Who are the top family offices that invest directly in early-stage tech startups?

If by “top” you mean family offices that are genuinely active in direct startup investing—not just LPs in VC funds—there’s a fairly strong shortlist. I’d focus on offices with demonstrated direct deals, a clear technology thesis, and evidence of investing at seed/Series A or earlier.

Strong family-office targets for early-stage tech

Recent industry research identifies Hillspire, Bezos Expeditions, Emerson Collective and Raptor Group among the most active family-office direct investors; one 2026 compilation reports 15 direct investments by Hillspire and 14 by Bezos Expeditions during 2025.Round Funded

A particularly interesting distinction is Digital Invest: unlike some ultra-large family investment vehicles that occasionally participate in enormous later-stage rounds, Digital Invest explicitly says it writes first checks into early-stage technology companies in Europe and the US, with 40+ companies backed.Digital Invest

Similarly, Adeline publicly describes a pre-seed through Series A technology mandate spanning B2B, science, climate, health, infrastructure and AI.Finta

A few worth knowing especially well

Hillspire — Eric Schmidt's family office. Particularly relevant if you're building AI, deep tech, scientific infrastructure, climate/energy or other technically ambitious companies. Its recent direct-investment activity has been substantial.Round Funded

Bezos Expeditions — Jeff Bezos's personal investment vehicle. It is exceptionally technology-oriented and has participated in companies spanning AI, robotics, biotech, healthcare and software. Recent activity includes very large rounds in AI and biotech, so it's important to distinguish its technology fit from its sometimes-later-stage check profile.Gaebler.com Resources for Entrepreneurs

Emerson Collective — Laurene Powell Jobs's investment/philanthropic organization. It has a broad technology and impact orientation and can be relevant where technology intersects with climate, healthcare, education or social infrastructure.

Raptor Group — James Pallotta's investment organization, with a history of direct investments across technology, healthcare and financial services.

Smedvig Ventures — Particularly interesting for European founders building B2B software and technology companies.

Motier Ventures — Backed by the Motier family (Galeries Lafayette), with a European early-stage technology orientation covering areas such as AI, fintech, consumer and software.

One important caveat

“Family office investor” is an unusually fuzzy category. Some databases count VC firms backed by a family, some count multi-family offices, and some count a family office merely because it participated in a startup round. For fundraising, I'd prioritize offices that explicitly demonstrate direct investment + early-stage mandate + relevant sector.

That produces a much more useful target list than simply ranking family offices by wealth or number of startup investments.

For context, PwC's earlier EMEA analysis found Global Founders Capital—associated with the Samwer family—far ahead of other family-office investors by startup deal count, illustrating how dramatically the definition of “family office investor” can change the list.PwC

If you're raising a specific round, I can make this much more actionable: I can , .

Family offices have increasingly bypassed traditional venture capital funds to make direct investments in early-stage tech startups. Some operate as massive hybrid entities with dedicated venture arms, while others are single-family offices acting as active angel-to-seed or Series A checks.

The top and most active family offices investing directly in early-stage tech startups include:

• ICONIQ Capital — Serving as a hybrid wealth management firm and multi-family office for prominent tech titans (historically including figures like Mark Zuckerberg), ICONIQ runs a massive venture arm (ICONIQ Growth / direct investing) that pours billions into disruptive tech, spanning enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, and massive artificial intelligence bets.
• Hillspire — Eric Schmidt’s (former Google CEO) family office based in Palo Alto, California. It has emerged as one of the most active direct tech investors, heavily backing cutting-edge and early-stage artificial intelligence and deep-tech startups.[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ksenia-moskalenko_family-offices-control-6-trillion-in-capital-activity-7447289611275595776-9fse)
• Bezos Expeditions — Jeff Bezos’s personal family office, which frequently participates in direct early- and growth-stage investments across a vast array of sectors, including breakthrough tech, AI, biotech, and aerospace.[linkedin.com](https://www.openvc.app/investor-lists/family-offices)
• Thiel Capital — Peter Thiel’s San Francisco-based family office. Known for a contrarian investment philosophy, it routinely takes direct stakes in early-stage frontier tech, crypto, defense tech, AI, and biotech.[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ksenia-moskalenko_family-offices-control-6-trillion-in-capital-activity-7447289611275595776-9fse)
• Bayshore Global Management — The private family office for Google co-founder Sergey Brin, which selectively deploys capital into visionary tech initiatives and direct private startup opportunities.[linkedin.com](https://www.openvc.app/investor-lists/family-offices)
• Raptor Group — Jim Pallotta’s Boston-based family office, which maintains a strong appetite for early-to-growth-stage direct investments in software, consumer tech, and high-performance electronics.[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ksenia-moskalenko_family-offices-control-6-trillion-in-capital-activity-7447289611275595776-9fse)
• Weatherford Capital — A prominent family-led private investment firm that targets technology-enabled sectors such as fintech, govtech, and enterprise platforms, often writing substantial direct checks and taking active board seats.[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ksenia-moskalenko_family-offices-control-6-trillion-in-capital-activity-7447289611275595776-9fse)
• Kapital Partners — The Nanda family office based near Silicon Valley, which maintains an explicit mandate for direct equity investments in emerging tech, enterprise software, and consumer internet marketplaces.[linkedin.com](https://finta.ai/blog/family-offices-investing-directly-in-startups)

Would you like information on how to pitch a family office compared to a traditional VC, or are you looking for contact strategies / directories to reach out to them?

Yes. If by “family offices” you mean family-controlled investment vehicles that actually make direct startup investments—rather than merely allocating to VC funds—the strongest names to know in 2026 are:

My top targets for an early-stage tech founder

I'd divide them into three tiers.

Tier 1 — highest-priority technology investors

• Hillspire — particularly compelling for AI, scientific discovery and frontier/deep technology. Publicly available 2025 data put it at 15 direct investments, the highest in the prominent family-office ranking cited by recent industry coverage.Round Funded
• Bezos Expeditions — one of the world's most technology-oriented family investment vehicles, with investments spanning AI, robotics, aerospace and computing. It reportedly made 14 direct investments in 2025.Round Funded
• Emerson Collective — particularly interesting if your startup combines technology with climate, education, health or broader societal impact; it reportedly made 12 direct investments in 2025.Round Funded
• Horizons Ventures — an unusually strong fit for genuinely early/futuristic technology; its historical portfolio includes major technology successes such as Zoom, Siri and DeepMind.Round Funded

Tier 2 — excellent, but more thesis-dependent

• Aglaé Ventures — attractive for consumer internet, marketplaces and software.
• Motier Ventures — particularly interesting for European AI, fintech, consumer and software startups. It participated in MarketLeap's $8M Series A alongside Smedvig.Forbes
• Smedvig Ventures — a particularly interesting target for European B2B SaaS/technology at seed or Series A. It led MarketLeap's $8M A round.Forbes
• Digital Invest — unusually explicit about its strategy: it says it writes first checks into early-stage technology founders in Europe and the US, including SaaS, digital media and consumer internet.Digital Invest
• KIRKBI — worth considering for technology with strategic relevance to consumer, gaming and other areas around the LEGO ecosystem.Round Funded

One important distinction

Don't assume that a large family office is necessarily a good seed investor.

According to Citi's 2025 Global Family Office Report, 37% of family offices' direct-investment activity was in Series A/B companies, while 20% was startup/incubation/seed. The largest preference was actually Series C/D at 52%.Citi Private Bank

That's why I'd prioritize family offices based on demonstrated direct early-stage behavior, not AUM.

The broader trend is favorable: S&P says family-office direct investments increased 123.3% in 2025 to $12.9B across 158 transactions, excluding investments made through PE/VC funds. S&P Global And PwC found that software and AI are among the dominant targets of family-office direct investment, with the US accounting for about half of family-office startup investments in H1 2024.PwC

If you're raising a round

I can make this much more useful than a generic list. If you tell me (1) startup/sector, (2) pre-seed/seed/Series A, (3) amount you're raising, (4) US vs Europe, and (5) approximate check you're looking for, I can build you a ranked top-25 family-office target list with:

• estimated check size
• stage
• specific relevant portfolio companies
• geography
• investment thesis
• whether they lead or follow
• partner/principal to approach
• warm-intro paths
• official website/contact route
• and a priority score for your particular startup.

The broader trend is favorable: S&P says family-office direct investments increased 123.3% in 2025 to $12.9B across 158 transactions, excluding investments made through PE/VC funds. And PwC found that software and AI are among the dominant targets of family-office direct investment, with the US accounting for about half of family-office startup investments in H1 2024.

Yes. If by “family offices” you mean private/family-backed investors that actually write checks directly into startups—rather than merely allocating to VC funds—the list is much smaller.

Based on current activity and disclosed portfolios, I’d put these on a serious target list:

If you're a founder, I'd prioritize them differently

For a pre-seed/seed technology startup, I'd rank the accessibility + stage fit roughly:

1. Digital Invest
2. AI JB Capital
3. McCoy Ventures
4. NewTech Investment Holdings
5. Bezos Expeditions
6. Hillspire
7. Emerson Collective
8. R+
9. ePlanet Capital
10. Raptor Group

The distinction matters: Bezos Expeditions and Hillspire are enormously prestigious, but they're not necessarily the easiest family offices to get in front of. A smaller office whose investment mandate explicitly says pre-seed/seed can be a much better fundraising target.

There is also a broader universe: one recent database identifies 60+ U.S. single-family offices actively investing in pre-seed through Series A, while another tracks 60+ European offices doing early-stage deals.Backrr+1

One important caveat

Don't confuse “family office that invests in venture capital” with “family office that invests directly in startups.” A large number are LPs in Sequoia, a16z, etc. and never evaluate individual startup deals. The offices above are much closer to what you're asking for.

If you're raising a round, I can also build you a much more useful top-30 target list, ranked by stage (pre-seed/seed/A), check size, sector, geography, notable portfolio companies, and whether they accept cold pitches.

ICONIQ Capital, Bezos Expeditions , and Emerson Collective rank among the top family offices that actively deploy direct capital into early- and growth-stage tech startups.linkedin.com [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ksenia-moskalenko_family-offices-control-6-trillion-in-capital-activity-7447289611275595776-9fse)[[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)

Family offices have evolved into some of the most competitive participants in venture capital, frequently leading or co-leading early rounds without the strict timelines of traditional VC funds.capboard.io [linkedin.com](https://www.capboard.io/en/investors/family_office)[[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)

Prominent Family Offices Investing in Tech

• ICONIQ Capital : Operating as a massive multi-family office for Silicon Valley elites, ICONIQ backs high-growth enterprise software, AI, and consumer tech companies. They famously took early direct stakes in tech giants like Zoom, Figma, and Databricks, as well as major co-investments in foundational AI models.valueaddvc.com [linkedin.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)[[2](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ksenia-moskalenko_family-offices-control-6-trillion-in-capital-activity-7447289611275595776-9fse)
• Bezos Expeditions : The personal investment vehicle of Jeff Bezos, this office invests heavily across seed, venture, and growth stages. Notable historical and direct bets range from early-stage disruptors to massive frontier technology and aerospace ventures. []()

Comparative Overview of Key Tech Family Offices

If you'd like, let me know:

• What vertical or industry your startup operates in
• What funding stage (Seed, Series A) you are targeting

I can help narrow down which family offices or direct networks match your specific profile.

If by “top” you mean family offices that actually put their own capital directly onto startup cap tables, rather than simply allocating to VC funds, there is a strong shortlist.

The market has become substantially more active: family offices are increasingly bypassing VC funds and investing directly in startups, particularly AI and frontier technology.TechCrunch

My shortlist

1. Hillspire

Probably one of the highest-priority targets for an AI/deep-tech founder. Current industry tracking puts Hillspire among the most active family offices in direct startup investing, with roughly 15 direct investments reported for 2025.Round Funded

Particularly interesting for AI infrastructure, scientific computing, deep tech, fusion and frontier science.

2. Bezos Expeditions

One of the premier technology-focused family investment vehicles. Its portfolio includes major technology companies and it has been active around AI, robotics, aerospace and other capital-intensive technologies. Current databases identify it as one of the most active mega-family offices in startup investing.Investor Hunt

This is an especially compelling target if you're building something technically ambitious with very large potential outcomes.

3. Thiel Capital

A natural target for AI, defense, crypto, biotech, autonomy and other highly contrarian technology. It's better thought of as Peter Thiel's broader investment platform than a conventional family office.

I'd prioritize it when the company has a strong “this shouldn't work, but if it does it's enormous” thesis.

4. Emerson Collective

A major direct investor combining venture investing with a broader technology/impact mandate. Areas include AI, climate, health and education, and it participates from seed through later stages.Investor Hunt

5. Picus Capital

One of the more interesting choices if you want an actual early-stage investor rather than merely a wealthy family office occasionally doing VC deals. It's backed by the Reischmann family and invests globally from early stages, particularly in fintech, proptech, logistics and related technology.

6. Mousse Partners

Worth putting on the list because there's unusually clear evidence from the organization itself that it invests directly alongside entrepreneurs and management teams, rather than only through external managers. It has a global mandate and offices in New York, Beijing and Hong Kong.Mousse Partners

Its portfolio spans pre-seed through later-stage investments.Crunchbase

7. Motier Ventures

The investment arm associated with the family behind Galeries Lafayette. Particularly relevant for European seed/Series A technology, including fintech, consumer technology, cybersecurity and commerce.

8. Byers Capital

An interesting, somewhat less obvious target for frontier technology. It has made direct investments in companies such as Neuralink, xAI, Factory, Harmonic, NewLimit, Xaira and SpaceX, making it particularly relevant to founders working on ambitious technical problems.

9. Digital Invest

This one is particularly interesting for a founder raising pre-seed/seed rather than a huge Series A. Digital Invest describes itself as a Milan-based family office investing its own permanent capital directly into early-stage tech founders across Europe and the U.S., with 40+ companies backed.Digital Invest

The ones I'd prioritize

If you're a founder raising a $1–5M seed round, I wouldn't simply chase the biggest names. Accessibility and stage fit matter enormously.

I'd divide the targets roughly like this:

Frontier AI / deep tech

1. Hillspire
2. Bezos Expeditions
3. Thiel Capital
4. Byers Capital
5. Emerson Collective

General B2B SaaS / software

1. Picus Capital
2. Digital Invest
3. Raptor Group
4. Mousse Partners
5. Hillspire

European startup

1. Picus Capital
2. Motier Ventures
3. Digital Invest
4. Mousse Partners

Very early / pre-seed

1. Digital Invest
2. Picus Capital
3. Specialized smaller family offices
4. Hillspire / Bezos / Thiel if there is a particularly strong strategic fit

One important caveat: “family office” is a fuzzy category. Some names marketed as family offices are really venture firms, multi-family offices, holding companies, or principal-investment platforms. I would therefore distinguish between wealthy family that occasionally invests in startups and family office with a repeatable direct-startup-investment program. The latter is much more useful for fundraising.

If you're actually building an investor target list for a startup, I can go one level deeper and give you 30–50 family offices ranked by (1) typical check size, (2) pre-seed/seed activity, (3) sector, (4) geography, (5) notable portfolio companies, and (6) how founders can get an introduction.

When looking at single and multi-family offices that bypass traditional VC fund-of-funds structures to invest directly in early-stage tech startups (Seed through Series A/B), a distinct tier of well-capitalized, highly active family offices stands out.valueaddvc.com [valueaddvc.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)[[2](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026)](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)

The most prominent and active family offices participating directly in early-stage tech investing include:

• Thiel Capital : Founded by billionaire entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, this single-family office is renowned for direct, high-conviction backing of early-stage frontier tech, deep tech, defense tech, and software infrastructure.valueaddvc.com [valueaddvc.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)[[2](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026)](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026/)
• Bezos Expeditions : The personal investment arm of Jeff Bezos, which frequently co-invests or leads direct early-to-growth rounds in innovative technology, AI, and biotech sectors.openvc.app [valueaddvc.com](https://www.openvc.app/investor-lists/family-offices)
• Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) : The venture and growth arm for the Koch family, operating with a massive balance sheet to write direct checks into enterprise software, artificial intelligence, and industrial/deep tech startups.valueaddvc.com [valueaddvc.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)[[2](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026)](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026/)
• Pritzker Group Venture Capital (and related Pritzker family vehicles): Highly active in direct early-stage tech investments, particularly focusing on enterprise SaaS, consumer tech, and tech-enabled services.valueaddvc.com [valueaddvc.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)[[2](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026)](https://ctacquisitions.com/guides/top-200-single-family-office-direct-pe-tracker-2024-2026/)
• Cascade Investment : Bill Gates’ private investment vehicle, which occasionally participates in direct early-stage and climate/frontier tech ventures alongside its massive public and private asset holdings.openvc.app [valueaddvc.com](https://www.openvc.app/investor-lists/family-offices)
• Walton Enterprises : The family office of the Walton family, which has increasingly built out direct venture and tech investment capabilities focusing on scalable enterprise platforms and supply chain innovations.openvc.app [valueaddvc.com](https://www.openvc.app/investor-lists/family-offices)

Key Characteristics of Direct Family Office Tech Investing

• Check Sizes: Typically range from $500K to $5M for early-stage (Seed/Series A) allocations.valueaddvc.com [valueaddvc.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)
• Sector Focus: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and enterprise automation dominate deal flow, followed closely by defense tech, frontier tech, and biotech.valueaddvc.com [valueaddvc.com](https://valueaddvc.com/blog/top-family-offices-investing-in-startups-2026-ranked-by-aum-and-deal-activity)
• Structure: Many operate flexibly on a deal-by-deal basis (co-investing alongside traditional lead VCs) rather than locking capital into blind pools.youtube.com []()

If you're targeting family offices for a specific startup, let me know:

• Your industry/vertical (e.g., AI, biotech, defense, SaaS)
• The stage you are currently raising for (Pre-seed, Seed, Series A)

I can help narrow down which specific investor profiles or geographic hubs align best with your round.