Greycroft is a bicoastal seed-to-growth venture platform investing globally across AI-driven software, sustainability technologies, and innovative consumer brands. The firm is especially focused on backing companies at commercialization inflection points where product strength, distribution leverage, and strong timing can drive outsized scale.
Evaluation weights
How much weight this firm places on each dimension. Totals 100%.
Revenue, growth, and unit economics
Size, timing, and competitive landscape
Founder experience and execution ability
Differentiation and technical quality
- Biased toward commercialization-ready companies rather than pure science risk
- Increasingly tilted toward AI-centric opportunities over legacy sector coverage
- Prefers product-first companies with clear distribution leverage
- More receptive when a company can become a category leader, not just a solid niche business
Pitch difficulty
How hard it is to get a meeting and close funding from this firm.
- Funded / yr
- 31Deals closed in a typical year.
- Led / yr
- 12Rounds led in the last 12 months.
- Pitches / yr
- ~10868Decks reviewed in a typical year.
- Acceptance rate
- 0.3%Share of pitches that get funded.
Estimated — public data is not fully disclosed.
Why it's hard
- Competes for and selects into high-demand AI and breakout consumer deals
- Requires clear founder strength and disciplined execution
- Places real weight on commercialization readiness and traction signals
- Often looks for category-defining potential rather than modest outcomes
Greycroft is broad by stage and sector, but it is highly thesis-driven and tends to back companies with standout founders, clear differentiation, and visible commercialization momentum. Its ability to lead from seed through growth and concentration in hot categories like AI make the bar meaningfully above average, though not as narrow as a single-stage specialist fund.
Green flags
What drives a yes for this firm.
- Exceptional founders with bold vision and disciplined execution
- Clear product or technology differentiation, especially in crowded AI categories
- Evidence of commercialization readiness or accelerating product-market fit
- Strong distribution leverage, category timing, and scalable go-to-market pathways
- Early or established signals of category leadership, traction, or efficiency
Red flags
What kills deals and gets a fast no.
- Undifferentiated AI application pitches with no proprietary edge
- Weak or ambiguous route from pilot use to scaled commercialization
- Founders who lack evidence of disciplined execution
- Crowded markets where the startup cannot explain why it beats incumbents
- Traction that looks inflated, low quality, or disconnected from durable demand
How to win
Patterns that lead to successful pitches.
- Show why the company is hitting a commercialization inflection point right now
- Demonstrate product differentiation with concrete proof, not generic AI claims
- Frame the founder-team as uniquely suited to win the category
- Present traction in a way that highlights acceleration, retention, and distribution leverage
- Tie the opportunity directly to Greycroft's current pillars: intelligent applications, sustainability scale-up, or next-generation consumer platforms
Fund strategy & identity
Who they are and how they operate.
- Invest from Pre-Seed through Growth with meaningful follow-on capacity
- Lead or co-lead rounds where the firm sees durable category momentum and strong teams
- Concentrate on three pillars: AI/software, sustainability, and consumer brands/platforms
- Use thematic conviction to back both net-new company formation and scale-stage winners
- Pair technology underwriting with commercialization readiness and distribution advantage
Firm identity
Investment focus
Industries, themes, and typical ARR expectations.
Industries
Investment themes
Typical check by stage
Typical ARR by stage
Investment thesis
Core beliefs and strategy behind their investing approach.
Greycroft is a bicoastal, seed‑to‑growth venture platform that concentrates on three co‑equal pillars: AI‑driven software, sustainability technologies, and innovative consumer brands. On software, the firm explicitly emphasizes foundational models, AI infrastructure, and “intelligent” enterprise and consumer applications, asserting that AI will dominate the software category over the next decade. This shows up both in net‑new company formation (e.g., early‑stage AI infrastructure and application startups) and in growth‑stage opportunities where AI is an accelerant of distribution, retention, or margin structure. In sustainability, Greycroft manages the Greycroft Coca‑Cola System Sustainability Fund, which targets commercialization‑ready solutions in packaging, heating/cooling, facility decarbonization, distribution, and supply chain—paired with piloting paths via the global Coca‑Cola system. This reinforces a thesis that value creation stems from pairing breakthrough technology with scaled go‑to‑market channels at the moment of commercialization. In consumer, Greycroft backs culturally resonant brands and commerce/marketplace platforms that reimagine everyday categories, often where community, creator economies, or novel mobile experiences drive defensibility (e.g., live shopping and user‑generated content). The firm’s core belief about value creation is consistent across pillars: partner with exceptional founders at key inflection points where distribution leverage, product excellence, and timing (e.g., AI capability waves, sustainability tailwinds, or shifting consumer behaviors) can catalyze outsized outcomes. Geographically, while rooted in New York and Los Angeles and recently expanded in the Bay Area, the firm invests globally and engages across sectors “at the intersection of culture and business.”
Decision patterns
How they evaluate and make investment decisions.
Signals Greycroft highlights repeatedly include: exceptional founders and teams; clear product and technology advantages; disciplined execution; and timing around commercialization. In a partner‑authored note on leading Whatnot’s Series E, the team cited the founders’ “bold vision,” “product‑ and technology‑first approach,” and “disciplined execution,” paired with evidence of category leadership (multi‑billion GMV). Ian Sigalow has described the current focus as “intelligent applications” across consumer and enterprise—underscoring a preference for AI‑native product experiences rather than incremental tooling. In earlier stages, Greycroft underwrites around founder quality, speed of learning, and early traction. The Sybill Series A highlighted rapid ARR scaling (from $100k to $1M within 9 months) as a proxy for product‑market resonance. In security/infra (ConductorOne), the firm paired a lead check with a thesis on accelerating AI adoption driving identity/security complexity, favoring teams tackling critical workflows and compliance constraints. Deal‑breakers implied by public commentary center on lack of a credible route to commercialization or weak differentiation versus incumbents—especially in crowded AI application categories where accuracy, reliability, and defensibility matter.
Risk appetite
Greycroft’s risk posture is balanced but proactive. Its willingness to lead at multiple stages—including large late‑stage rounds (e.g., Whatnot’s $265M Series E) and security/infra scale‑ups (ConductorOne’s $79M Series B)—signals conviction when it identifies durable teams and category momentum. On the venture side, first checks of $0.5M‑$5M allow early engagement and underwriting of product/market‑fit risk; on the growth side, $10M‑$35M commitments concentrate capital behind proven commercialization and scale. Public statements emphasize backstopping companies “at the critical moment of commercialization,” and the Coca‑Cola sustainability mandate aligns with investing at or near revenue‑deployment readiness. A reported shift away from healthcare/fintech toward AI‑centric opportunities reflects a deliberate reallocation rather than blanket risk aversion. Overall, Greycroft acts as an active, lead‑capable syndicate partner with meaningful follow‑on capacity and a bias toward AI‑enabled products, scalable distribution, and clear value capture.
Notable investments
Key portfolio companies and why they fit the thesis.
- WhatnotLeadLive‑shopping marketplace with strong network effects and AI‑enabled commerce; aligns with Greycroft’s intelligent‑applications thesis.
- ConductorOneLeadAI‑native identity‑security platform that matches Greycroft’s focus on foundational‑model‑driven enterprise software.
- SybillLeadAI sales‑assistant for frontline reps, fitting the firm’s emphasis on AI‑driven SaaS applications.
- ShiptLeadTechnology‑enabled commerce and logistics marketplace, consistent with the consumer/commerce pillar of the thesis.
- PrezentLeadAI‑powered presentation workflow tool that belongs to the intelligent‑enterprise applications focus area.
- BreefLeadMarketplace for brand‑agency projects modernizing services procurement, fitting the platform‑enabled commerce narrative.
- VenmoIconic fintech enabling peer‑to‑peer payments; Greycroft invested early, aligning with its fintech interest.
- BumbleCategory‑defining consumer social platform; Greycroft’s participation supports its consumer‑brand focus.
- Stability AIFoundational AI model provider that matches Greycroft’s AI‑infrastructure thesis.
- The RealRealRecommerce marketplace that aligns with Greycroft’s consumer‑commerce investment theme.
Co-invested with
Other firms in this catalog who've backed the same companies.
Partners
Full firm roster — key partners, partners, and the wider team.
Key partners
Dana Settle
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Greycroft
Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Greycroft, based in Los Angeles.
Ian Sigalow
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Greycroft
Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Greycroft, based in New York.
Mark Terbeek
Partner
Greycroft
Mark Terbeek is a Greycroft partner based in Los Angeles focused on software investments. He has a background in venture capital, SaaS entrepreneurship, and strategy consulting.
John Elton
Partner (Scale team)
Greycroft
John Elton is a Greycroft partner based in New York. His portfolio spans software, data, AI, marketplaces, fintech, and commerce infrastructure.
Katherine Power
Partner
Greycroft
Katherine Power is a Greycroft partner focused on early-stage consumer brands. She is also a serial entrepreneur known for building digital-first consumer and commerce businesses.
Partners
Kevin Gasque
Partner & Chief Operating Officer
Greycroft
Greycroft COO overseeing finance, legal, operations, HR and IT.
Brian B. Nicholson
Partner
Greycroft
Greycroft Partner focused on consumer brands and CPG investments.
Peter Saperstone
Partner
Greycroft
Greycroft Partner focused on late-stage and public investments.
Dylan Pearce
Partner
Greycroft
Greycroft Partner investing in software, internet, and AI companies.
Team
Addie Ewald
Investor
Greycroft
Greycroft Investor focused on climate tech and sustainability.
Conor Deveney
Principal
Greycroft
Greycroft principal focused on late-stage and public investments.
Andrew Ying
Investor
Greycroft
Greycroft Investor focused on early-stage AI and software.
Carley Phillips
Principal
Greycroft
Greycroft principal focused on climate tech and sustainability investing.
Lauren Arribas
Investor
Greycroft
Greycroft investor focused on consumer investments.
Pablo Arias
Associate
Greycroft
Greycroft associate with prior Morgan Stanley investment banking experience.
Ann Paulose
Senior Investor Relations Associate
Greycroft
Greycroft Senior Investor Relations Associate with prior consumer investing experience.
Brentt Baltimore
Principal
Greycroft
Greycroft principal investing in software, data, and machine learning.
Kishen Patel
Investor
Greycroft
Greycroft investor focused on software investments.
Cameron McGinn
Investor
Greycroft
Greycroft investor focused on early and growth-stage software.
Massimo Pennisi
Principal
Greycroft
Greycroft Scale principal helping portfolio companies with operational scaling.
Chiraag Deora
Principal
Greycroft
Greycroft Principal investing across AI, data infrastructure, developer tools, and security.
Public voice
Notable statements and public positions.
- Dana Settle (Business Wire, Apr 2023): “Greycroft’s bicoastal foundation in Los Angeles and New York has given us unique access and insights to the technological advancements that drive emerging themes and reshape industries at the intersection of culture and business… Our investment approach remains the same, identifying companies that are finding novel applications of next‑generation technology and supporting them at the critical moment of commercialization.”
- Ian Sigalow (The Full Ratchet, Oct 2023): “The main focus of [Greycroft] today is what we call intelligent applications… most of our efforts are both consumer and enterprise tools that incorporate AI.”
- Dana Settle (Coca‑Cola press room, Jul 2023): “Greycroft has an ‘invest anywhere’ approach that we believe allows us to identify promising startups with climate tech solutions ready to scale.”
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