Founder FAQ

Short answers to the questions we get most often from founders considering ellipsis. The longer version of what we look for is on the investment criteria page.

Do I need a warm introduction to pitch ellipsis?

No. Send your deck through the form at ellipsis-venture.com/submit; it goes to the partners. Introductions through our portfolio founders or Campus Scouts help us prioritise, but they are not required.

What should I send?

Your deck (PDF, PPTX, PPT or KEY), your name, email, company name and website. Three lines help us most: the problem, why it is solvable now, and why your team is the one to solve it.

What stage does ellipsis invest at, and how much?

From a founder's first check through seed, with a focus on the earliest stage. First checks are $250K to $1.5M, with capital reserved for follow-on rounds.

Does ellipsis lead rounds?

Yes. We lead pre-seed and seed rounds and we also co-invest alongside other seed funds and angels. We led our first round out of Fund I in June 2026.

Do you invest outside Europe?

Europe first, with selective investments in North America and Israel. The portfolio includes companies in Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, the UK, the US, Canada and Israel.

Do you invest in robotics and hardware?

Yes, where AI is the core. Flink Robotics and Levtek (robotics), Bench (AI for hardware engineering) and OpenInfer (edge inference) are in the portfolio, and our Venture Partner Robert MacKenzie, former CPTO of ANYbotics, leads our robotics investing.

Do you invest in biotech or scientific applications?

Yes, where the product is AI and the moat is data or expertise. Dreamfold, which designs proteins for new medicines, is an example.

Do you invest in AI model labs?

Generally no. We looked at several of the 2026 'neolab' rounds and passed: the round sizes do not fit a pre-seed fund, and we expect the model layer for general intelligence to commoditize. We invest in the companies that put models to work behind a real moat.

Do you invest before revenue?

Yes. Many of our companies were pre-revenue when we invested. We look at the team, the why-now, access to proprietary data or expertise, and defensibility three years out.

What does 'hands-on' mean at ellipsis?

The partners built AI products themselves (Google Assistant, Google Lens, Google Cloud GenAI, Fashwell) and work with founders on product, hiring and fundraising. With Mirelo, for example, ellipsis invested on day one and worked with the founders through to their Series A led by Index Ventures and a16z.

What happens after I submit?

The partners review every deck. If there is a fit, you get a first call with a partner, then a short diligence loop where we list the open questions between us and a decision and close them with you. We tell you when it is a no.

Is ellipsis the same as 'Ellipsis Ventures' in Carmel, Indiana?

No. That is an unrelated US firm with a similar name. We are ellipsis Ventures, the European AI venture fund at ellipsis-venture.com, founded by Yariv Adan and Matthias Dantone, with partners in Switzerland and Sweden and the fund domiciled in Luxembourg.

Where can I read how you think?

The Dispatch (our monthly note), the Learning Sessions, the blog, Yariv Adan's essay 'Donkeys, Not Unicorns' in Towards Data Science, and his interviews with The Innovator and WhoIsRaising.

I am an investor, not a founder. How do I get in touch?

Message one of the General Partners, Yariv Adan or Matthias Dantone, on LinkedIn. The deck form is for founders only.

Ready? Send us your deck.