Building something special?
Send your technical thesis, your team, and what you're shipping. We read every pitch and respond within a week. No introductions necessary.
One page. No fluff.
What to include in a first pitch, and which format works best for the work you're doing.
- 01One line
What you're building, in plain language.
- 02The layer
Where it sits in the stack — model, runtime, scheduler, network, silicon, protocol.
- 03Technical insight
What you see that the market hasn't priced yet, and why it's defensible.
- 04The team
Who is building it, and why you specifically.
- 05Status
Research, prototype, in production, with revenue. Numbers if you have them.
- 06The raise
Round size, target close, lead status, use of funds.
- Deck (PDF)10 – 15 slides
Visual systems, architectures, benchmarks, demos.
- Memo2 – 4 pages
Dense technical theses, market structure, research-heavy work.
- Loom / video3 – 6 minutes
Live demos of working systems or developer tooling.
Common questions.
The things founders ask before pitching us.
- 01
What should I include in a first pitch?
Keep it short and technical. We're looking for: a one-line description of what you're building, the system or layer it sits at (AI, compute, distributed systems), the technical insight or unfair advantage behind it, the team and why you're the ones to build it, current status (in research, prototype, in production, with revenue), and how much you're raising. A deck, memo, or short Loom all work — we don't have a preferred format.
- 02
What stages do you invest in?
Pre-seed through Series A, with the majority of Fund I deployed at pre-seed and seed. First checks are $100K – $250K and we're comfortable being the first institutional capital on the cap table. We follow on selectively into rounds we lead or co-lead.
- 03
Do I need a warm introduction?
No. Cold pitches go to abhi@lightside.vc or through the form on this site. We read everything and respond within a week.
- 04
Are you sector- or geography-restricted?
We focus on deep-technology infrastructure across AI, compute, and distributed systems. Geographically we're concentrated in the West Coast corridor — Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle, and Phoenix — but we'll meet exceptional technical founders anywhere.