Haystack
UnclaimedAt a Glance
- Check Size
- $250K – $1.5M
- Stage
- Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
- AUM
- $100M
- Sectors
- Enterprise, DevTools
- Founded
- 2013
- HQ
- San Francisco, CA
About Haystack
Haystack is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, CA. Haystack VC partners with innovative software and tech startups. We invest $500K-$2M in initial rounds, leading or participating. Discover how our decade of experience can fuel your startup's growth. The firm focuses on Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A investments across sectors including Enterprise, DevTools. Notable portfolio companies include Instacart, DoorDash, Hashicorp and Figma. Pre-seed focused firm investing in developer tools and enterprise infrastructure with a craftsman approach to building.
Investment Thesis
“Pre-seed focused firm investing in developer tools and enterprise infrastructure with a craftsman approach to building.”
Sector Focus
Investment Stage
Notable Portfolio Companies
Key Team (1)
Semil Shah
Founding Partner
Fund History
- Semil Shah founded Haystack in 2013 and has run it as a deliberately small pre-seed vehicle ever since, raising a new fund roughly every two years rather than scaling assets.
- Fund V and Fund VI were each $50 million, with Fund VI announced in December 2021 under the banner of a new fund and the same model.
- Haystack VII closed at $75 million in September 2023, and Haystack VIII at $79 million in May 2025.
- The firm writes $500,000 to $2 million initial checks and will lead or participate, which keeps it viable as a first institutional check in rounds that larger seed funds have grown past.
- Shah has been explicit that fund sizes have crept up only modestly on purpose: the strategy depends on owning a meaningful position in a very early round rather than deploying capital at scale, and the returns come from concentration in a small number of outcomes.
SEC Fund Filings
- Vehicles filed, last 24 months
- 1
- Latest filing
Haystack filed a Form D for 1 fund vehicle between Sep 30, 2024 and Sep 29, 2026.
| Fund vehicle | Source |
|---|---|
| Haystack Ventures VIII, L.P. | SEC Form D, filed |
A Form D is the notice a fund files with the SEC when it raises money in a private offering. Feeder funds, parallel funds and SPVs each file their own, so the count measures filing activity, not the number of flagship funds.
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D filings for pooled investment funds, original filings only (amendments excluded). Our filing data starts Jul 1, 2024. Vehicles are matched to Haystack by fund name and checked against the sponsor address and named principals on each filing; offering amounts are not shown. Each “SEC Form D” link opens an EDGAR full-text search for that vehicle’s exact name, where the filing itself is listed. See every new fund filing on the Form D Radar.
Frequently Asked Questions
What stage does Haystack invest at?
Haystack primarily invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages. This means they focus on companies that are at the earliest idea or prototype phase.
Where is Haystack located?
Haystack is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
What sectors does Haystack focus on?
Haystack focuses on investments in Enterprise, DevTools. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
What is Haystack's typical check size?
Haystack's typical investment check size ranges from $250K to $1.5M. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
How much does Haystack have under management?
Haystack manages approximately $100M in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
Similar Firms
Fund Operations Resources
Running a fund like Haystack? Independent guides to the software and processes emerging managers use to operate.
Best Fund Administration Software
Independent breakdown of fund administration platforms by fund size.
LP Reporting Software
Tools for capital account statements and investor updates.
Portfolio Monitoring Tools
How GPs track company performance across the portfolio.
VC CRM Software
Deal-flow and relationship management for investors.
Related tools and reading
The operating system for private capital.
Archstone runs the back office for venture, PE, real estate, and credit funds — LP reporting, capital calls, portfolio tracking, and fund accounting, in one platform. Now in alpha.