Floodgate
Palo Alto micro-VC founded in 2008 by Mike Maples Jr. and Ann Miura-Ko, known for pioneering small early-stage funds and early bets on Lyft, Okta, and Twitch.
Typical check size
$250K-$3M (stage-based estimate)
Founded
2008
Headquarters
Palo Alto, CA
AUM
N/A
Rounds they lead
Pre-Seed
Seed
Rounds they invest
Pre-Seed
Seed
Series A
Portfolio companies we track
Startups in our directory that list Floodgate as an investor (8 total).
- AirGarage Full-stack parking management platform for commercial real estate owners.
- Counsel Health Physician-supervised async AI medical advice via messaging for employers and health plans.
- Lob.com API for programmatic direct mail — print, ship, and verify addresses at scale.
- Mem AI-native note-taking with self-organizing knowledge graph and team collaboration.
- Okta Enterprise identity and access management — SSO, MFA, and workforce identity cloud.
- Sandbox VR Location-based multiplayer VR experiences in proprietary motion-capture arenas.
- SnapLogic Enterprise iPaaS integrating cloud SaaS, databases, and on-premise systems.
- Wavedash Browser-first platform for high-end PC games — instant play via WebGPU/WebAssembly.
Related investment articles
FAQs about Floodgate
Stage fit, check size, thesis, and how founders typically approach this firm — based on public sources and our directory.
Per our directory, Floodgate leads pre-seed and seed rounds and participates through Series A. The firm focuses on very early technology companies—often before traditional Series A metrics exist.
Floodgate does not publish a fixed check range. Our directory estimate, based on its micro-VC model, reflects seed checks sized for high ownership at the earliest stages—not growth-equity tickets.
Floodgate is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. It invests primarily in U.S. software startups, with Bay Area roots but national deal flow given its reputation among seed founders.
Our directory tags generalist-tech. Floodgate publicly backs ambitious software founders at inflection points—historically consumer and enterprise—with a thesis of finding 'prime' disruption before consensus.
Floodgate commonly leads seed rounds, as in its December 2025 Wavedash investment led by Mike Maples Jr. It may follow selectively in Series A for breakout portfolio companies.
Startups in our directory with Floodgate listed include Okta (/startup/okta), Wavedash (/startup/wavedash), Mem (/startup/mem), AirGarage (/startup/airgarage), and SnapLogic (/startup/snaplogic).
Founders can reach Floodgate through floodgate.com. Warm intros from prior Floodgate founders or seed angels help; the firm is thesis-driven on category-defining early bets. We do not list partner emails.
See our Floodgate Wavedash seed article (/2026-floodgate-wavedash-4-3m-seed) covering a $4.3M seed led by Mike Maples Jr. in December 2025.