Investor profile

FirsthandVC

Micro-fund

USILAI/MLB2B SaaSEnterpriseHealthtechFintechDevtools

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Investment thesis

FirsthandVC is an inception-stage venture capital firm that partners with experienced founders building B2B autonomous agentic AI from day zero. Founded in 2022 by Simon Chan (a four-time Salesforce-acquired founder), the firm backs companies deploying AI agents to automate complex enterprise workflows across legal, healthcare, procurement, sales, and enterprise software. The firm leverages a uniquely curated network of Salesforce alumni and accomplished B2B software leaders to provide portfolio companies with privileged access to enterprise buyers, distribution channels, and operational expertise. As stated on their site: "We partner with experienced founders building Autonomous AI systems from day zero." Exclusion criteria include consumer apps, horizontal AI tools without clear enterprise focus, and non-technical or first-time founding teams.

Notable quotes

Three years ago, after two decades as a founder, I started a VC fund as if the world needed yet another one. Why? Because I selfishly wanted to keep hanging out with the smartest folks who are passionate about turning wild ideas into reality. From my own experience, I knew founders didn't need just another pile of cash. What we really needed were friends with first-hand experience who could open doors at crucial moments.

Simon Chan · LinkedIn post by Simon Chan (FirsthandVC) · 2025-02

I've been fortunate to be an investor in CrewAI from day zero, and even more fortunate to call João (Joe) Moura a friend. When he started the company, agentic AI wasn't even a category yet. Now his platform is powering agent deployments at AB InBev, PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, and dozens of other enterprise customers.

Simon Chan · LinkedIn post by Simon Chan (FirsthandVC) · 2025

FirsthandVC was there from Day 1. It's been incredible to witness Distyl's hyperscale journey — now at $175M raised and a $1.8B valuation, backed by Lightspeed, Khosla Ventures, DST Global, Coatue Management, and Dell Technologies Capital.

Greg Sung · LinkedIn post by Greg Sung (FirsthandVC Partner) · 2025-09

Team

Simon Chan

Founder, Managing Partner & General Partner

AI/MLB2B SaaSEnterpriseDevtools

Ty Ching

Investor

AI/MLB2B SaaS

Greg Sung

Partner

AI/MLEnterprise

Rashad Itani

Partner

AI/MLB2B SaaS

Giuliano Iacobelli

Partner

AI/MLEnterprise

Shankar Bhargava

Partner

AI/MLB2B SaaSCybersecurity

Recent investments

CompanyRoundSizeDate
Distyl AISeries B$175m2025-09
EudiaSeries A$105m2025-02
OltoPre-seed$5m2025-07
ai.workSeed$10m2025-06
CrewAISeries A$18m2024-10
AvarraSeed$8m2024-10
NoeticaSeries A$22m2024-10
AdonisSeries B$31m2024-06
DideroSeries A$30m2026-02
LumberFiSeries A$16m2025-03

Frequent co-investors

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