At a Glance
Base10 Partners is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, CA, founded in 2017, investing in Automation for the Real Economy and backing diverse entrepreneurs building category-defining companies. It is the world's largest Black-led VC for Real Economy companies, invests at Seed and Series A across Enterprise and Marketplace, and has been recorded with $350M in assets under management. Notable portfolio companies include Paymi, Plaid, Cruise, ClassPass, Farmer's Business Network and Glitch.
The Real Economy thesis is the firm's organizing idea. Rather than chasing categories that are already digitized, Base10 targets the sectors that carry most of GDP and the least software spend, including logistics, construction, healthcare, financial services and real estate, and underwrites AI and automation applied to them.
Its scale has moved considerably past the $350M figure. Fund I closed at $137 million in 2017, the largest debut fund raised by a Black-led firm at the time; Fund II at $250 million; Fund III at $450 million; and two later vehicles at a reported $850 million combined, bringing assets to roughly $2.6 billion. The firm also runs the Base10 Advancement Initiative, a growth-stage vehicle that commits half its GP profits to endowments at historically Black colleges and universities, a structure that ties the firm's carried interest to an outcome outside its own balance sheet and remains rare among funds of its size. Co-founders Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian lead the partnership from 101 Mission Street.
“Invests in automation for the real economy, focusing on diverse founders building category-defining companies.”
| Fund | Vintage | Size | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | $137M | — | |
| — | $250M | — |
Base10's first fund was organized in 2017 as Urizen Early Stage Ventures II, L.P., renamed Base10 Partners I, L.P., and recorded its first sale on May 19, 2017; it closed at $137.32 million, the largest debut fund raised by a Black-led venture firm at the time. Fund II followed with a first sale in October 2019 and closed at $250.31 million.
In March 2021 the firm launched the Base10 Advancement Initiative, a growth-stage vehicle that closed at $282.23 million and pledges half its GP profits to historically Black college and university endowments. Fund III closed at $449.85 million off a December 2021 first sale. A second Advancement Initiative, later renamed Base10 Series B I, L.P., closed at $457.45 million from a July 2022 first sale. In February 2025 the firm filed two new vehicles, Base10 Seed & Series A IV and Base10 Series B II, each targeting $450 million; the pair were reported to have closed at $850 million combined, lifting assets under management to roughly $2.6 billion.
2023
Noom
Growth2022
Chipper Cash
Series CPipe
Series B2021
Faire
Ritual
Series B2020
Ro
Series B2019
Parachute
Series B2018
ClassPass
Series D+Base10 Partners primarily invests at the Seed, Series A stages. This means they focus on companies that are building their initial product and finding product-market fit.
Base10 Partners is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
Base10 Partners focuses on investments in Enterprise, Marketplace. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
Base10 Partners's typical investment check size ranges from $100K to $5M. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
Base10 Partners manages approximately $2.6B in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
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