The next wave is physical.

Bow Capital backs founders building AI for the real world: robots that handle, machines that make, and systems that defend. Anchored by the University of California, we shorten the path from science to society.

See the portfolioRead our thesis
50+core portfolio companies
36active core companies
Seed–Series Astage focus
$5Maverage investment into core companies

Our thesis

In a post-LLM world, the winners will be built on the physical world and 3D data.

The web has been scraped. Models are converging. The durable moats of the next decade come from proprietary data generated where atoms meet algorithms.

01

The 2D data game is up

~300T tokens

Of usable public text remain. A single 2024 frontier model run consumed 5% of it.

02

The model is not the moat

8% → 0-1%

The open vs. closed model gap has collapsed as labs run out of shared web data.

03

The real, 3D world is untapped

~0.002%

Share of physical-world data captured relative to the text data used to train today's LLMs.

Portfolio spotlight

Physical AI, deployed.

Ambi Robotics robotic arm sorting parcelsAmbi Robotics
Industrial AI · Series A

AI-powered robotic sortation born in a UC Berkeley lab, now handling millions of parcels for the world's largest supply chains.

Founder story →
GrayMatter Robotics surface-finishing robotGrayMatter Robotics
Industrial AI · Series B

Autonomous surface-finishing robots bringing skilled-trade precision to aerospace and heavy manufacturing.

Founder story →

See all perspectives →

The UC Edge

The largest research engine in the world empowering our deal flow.

Founded in partnership with the University of California, Bow sees breakthrough science and technology in its earliest form from pioneering students, faculty, and alumni. From UC Berkeley to UCLA, Davis to Irvine, we partner with centers for innovation and entrepreneurialism to back outstanding founders and their technology at their source. We also sponsor and support events such as our UCSD incubator, advancing national security through science, robotics, and manufacturing.

10UC campuses in our network
71Nobel laureates across UC system
$7.5BUC research spend per year
4/dayaverage UC inventions
1,500+startups from UC research
240Kfaculty and staff
6incubator companies, summer 2026

Portfolio

Let's build a legacy together.

Bow Capital backs outstanding founders building the next generation of physical, industrial, and biological AI. Explore the companies we've backed from their earliest days.

Full portfolio

50+ companies, one thesis.

From materials discovery to autonomous defense systems, our portfolio spans the founders building the physical, industrial, and biological future.

AimatX

Intelligent materials discovery through a proprietary AI platform that designs, predicts, and validates materials breakthroughs.

Ambi Robotics

AI-powered robotic solutions for parcel sortation.

ArangoDB

A native multi-model database supporting three major NoSQL data models with one core and one query language.

BentoMLExited

Build AI products with any pre-trained model, ship to production in minutes, and scale with confidence.

Claritype

AI-assisted business data modeling.

Clear.co

Unlocking revenue opportunities for ecommerce businesses with predictable and scalable funding.

CNaught

Carbon credit marketplace.

DeepCell

Enabling novel biological insights at the single-cell level for improved diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Eversight LabsExited

Continuous revenue optimization for trade marketing teams.

FlywheelExited

Analyze, watch, and personalize B2B user journeys based on who users are and what they've done.

GenEdit

Next-generation gene therapy to improve drug efficacy and cure illness.

GoodRec

Connecting consumers to pickup soccer, basketball, pickleball, and open-play games, leagues, and tournaments nearby.

Hitch

Rideshare for long distances.

HumanSignal

Data labeling platform to prepare training data, fine-tune LLMs, and validate models.

Infinant Health

Improving gut health for newborns through breakthroughs in probiotics.

Jerry

Making car ownership easier and more affordable for every driver.

JumpropeExited

An elegant how-to platform, unlocking knowledge so the world can discover how it's done.

KloudlessExited

A unified API platform that makes it easy for developers and businesses to connect more efficiently.

Lava

Platform for real-time customer engagement and personalization.

LawyawExited

Legal document automation software.

Linus Bio

Precision medicine bridging genomics and the environment to diagnose and treat complex health conditions.

LorisExited

Uncover needs and attitudes within customer conversations, across all channels.

LuffyAI

Adaptive intelligence for robotics and industrial control.

MeritsExited

The first verified identity platform for real life.

Mothership

Reliable final-mile freight shipping powered by technology.

Motive

Transforming the safety, productivity, and profitability of trucking operations.

Nayya

Benefit navigation and selection.

Nuro

Self-driving vehicles built to deliver local goods.

OpenIgloo

Platform for tenants to find apartments from highly rated landlords.

Opus

Leading training operations platform for multi-unit brands with frontline workforces.

OrienteExited

Fintech solutions for Southeast Asia.

PandionExited

Software-defined parcel logistics for e-commerce.

Perseus Defense

Affordable, guided micro-missile pods for countering drones.

Because Market

Quality incontinence products at a fraction of the cost, shipped discreetly to your doorstep each month.

Rejigg

Marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of small and mid-sized businesses to streamline acquisitions.

ReleaseExited

On-demand environments for development, staging & production.

Rev

AI-driven platform accelerating sales and engaging customers for businesses.

RimetoExited

Advanced enterprise directory.

EasyPost

Modern shipping, tracking, and address verification APIs for USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and more.

Skillit

Labor platform for construction.

SkylightExited

Home renovation via technology.

SnapMagic

Digital design platform for electronics designers.

Walrus

More affordable, more personal meds, with a personal pharmacist every step of the way.

WorkSolo

Software to power independent gig work.

StoovoExited

Microlocation data platform.

Subsalt

Safely and easily share sensitive data amongst organizations.

Table.aiExited

Fast, automated identification and quantification of the causal drivers of business results.

Flex

Menstrual discs: the most substantial innovation in period products in nearly a century.

Victus

Resilient navigation and contested-environment autonomy for unmanned, manned, and robotic systems.

WorkRampExited

The all-in-one learning platform that drives business outcomes for the new era of work.

* These companies represent Bow Capital Fund I and II investments with a cost basis in excess of $1M. It should not be assumed that investments made in the future will be profitable or will equal the performance of the investments shown here. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Additional performance information available upon request.

UC Partnership

An unparalleled partnership.

Bow Capital is a University of California ecosystem fund. We believe our UC access lets us see where markets are headed, based on the latest industry-changing discoveries in academia.

The UC edge

One of the world's greatest innovation engines.

Five of the ten UCs are in the top 51 founder-producing universities in the US, giving Bow access to an unmatched pool of faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

10UC campuses in our network
4/dayaverage UC inventions
71Nobel laureates across UC system
$7.5BUC research spend per year
240Kfaculty and staff
1,500+startups from UC research

The partnership

Founded alongside the UC Board of Regents.

Bow is an early-stage venture fund founded in partnership with the University of California Board of Regents. Our UC partnership gives us broad access to the University's massive talent pool for sourcing and evaluating opportunities.

Super-researchers

Our unique relationship with the UC enables Bow Capital to continuously develop connections with researchers and faculty spinning out companies from their labs. We also support seed funds and incubators across the UC system, including its alumni and student body, with collaborative investment beyond the seed stage.

Increased entrepreneurial-academic collaboration

When Bow entrepreneurs face technical challenges, we can help connect them with a wide range of preeminent experts from the UC ecosystem for help and advice.

UC San Diego Incubator

Backing national security science before it incorporates.

The Bow Capital x UC San Diego Incubator funds students, faculty, and alumni advancing national security through science, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.

Bow x UC San Diego Six companies · $100K each · Summer 2026

Founders get funded on day one and build alongside operators who have done it before.

$100k upfront

Funding lands on day one so founders start building immediately.

Operator mentorship

Direct access to founders from Ambi Robotics, GrayMatter, and the wider Bow portfolio.

Fireside chats

Leaders across defense, robotics, and manufacturing, on campus with the cohort.

Netra

Distributed counter-UAS detection: RF, acoustic, and optical sensing fused into a self-healing mesh.

ReBlood Rx

Shelf-stable, hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier for when donor blood is unavailable.

Evaporion

Ultra-high-performance evaporative cooling for AI accelerators.

Three of six summer 2026 companies shown.

Apply for the next cohort

Portfolio, sourced from UC

Some of our UC-affiliated portfolio companies.

* The portfolio companies identified on this page do not represent all the investments made or recommended. See our complete list of portfolio companies.

Sources: PitchBook, "Universities: Top 100 colleges ranked by startup founders," October 31, 2022 · "The University of California At A Glance," March 2023 · "The 2022 UC Accountability Report," Chapter 9: Research.

Meet our team

Perspectives

Knowledge compounds when it moves.

Thought leadership and knowledge transfer are core tenets of how we build, invest, and partner, from published research to the founders we back.

Insights & essays

Written perspectives.

Research notes, thesis updates, and essays from the Bow team.

Portfolio spotlights

Physical AI, on camera.

Founder conversations and behind-the-scenes looks at what our portfolio companies are building.

Ambi Robotics video previewAmbi Robotics
Modern Industry · Video

Inside the warehouse: how Ambi Robotics sorts millions of parcels a day.

Watch →
GrayMatter Robotics video previewGrayMatter Robotics
Modern Industry · Video

Precision at scale: automating surface finishing for aerospace and heavy manufacturing.

Watch →
Opus video previewOpus
Real World Future · Video

Training on the frontline: AI-powered platform that transforms workforce training and operational execution.

Watch →

Team

Built by those who changed the status quo.

Bow Capital is led by operators and investors who've built platforms before, now backing the founders building what's next.

Our Investment Team

The people behind the thesis.

VR

Vivek Ranadivé

Founder & Managing Director

LinkedIn →

Our approach

High value, low friction.

How we work with founders once we've backed them.

01

Freely share experience

On how to grow platforms, without being prescriptive or controlling.

02

Offer hands-on support

Applying operating skills where requested.

03

Use our connections

To accelerate a company's success.

Extended team

Our agentic fabric.

Beyond our five partners, Bow runs on a fabric of specialized AI agents woven through the firm, each named for a Renaissance master and built to compound the leverage of a lean team.

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa
AI Agent

Leonardo

Sourcing

A continual drumbeat of new opportunities, with assisted outreach to founders.

Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam
AI Agent

Michelangelo

Deck Review

Processing and triage of inbound materials relative to our benchmarks.

Portrait of Erasmus
AI Agent

Erasmus

Networking

Charts the "path to" a person and assists with warm introductions.

Raphael, Madonna
AI Agent

Raphael

Prospect Data Aggregation

A single source of truth that enables faster collaboration and decision making.

Galileo before the Roman Inquisition
AI Agent

Galileo

Portfolio Reporting

Instantly queryable portfolio data that reduces reporting overhead.

Renaissance Florentine fresco figures
AI Agent

Machiavelli

Content Direction

Guides our media presence to build the firm's founder magnet.

Contact

Let's talk.

Reach out to the team directly, or stop by our Menlo Park office.

Get in touch

Two ways to reach us.

Menlo Park Office

2440 Sand Hill Rd, Suite 101
Menlo Park, CA 94025

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