MANTIS

MANTIS is an early stage technology investment firm in partnership with @TheChainsmokers

[Milan Koch @MilanKoch]

A @mantisVC artifact from back in the day, inspired by @mrexits @achalsu @itsmoislam @soren_m @cameron62s @ethanrthornton and others. grateful for the friendships made along the way and stoked for what’s ahead for this incredible ecosystem of founders. @shaunmmaguire sums it up perfectly

[Project Omega @ProjectOmegaHQ]

A scientist and serial entrepreneur, @staffsheehan started @ProjectOmegaHQ to develop long-duration power sources and new fuel for nuclear reactors, built from the energy still contained in used nuclear fuel, unlocking new power sources for government, industry, and future energy systems.

As @MilanKoch of @mantisVC shared in a @Forbes article featuring Sheehan: “He’s gritty, a phenomenal scientist and a good salesman at the same time. He’s the perfect archetype for this business.”

Transforming nuclear waste into a strategic energy resource.

Read more: https://t.co/PNN48nNvPu

#USNuclearRecycling #EnergyAbundance #NationalSecurity

[TBPN @tbpn]

The CEO of Founders Fund-backed Monaco, @samdblond, says customers want to speak with humans for sales. But for non-customer-facing activities, AI agents are far better.

“Whether you're a sales rep or a founder, you will spend your time customer-facing - and we're going to optimize everything in the platform around that experience, including the post follow-up.”

“So, you get off the call, we have the call transcript, we've written an email for you to follow up with that person, it's very opinionated and trained on the way that we think about sales and go to market, you can review that email and click send, and then it's time for the next call.”

“That’s the sort of optimization that we believe AI is influencing the function of sales right now. It’s - getting more qualified demos, helping you close more customers, and actually emphasizing the relationship-building that happens that is customer-facing.”

[Sam Blond @samdblond]

We're also announcing $35M in funding. @foundersfund led our Series A. @humancapital led our incubation. With participation from many of the greatest investors and people in the world like @jasonlk , @patrickc , @garrytan , @_altcapital , @mantisVC , @Saga_Ventures , @Antifund , @NicoRosberg and more

[Sam Blond @samdblond]

We're launching Monaco today.

Monaco automates customer acquisition and revenue growth for startups.

The platform disrupting sales with AI has finally arrived.

[Matt Pavelle 🇺🇸 @mattpavelle]

Quick chat about the VCs we chose to work with in our impossibly oversubscribed round: @mantisVC
The Chainsmokers have performed for nearly every Fortune 500 company, and that network is real and it translates. But what sealed it was our first call. The entire Mantis team lit up talking about democratizing healthcare. They weren't just interested, they were obsessed with helping us reach everyone who needs care.
They leverage social capital differently with warm intros, brand amplification, and a creator mindset.
Healthcare needs more than capital. It needs culture makers who understand how transformative ideas become mainstream movements.

[Sam Ross @SpamRoss]

Beyond excited to see @numeral's $35M Series B featured in TechCrunch!

Thank you, @MTemkin, for telling our story and covering our new round of funding, led by @MayfieldFund with participation from @benchmark, @ycombinator, @uncorkcap, and @mantisVC.

👉 https://t.co/rDlwaDWHcs

[Matt Pavelle 🇺🇸 @mattpavelle]

We raised $20M to scale @doctronic from 1M to 100M users.
Led by @lightspeedvp with @usv, @mantisVC, @SevenStars_VC plus @drfeifei @jdesai01 @scottbelsky
But funding isn't the story.
The story is that Americans have already chosen our AI for healthcare. 50,000 to 100,000 visits weekly. Half come back in 7 days. Treatment plans that match board-certified clinicians 99% of the time.
While others debate if AI belongs in healthcare, we shipped it. We've handled 15 million medical conversations. Instead of waiting three weeks for primary care, you can get it in 20 minutes from a licensed physician for $39.
The physician shortage hits 120,000 by 2034. We're not waiting. Neither are our users.

[Rory Garton-Smith @rory_builds]

Our annual Checkmate summit with @mantisVC @TheChainsmokers, this weekend in Las Vegas! It's on!

[Traded: Venture Capital @TradedVC]

@mantisVC, the LA-based venture firm co-founded by The Chainsmokers’ Alex Pall and Drew Taggart alongside GPs Jeffrey Evans and Milan Koch, has officially closed Fund III at $100M, bringing the firm’s total AUM to $225M across three funds.

Backed by LPs including Allocate, TriplePoint Capital, and Summit Peak, Fund III will deploy $500K–$2M checks into early-stage companies across AI, cybersecurity, frontier tech, data & cloud infrastructure, and healthtech. The Mantis platform has already backed 170+ startups including Chainguard, Underdog, Dandy, and had notable exits like Coinbase and Rupa Health.

With top-tier operator-investors like Saveena Mandadi (cybersecurity), Caroline Menkes (health), and Gaurav Bhogale (AI/infrastructure) joining the team, Mantis is scaling a founder-obsessed model that blends hands-on GTM help with cultural firepower from The Chainsmokers’ global network.

FOUNDERS: Jeffrey Evans, Milan Koch, Alex Pall, Drew Taggart
FUND SIZE: $100M (Fund III)
TOTAL AUM: $225M
SECTOR FOCUS: AI, Cybersecurity, Infra, Frontier Tech, Healthtech
CHECK SIZE: $500K–$2M
LPs: Allocate, TriplePoint Capital, Summit Peak
PORTFOLIO: Chainguard, Underdog, Dandy, Coinbase, Rupa Health, etc.

#TradedVC #MantisVC #FundIII #Chainsmokers

[Jesse Landry @JesseDLandry]

AIM Intelligent Machines (@scale_earth) lands $50M Series A (@khoslaventures, @generalcatalyst, @mantisVC) to retrofit legacy earthmovers with #AI brains that deliver $1M in annual value, per machine. Adam Sadilek and Albert Shih aren’t here to upgrade, they’re here to rebuild #industrialautonomy from the steel up. From Morocco to Montana, AIM’s bots are rewriting the playbook for autonomous #infrastructure.

Let’s keep the conversation going on LinkedIn: (https://t.co/6Ay9rwHd2P)
Dive deeper over on Substack (iterating): (https://t.co/ofFNKUVllt)

#Startups #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #SeriesA #Automation #AutonomousMachines #AutonomousVehicles #AI #Robots #RobotTech #EdgeComputing #Technology #Innovation #TechEcosystem #StartupEcosystem

If engineering peace of mind is what you crave, @ventionteams is your zen.

[Saif @khawajasn]

We harness technology to democratize access to artisanal food. We’re changing how America feeds itself for a better future for us and our children. We’ve started with American seafood.

Thank you @FoundersFund, @interlagoscap, @8vc, @cantos, @ImpatientVC, @CIV_ventures, @ShrugCap, @globalbrains_jp, JAWS, @mantisVC, @RavelinCap, and @DormRoomFund

Join Us: https://t.co/j7GGckeo8b

[Molly O’Shea @MollySOShea]

DEEP DIVE: How @whop Hit $1.2+ Billion GMV Run Rate w/ Just 20 Engineers

Valued at $800M, CTO Jack Sharkey breaks down their latest developer platform launch: turning 'vibe coders' into successful founders..

Whop has hit massive growth. Processing $100M+/mo for over 28K+/mo earners, reaching 5+ billion creator views.

"Our mission is to make people a lot of money" - @jsharkey

Whop is building the # 1 global creator marketplace & shopping mall of the internet.

Highlights:
0:00 - Jack Sharkey + Whop Intro
1:30 - Whop's Hyper-Growth & Origin Story
4:43 - Funding & $800M Valuation
15:22 - @brexHQ Performance Segment: Whop's Key Metrics + Global Growth
22:48 - Engineering Challenges & What Jobs AI Will Replace
33:26 - Database Migration Deep Dive
40:07 - Creator-Driven Company Culture
48:40 - Future Plans & Kalshi Predictions

[Eli Rabek @erabek]

"We don’t want to be another Sequoia. When you have enough of those investors, you start to get diminishing returns. It’s the same network."

- @mantisVC at #TCDisrupt2024 | @TechCrunch @shreythecray

[MANTIS @mantisVC]

And that’s a wrap on our 3rd Annual #LATechWeek Closeout Party! 🎉 Huge thanks to @lightspeedvp for an epic night supporting the LA startup ecosystem.

Special shoutout to surprise performer @tydollasign for making it unforgettable🔥

[Tech Week @Techweek_]

#LATechWeek 2024 wrapped up in style with an epic closeout event by @mantisVC & Lightspeed Ventures, featuring a surprise performance by @tydollasign! 🎶

An unforgettable night of networking and celebration with the industry's top minds. Here's to the future of tech! 🚀

[Katia Ameri 🗽 #NYTechWeek @KatiaAmeri]

📝Recap: My favorite takeaways from tonight's Future of AI and Entertainment Panel by HSBC and a16z for #LATechWeek, featuring @andrewchen (GP, @a16z), Carter Reum (GP, @M13Company), Jeffery Evans (GP, @mantisVC), and moderated by Dave Sabow (@HSBCInnovation):

Carter Reum (M13): It’s the early innings of AI, and we think a lot about the implications. AI will be important in disrupting and democratizing creativity. If you’re funny, you no longer need Pixar behind you.

Jeffery Evans (Mantis): We don’t fully know where AI will take us yet, and that’s both amazing and a bit scary. In gaming, I’m particularly excited about the role of user-generated content and the impact AI will have on non-playable characters. We’re still in inning one, and the future will likely look differently than what we think.

Andrew Chen (a16z): As foundational models are being built, there needs to be a point of view on what happens next. What’s the story humans will respond to? The convergence of SF and LA is key—SF develops the tools, but LA is the heart of content creation, where the stories that resonate with people are crafted. Folks still need to write the stories that aren’t in the foundational models yet!

Jeffery Evans (Mantis): I’m excited about tech that augments artists, like translating a song into different languages while keeping ownership rights intact.

Carter Reum (M13): Creativity is like a pyramid. The tip—exceptional talent like top screenwriters—will become more valuable, but the messy middle might be weeded out by AI. What happens next? We don’t know the answer yet.

Advice for Founders:

Carter Reum: Founders need a microscope in one eye and a telescope in the other—focus on day-to-day execution while keeping an eye on how AI is disrupting entire industries. In the world of AI, the disruption and the curves are accelerating faster than ever. The best companies build brick by brick while also reading the tea leaves.

Jeffery Evans: How will the next version of GPT or AI impact your business? Will it expand or shrink your market? We look for companies where the answer is the former.

Andrew Chen: Some of the biggest companies are built by outsiders. This is a great time for outsiders to take risks because no one knows exactly where AI is going.

[a16z @a16z]

When it comes to AI’s impact on entertainment, Carter Reum, Jeffrey Evans and @andrewchen agreed: it will likely change the art we consume in ways we can’t even predict yet.

“It’s so early, it’s not even inning one,” Jeffrey, a general partner at @mantisVC, said.

But they were willing to share their early insights on where the convergence of AI and entertainment could go.

New AI tools will certainly disrupt the state of entertainment, and will likely “democratize creativity,” Carter, a general partner at @M13Company, said.

As a creator, “if you are funny, or you have an idea … you don’t have to have Pixar behind you” to create a final product, he said. Individual creators will be able to make video at a lower cost and more easily.

Carter, Jeffrey and Andrew joined @HSBC's Dave Sabow at L.A. Tech Week, to discuss the future of entertainment in Los Angeles and beyond.

Although Andrew agreed it remains early days for AI’s impact on the entertainment industry, he believes video and other content we consume will become increasingly interactive as a result.

“There’s going to be a successor media format that will be even more engaging than what we have now,” he said, noting he believes it will be more personalized and more game-like.

“We may not call it gaming, but it’s much more likely to be that than an extension of the linear storytelling formats we have now.”

Carter and Jeffrey both advised founders in the space that the industry is changing so quickly, they have to be constantly alert about subtle changes that might indicate which companies will be successful and which won’t.

“Every founder has to have a microscope in one eye and a telescope in the other,” Carter said, meaning they have to pay attention to the details of what they’re working on, but also remain aware of macro changes happening in the space.

“There will be companies that seem like they’re out of the woods, and then they’re just done,” he said.

Jeffrey said he asks founders innovating in AI, and particularly those working on AI agents, an important question: “If you expand the market, is that good for you? Or is there a chance if it expands the market, it just overwhelms you?” That’s a crucial indicator of whether he’ll invest, he said.

For more insights from L.A. Tech Week, follow @TechWeek_ and @andrewchen.

[brad @bradkowalk]

Time to share something… since more detail will be coming out soon, the last year I’ve been working on a company called MagicX with a really talented team from Meta, Uber, Microsoft, Amazon, Instacart, Coupang, and Lyft (and backed by awesome investors @neo, @AbstractVC, @mantisVC, @Max, @arashf, @scottbelsky, and more).

What’s coming: Your daily superpower…

In the coming months, we will be announcing a new category of app on iOS, that will make running your daily life faster and simpler (see comment below if you'll want to try it)

It def won’t be perfect at the beginning (please bear with us!), but it will get better and better over time, until it ultimately feels like a superpower in your pocket.

[Integral @integral_xyz_]

1/ We're proud to share today that Franklin Templeton @FTI_DA is investing in and partnering with Integral!

The goal for the collaboration is to advance digital asset accounting tooling for new technologies, including tokenization.

Full update below.