise traction. We do so through our Founder Experience, a proven commercialization method that does not run on a set program length. We support our portfolio companies for as long as they are building toward a venture-scale outcome.
We back deeply technical researchers, engineers and domain experts building the next generation of enterprise infrastructure and technology. Their business model is B2B, and they can be in any sector.
What sets us apart is what happens after we invest. Every portfolio company gets:
Learn more about our Founder Experience.
Ravi Belani founded Alchemist in 2012, and Danielle D'Agostaro joined him a year later. Ravi has since moved into the role of Chairman and appointed Ian Bergman as Chief Executive Officer. Meet the rest of our leadership team.
Our home is San Francisco. We also run programs in Chicago with the Polsky Center at the University of Chicago, in Doha with QRDI Council, and in Tokyo. Our portfolio spans founders from 60+ countries.
Since 2012 we have made more than 750 investments, including 5 unicorns and 3 public listings. Our portfolio companies have raised more than $5B in downstream funding. See our portfolio page to learn more about our companies.
Alchemist no longer calls itself Alchemist Accelerator. We now do business as Alchemist, at alchemist.vc. We are the same firm and the same team that founders have known since 2012, and our legal entity is still Alchemist Accelerator, LLC. Links to alchemistaccelerator.com bring you here.
We started in 2012 as Alchemist Accelerator, and many founders still know us that way. Today we are an early-stage venture firm. We invest at pre-seed and seed, and our support does not end with a six-month program and a demo day. It lasts as long as you are building toward a venture-scale outcome.
Our partners in Chicago and Japan still run programs on a set calendar with a start date and a showcase.
Pre-seed and seed. We back founders who are ready to commercialize and get in front of enterprise customers now.
Our check size ranges from $60,000 to $1 million, depending on the company and the program. See how we invest.
We are sector agnostic. Our portfolio spans AI, deep tech, data and analytics, developer tools, IoT, health, sales and marketing, manufacturing, financial services and more. AI is our largest field, and we have a strong focus in deep tech, backing companies across quantum computing, energy, robotics, sensing, drones, biotech, climate, semiconductors, aerospace and defense.
We back B2B businesses whose sale is complex and needs a method behind it. That includes:
We back deeply technical researchers, engineers and domain experts building the next generation of enterprise infrastructure and technology. The founders we work with best are builders: they know their technology deeply, and that expertise is how they win their market. They sell to businesses and know the sale is complex and needs a method behind it. They are ready to commercialize and get in front of customers now, and they want support beyond the check: the skills, resources and capabilities that give them an unfair advantage.
Yes, though it is a higher bar for solo founders, because it is harder to execute before you have assembled a founding team. Most Alchemist companies start with two or three committed co-founders with complementary skills.
Yes. Our founders come from 60+ countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and our investment structure works with your country of incorporation.
For founders in the Middle East and Asia, we recommend learning more about Alchemist Doha and Alchemist Japan, where we have specific resources.
The Alchemist Founder Experience is everything a founder gets from Alchemist once we invest: hands-on commercialization and fundraising support, our global network, and a community of founders that stays with you. Every founder we back gets it for as long as they are building toward a venture-scale outcome. It includes:
Partners are our select team of top-tier operators. Based on the type of business you are building, we match you with the Partner who can best support it, and you set prioritized business goals together over your first 12 months.
Alchemist assigns part of its equity to Partners, so their incentives are aligned with yours. There are no advisor shares to negotiate and no extra line on your cap table. Meet our Partners.
The Vault is Alchemist's in-house network portal. Through it, you can reach our network of 40,000 subject-matter experts around the world for mentorship whenever you need it, and browse our perks database. It stays open to you for as long as you remain an active portfolio company.
As long as you are building toward a venture-scale outcome, our team, network and resources are yours.
Your first year is the most hands-on: your Founder Plan, Success Manager and Partner in the first three months, structured commercialization and fundraising support in the first six, and our annual Founder Retreat each January.
After that, you keep access to the Vault, our mentors and perks, ongoing one-on-one fundraising strategy sessions and drop-in office hours, plus community events with investors and fellow founders. See the Founder Experience page for details.
No. You can build from anywhere. Our San Francisco office is yours when you need it. If you are based in Silicon Valley, or move here, you can get regular access to a desk for six months. Otherwise, you are always welcome to drop in whenever you are in Silicon Valley.
International portfolio companies can also attend our US Landing program: multi-day sessions on commercializing and fundraising in the US market, held in San Francisco or virtually.
Over $500K in negotiated offers made for Alchemist founders, such as cloud credits, reduced legal and banking fees and tokens. You can activate them right away or as you need them.
Share your company through our founder form. It goes straight to our investment team. Pitch us.
No. Our founder form goes straight to our investment team, so you can reach us directly.
Fill out our founder form and request the specific program you want to join. You can learn more about each program's eligibility, timeline and terms on its page: Alchemist Chicago, Alchemist Doha and Alchemist Japan.
Reach out through our contact form and choose “A mentor or operator.” If you're a good fit, we'll reach out with more information on how to get involved.
Email press@alchemist.vc, or reach out through our contact form and choose “Press.” Logos, headshots and our fact sheet are in the press kit.
See open roles on our careers page.
Everything lives in the Vault, our in-house portal for mentors, perks and introductions. Log in at vault.alchemistaccelerator.com. If you have trouble getting in, reach out to your Success Manager.
Tell us who you are and what you are building.