8VC
Joe Lonsdale's Austin-based firm backing and building technology companies across defense, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, and enterprise software.
Typical check size
$500K-$5M typical early; up to $50M (firm-cited wide range)
Founded
2015
Headquarters
Austin, TX
AUM
N/A
Rounds they lead
Seed
Series A
Rounds they invest
Seed
Series A
Series B+
Portfolio companies we track
Startups in our directory that list 8VC as an investor (17 total).
- Apex Space Productized satellite bus manufacturer (Aries, Nova, and Comet platforms).
- Bedrock Robotics Retrofit autonomy kit turning 20–80 ton excavators into supervised self-driving earthmovers on construction sites.
- BigHat Biosciences AI-guided antibody design platform (Milliner) for safer protein therapeutics.
- Cartography Biosciences Oncology biotech building an antigen atlas for precise antibody immunotherapies.
- Cognition Autonomous AI software engineer Devin — agents that code, debug, and ship production software for enterprises.
- CX2 AI-driven electronic warfare systems for U.S. defense spectral dominance.
- Elegen Next-generation cell-free DNA synthesis for genetic medicine manufacturing.
- Filmhub Direct-to-streaming distribution marketplace for independent filmmakers.
- Glimpse AI platform automating retail deductions and revenue recovery for CPG brands.
- Illumio Zero-trust microsegmentation platform for data-center and cloud breach containment.
- Lighter zk-rollup perpetual futures DEX with on-chain order matching.
- Octant Bio Synthetic-biology platform mapping GPCR drug targets using engineered human cell reporters.
- Orchestra Bio Agentic R&D operations platform unifying scientific, financial, and operational planning for biotechs.
- Overland AI Seattle defense-tech company building off-road ground autonomy for U.S. military — OverDrive stack, SPARK upfits, and ULTRA vehicles.
- Ramp AI-powered finance platform combining corporate cards, expense, bill pay, procurement, and accounting automation.
- Saronic Autonomous surface vessels for US Navy and maritime defense at production scale.
- Senra Systems Software-driven wire harness manufacturing for aerospace and defense.
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FAQs about 8VC
Stage fit, check size, thesis, and how founders typically approach this firm — based on public sources and our directory.
8VC invests from pre-seed through Series B, with primary activity at seed and Series A. The firm also runs a Build program that co-founds companies from inception, reserving a meaningful share of capital for studio-created startups.
Public materials cite a wide $500K–$50M range depending on stage and conviction. Early seed checks often start around $500K–$5M, with larger Series A/B positions for category-defining companies; exact sizing is deal-specific. For planning, see /8vc-check-size-2026.
8VC is headquartered in Austin, Texas (relocated from San Francisco). The firm invests primarily in North America with activity in Europe, Israel, and other markets for defense and frontier-technology companies.
8VC targets what it calls national-capability and industry-transformation themes: defense and aerospace, advanced manufacturing, biotech and life sciences, healthcare IT, logistics, fintech, and enterprise software.
8VC frequently leads seed and Series A rounds and is highly hands-on, especially for Build-program companies it co-founds. The firm also participates in follow-ons for breakout portfolio companies.
In our directory, 8VC is linked to Saronic (/startup/saronic), Senra Systems (/startup/senra-systems), Lighter (/startup/lighter), Illumio (/startup/illumio), Glimpse (/startup/glimpse), Filmhub (/startup/filmhub), Elegen (/startup/elegen), CX2 (/startup/cx2), Cartography Biosciences (/startup/cartography-biosciences), Bighat Biosciences (/startup/bighat-biosciences), and Apex Space (/startup/apex-space).
Founders with deep domain expertise in 8VC's sectors should seek warm intros from portfolio founders, operators, or military/academic networks. The Build program is aimed at domain experts who want to co-found with 8VC before a traditional fundraise.
See our Saronic Series D coverage (/2026-saronic-1-75b-series-d-maritime-autonomy), which discusses maritime autonomy companies in 8VC's orbit. Browse linked startup profiles from /fund/8vc for more context.