We’re a venture fund backing experienced AI founders from day zero. We built Inception Studio, the most selective founder community in Silicon Valley, specifically to attract high-quality repeat entrepreneurs who avoid traditional accelerators. 264 participants, 90% are repeat founders, and 34% have prior successful exits.

Our zero-equity retreats eliminate adverse selection—the best founders join because there’s no downside. We build trust before investing, so we consistently secure early allocation with MFN and pro-rata rights. We see and invest in companies at formation stage, often pre-product, getting privileged access other investors can’t access.

First money in. Double down on the ones that take off. ~$100k starter checks in ~40 companies at incorporation (1–2% target ownership), then $500k–$1.5M core positions in ~12 companies with strong traction (2.5–10% ownership). We secure MFN and pro-rata rights on every investment to follow our winners.

John Whaley: Stanford PhD (Best Thesis Award), MIT undergrad, Forbes AI 50, teaches at Stanford CS. Serial entrepreneur with 3 companies including UnifyID. Mike Morris: 28-year Silicon Valley veteran with 3 acquisitions + 1 IPO, early at VMware. Combined 50+ years of experience building and scaling AI companies.

10-year term (with up to two 1-year extensions), 2% management fee, 20% carry, $250K minimum commitment, 25% initial capital call. We focus exclusively on AI-native companies.

Experienced technical founders: 90% repeat entrepreneurs, 34% with prior successful exits, 15+ years average industry experience, 84 NPS score, 89% referred by other founders. These are founders who would never join traditional accelerators but value our zero-equity model for co-founder matching and focused environment.

75 companies founded through Inception have raised $793M+ in follow-on funding. Notable outcomes include: Axiom Bio ($40M), Synthpop ($23M), Mem0 ($20M Series A), Ventrilo ($10M from a16z), Coframe ($9M from Khosla), Jest ($7M seed), Hexus (acquired by Harvey in January 2026), and Alex AI (acquired by OpenAI in August 2025). Multiple companies achieving significant valuation increases.

They face unique challenges: highly selective about co-founders, networks may have aged out, traditional accelerators don’t make sense (7% for $125K?), and they need a deadline to get started. Our 3-day zero-equity retreats solve these problems while providing community, advisory, recruiting, and fundraising support.

Inception Studio is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs zero-equity 3-day retreats for experienced AI founders. The nonprofit takes no equity and charges no fees—it exists purely to help founders start their next company. Inception Studio Capital is a separate for-profit venture fund that invests in companies formed through the program. This separation is critical: because the nonprofit takes zero equity, it eliminates adverse selection and attracts the highest-quality founders who would never join traditional accelerators.

Complete the investment form to confirm accredited investor status and review offering documents. Email invest@inceptionstudio.capital or schedule a no-obligation call with a Partner. We also host Demo Days where you can see founders and companies firsthand.