Chapter One Ventures
UnclaimedAt a Glance
- Check Size
- $5K – $200K
- Stage
- Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+
- AUM
- $130M
- Sectors
- Consumer, Web3, Deeptech
- HQ
- Los Angeles, CA
About Chapter One Ventures
Chapter One is an early-stage venture firm founded by Jeff Morris Jr. that calls itself the venture firm for product-driven founders, and it operates from Los Angeles and London. It invests from pre-seed and seed through Series A, Series B and later rounds, writing $500,000 to $2 million checks, and its recorded sector coverage spans consumer, fintech, climate, aerospace and defense and other frontier categories.
The firm's identity is product craft rather than sector thesis. Its team is drawn from people who led product, design and engineering at companies that shipped to hundreds of millions of users, and its offer to management teams is design and go-to-market help at a depth most seed funds do not staff for. Morris built the firm's reputation writing publicly about product-led growth and consumer subscription mechanics while he was still an operator at Tinder.
Chapter One became one of the most visible early crypto and web3 investors, and its stated aim there is making crypto usable by ordinary people through better design and interface work. In March 2022 it launched an incubator writing million-dollar checks into web3 startups. It deliberately keeps checks small in decentralized networks to avoid concentrated control, an unusual self-imposed constraint, and it runs a formal founder experience organization rather than treating portfolio support as a partner side duty.
Portfolio positions include Superhuman, Lyft and Roam Research. What distinguishes Chapter One is the composition of its capital as much as its portfolio: limited partners include Sequoia, Greylock, Bessemer, Index and Kleiner Perkins, meaning larger firms fund it to get early exposure to deals they would otherwise see a round or two later.
Investment Thesis
“Backs product-driven consumer, crypto and frontier technology companies at the earliest stages from Los Angeles, with a London presence.”
Sector Focus
Investment Stage
Notable Portfolio Companies
Fund History
- Chapter One raised a $40 million second fund in 2021 and a $50 million third fund in 2022, bringing assets under management to roughly $130 million.
- The limited partner base is unusual for a fund of that size: it includes venture firms such as Sequoia, Greylock, Bessemer, Index and Kleiner Perkins alongside institutions, which amounts to an endorsement from the firms that would price the next round.
- Fund III was raised at the peak of the web3 financing cycle and funded the incubator Chapter One launched in March 2022, which wrote million-dollar checks into early crypto teams.
- Fund sizes have stayed deliberately small relative to the firm's public profile.
- Writing $500,000 to $2 million checks into decentralized networks is a strategy that breaks when a fund has to deploy at scale, and the firm has said it keeps checks small in those networks specifically to avoid concentrated control.
Team (1)
Related Articles (4)
Frequently Asked Questions
What stage does Chapter One Ventures invest at?
Chapter One Ventures primarily invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+ stages. This means they focus on companies that are at the earliest idea or prototype phase.
Where is Chapter One Ventures located?
Chapter One Ventures is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
What sectors does Chapter One Ventures focus on?
Chapter One Ventures focuses on investments in Consumer, Web3, Deeptech. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
What is Chapter One Ventures's typical check size?
Chapter One Ventures's typical investment check size ranges from $5K to $200K. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
How much does Chapter One Ventures have under management?
Chapter One Ventures manages approximately $130M in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
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