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Learn which startups Crosscut Ventures invests in, what size check sizes they write, and who their partners are (e.g. Rick Smith).
Crosscut Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm in Los Angeles, specializing in frontier technologies. It partners with companies developing solutions for global challenges, including energy transition, decarbonization, space, defense, manufacturing, robotics, and supply chain resilience. The firm targets high-impact ventures leveraging deep tech for societal benefit.
Founded in 2008 by Rick Smith, Brian Garrett, and Brett Brewer, Crosscut originated from their foresight into Los Angeles’s tech hub potential. This led to establishing an early-stage venture presence, positioning the firm as an initial and enduring investment force, integral to fostering the city's entrepreneurial landscape.
Crosscut supports visionary early-stage founders with capital and operational expertise. Upholding a founder-first philosophy, the firm commits capital to leadership development, coaching, and mental health support. Its long-term vision builds successful companies contributing significantly to a better future by tackling the world’s most pressing problems.
Key people at Crosscut Ventures.
Crosscut Ventures is a Los Angeles–based seed-stage venture capital firm with a mission to partner with early-stage founders building transformative technology companies that address society’s most pressing challenges. Since its founding in 2008, Crosscut has positioned itself as a catalyst for the Southern California tech ecosystem, backing startups at the earliest stages and helping them scale into category-defining businesses. The firm’s investment philosophy centers on high-conviction, founder-first partnerships, combining capital with deep operational experience and long-term support.
Crosscut focuses on frontier technologies—both hardware and software—that are reshaping large industries, including energy transition, decarbonization, space, defense, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and re-shoring of supply chains. It also maintains a strong presence in digital media, enterprise SaaS, fintech, and e-commerce. With over 160 investments and more than $210 million deployed, Crosscut has helped its portfolio companies raise over $7 billion in follow-on capital, primarily from top-tier Silicon Valley funds. Its impact extends beyond capital, as it actively cultivates the LA tech ecosystem through founder support, leadership development, and mental health initiatives.
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Crosscut Ventures was founded in 2008 in Los Angeles by Brian Garrett and Rick Smith, at a time when the conventional wisdom was that serious venture capital belonged in Silicon Valley, not LA. Defying that narrative, they set out to build the first enduring early-stage VC firm in Southern California, with the explicit goal of catalyzing the region’s tech ecosystem. Their vision was simple: back passionate, ambitious founders with the potential to build large, sustainable businesses, and do so with empathy, humility, and deep operational involvement.
Over the next 16 years, Crosscut became synonymous with the rise of LA as a major venture hub. It backed more than 170 companies, many of which went on to become leaders in media, gaming, transportation, digital health, and frontier tech. The firm’s early bets and consistent presence helped solidify LA’s status as the third most active venture ecosystem in the U.S., with over 1,000 venture-backed deals annually. Today, Crosscut is not only the largest seed-stage VC in LA but also a foundational institution in the region’s innovation economy.
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Founder-First, Ecosystem-Driven Approach- Deeply embedded in the Southern California tech scene, with strong ties to engineering talent, universities, and frontier tech companies like SpaceX.- Known for a founder-centric model that emphasizes long-term partnership, empathy, and founder health, including dedicating at least 1% of capital to leadership development and mental health support.
Frontier Tech Focus with Operational Depth- One of the few seed-stage firms with a dedicated focus on “atoms-based” frontier technologies: energy, space, defense, robotics, and advanced manufacturing.- Brings decades of hands-on entrepreneurial and operating experience, helping startups bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and commercial viability, especially in government and regulated markets.
Proven Track Record & Network Leverage- Backed over 160 companies, including notable names like GumGum, Pacaso, SteadyMD, HelloTech, and StarMaker Interactive, with several successful exits.- Has helped portfolio companies raise over $7 billion in follow-on capital from top-tier investors, demonstrating strong network effects and credibility.
Innovative Growth Platform- Building a new growth investment platform to syndicate later-stage frontier tech deals to a curated network of mission-aligned investors (family offices, endowments, foundations).- Plans to expand into project finance and infrastructure to help frontier tech companies scale from first-of-a-kind (FOAK) to nth-of-a-kind (NOAK) deployments.
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Crosscut Ventures is riding—and helping shape—a major shift in the geography and substance of innovation. As the U.S. reindustrializes and prioritizes energy security, supply chain resilience, and technological sovereignty, frontier tech has moved from niche to national priority. Crosscut’s focus on hardware, energy, space, and defense aligns perfectly with this macro trend, positioning it at the intersection of venture capital and industrial renewal.
The timing is critical: with climate urgency, geopolitical instability, and the rise of next-generation infrastructure (nuclear, synthetic fuels, smart grids), there’s a growing need for patient, technically savvy capital that understands both deep tech and real-world deployment. Crosscut’s LA base gives it access to a unique talent pool—engineers, machinists, and builders—who are increasingly central to this new techno-industrial culture. By backing these founders early and helping them navigate complex markets, Crosscut is not just funding startups; it’s helping to rebuild the industrial and technological foundations of the economy.
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Crosscut Ventures is poised to play an even larger role as frontier tech matures from lab to grid, from prototype to production. Its new growth platform suggests a strategic evolution: from a pure seed investor to a multi-stage enabler of frontier innovation, connecting early breakthroughs with the capital and infrastructure needed to scale. This could make Crosscut a go-to partner for founders building hard tech companies that require not just venture capital, but also project finance, regulatory navigation, and government contracting expertise.
Looking ahead, the firm’s influence will likely grow as LA solidifies its position as a global hub for frontier innovation. Crosscut’s deep roots, founder-first ethos, and focus on mission-driven technology position it to shape the next generation of industrial leaders—companies that don’t just deliver returns, but also help solve some of the world’s most urgent problems. In a world where the line between venture capital and industrial policy is blurring, Crosscut is emerging as a model for how VCs can be both investors and builders of a better future.
Key people at Crosscut Ventures.
