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How to Pitch Felicis

How Felicis invests at seed and Series A from its $900M Fund X, why it says it goes from first meeting to term sheet in 24 hours, and the referral path that brings it 85% of its founders.

Felicis at a glance

Checked against Felicis's own pages and filings, November 2026

Firm
Felicis, "Founder-First Venture Capital Since 2006," founded by Aydin Senkut, Google's first product manager. Ten funds in 20 years and "$4.1B AUM."1 Menlo Park, California.2
Funds
Fund X: "we have raised $900M for our Fund X, our largest yet" (June 2025).3 The SEC Form D for Felicis Ventures X, L.P. reports $900M sold, signed June 13, 2025.4 Fund IX was $825M (2023).1
Stages
"94% of our investments are Seed or Series A," and "83% of the time, Felicis leads or co-leads."1 Its Fund X post adds: "We don't wait for a signal from other investors."3
First check
Not published. The one figure the firm states is that "1% of every first check goes to founder support."1
Focus
Four named areas: Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity & Defense, Global Resilience & Energy, and Health & Bio.5 In AI it "backs early-stage AI startups across infrastructure, applications, and frontier models."6 Its 2025 call for startups adds: "If you're pursuing an idea outside these themes, we're just as eager to hear from you."7
Geography
"We have backed early-stage founders from 40+ countries."5 "Greatness can come from anywhere."1 No region list or US-only rule is published.
Partners
Aydin Senkut (founder and managing partner), Sundeep Peechu (managing partner; health and bio, AI), Peter Deng (general partner; AI, formerly led the ChatGPT team at OpenAI), Viviana Faga (general partner; AI, cybersecurity and defense), James Detweiler (general partner; AI), Feyza Haskaraman (partner; AI-native enterprise security, developer infrastructure), Tobi Coker (partner; AI, health and bio) and Tony Shi (partner; students, dropouts and researchers at the earliest stages). The team page itself assigns no focus areas; each profile does.8
Recent seed leads
  • Kick, co-led with GV, November 2025 (round size not stated by the firm)9
  • Entire, $60M seed, led, February 202610,11
  • Sooth Labs, seed, led, April 2026 (size not stated by the firm)12
  • Blomma, $5M+ seed, led by Viviana Faga, April 202613
  • Dreambase, seed, led, April 2026 (size not stated by the firm)14
Amounts are whole rounds, not Felicis's share.
Founder Pledge
"Felicis commits an additional 1% in non-dilutive capital on top of our investment," and it "promises to always vote its shares alongside founders." The voting commitment dates from 2014 and the 1% pledge from September 2018.15
Process
"24 hours from first meeting to term sheet," and "Our conviction leads to quick decision-making."1
How to reach
No pitch form, submission email or contact page is published. "85% of the founders we back are referrals from our network."1 Its June 2025 call for startups says "we want to hear from you" but names no submission route.7
Programs
Fellows: a week-long AI Fellows program in San Francisco for students, VC Fellows (next program 2027), and a Scholars program with MIT CSAIL that gives five AI researchers a year $200,000 over two years. For students and researchers, not an accelerator for founders.16
  1. Felicis: About
  2. Felicis: Terms and conditions (Menlo Park address)
  3. Felicis: Fund X (June 2025)
  4. SEC Form D: Felicis Ventures X, L.P. (June 2025)
  5. Felicis: Home
  6. Felicis: Artificial Intelligence focus area
  7. Felicis: Call for startups (June 2025)
  8. Felicis: Team
  9. Felicis: Kick (November 2025)
  10. Felicis: Entire, the world's next developer platform (February 2026)
  11. Entire: $60 million seed round (February 2026)
  12. Felicis: Our seed investment in Sooth (April 2026)
  13. Felicis: Blomma seed round (April 2026)
  14. Felicis: Dreambase seed round (April 2026)
  15. Felicis: Founder Pledge
  16. Felicis: Fellows

Compare 27 top firms side by side

Felicis is the firm Aydin Senkut started in 2006 after being Google's first product manager, and it now manages $4.1 billion across ten funds. Its portfolio page lists Canva, Notion, Shopify, Adyen, Plaid and Supabase, with Credit Karma, Runway, Mercor and Weights & Biases alongside them. In June 2025 it raised $900 million for Fund X, its largest fund.

What Felicis Is

Felicis publishes two numbers that tell you most of what you need. First, 94% of its investments are seed or Series A, so it is an early-stage firm despite the size of the fund. Second, it leads or co-leads 83% of the time, so it expects to price the round rather than fill it. Its Fund X post adds the posture behind that: "We don't wait for a signal from other investors."

What follows from those numbers:

  • Felicis is a lead at seed and Series A. In 2026 it led Entire's $60 million seed, the largest seed round in developer tools, as well as the Blomma, Sooth Labs and Dreambase seeds
  • It does invest later when it already knows the company: its blog carries Series B and Series C posts, and it co-led Solcoa's pre-seed before joining the seed
  • It writes no check-size range. The only first-check figure it gives is that 1% of every first check goes to founder support

What Felicis Looks For

1. Founders right before breakout. "At Felicis, our philosophy has always been to back exceptional founders right before their moment of breakout." That is from its 2025 call for startups, and it explains why the firm leads at seed rather than waiting for a Series A signal.

2. Obsession with a problem. From its Solcoa post: "We invest in founders who find a problem before the world does and refuse to let it go or think about anything else."

3. Imagination, courage and discipline. The about page describes the firm as "the true believers in founders who have the imagination, courage, and discipline to defy the odds," and lists its values as bravery, grit, conviction and optimism.

4. Four themes, held loosely. Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Defense, Global Resilience and Energy, and Health and Bio are the named areas. Its Fund X post describes the AI thesis as "AI-first companies that are both horizontal platforms or vertical applications." But the call for startups is explicit that an idea outside those themes is welcome.

5. Anywhere. "Greatness can come from anywhere." The firm has backed founders from more than 40 countries and publishes no geographic rule.

What Felicis Needs to See

Felicis publishes no revenue or traction thresholds. What it does publish is speed: "24 hours from first meeting to term sheet," which only works when the founder arrives with the story already clear. Read its own words as the brief: the problem you found before the world did, why you cannot let it go, and what the breakout looks like from here. Entire is the type specimen: a repeat founder (GitHub's former CEO) with a thesis about the next developer platform, and a $60 million seed led on that basis.

Two Felicis-specific facts worth knowing before you negotiate:

  • The Founder Pledge adds 1% of the investment as non-dilutive capital on top of the check, for founder support
  • The firm commits to voting its shares alongside founders, a commitment it has made since 2014

How to Get a Felicis Meeting

  • A referral: Felicis says 85% of the founders it backs are referrals from its network, and it publishes no pitch form, submission email or contact page. Its portfolio founders and co-investors are the published path
  • The right partner: the team page lists titles only, but each profile carries focus tags. Peter Deng, James Detweiler and Viviana Faga for AI (Faga also cybersecurity and defense), Sundeep Peechu and Tobi Coker for health and bio, Feyza Haskaraman for AI-native security and developer infrastructure, and Tony Shi for students, dropouts and researchers at the earliest stage
  • The call for startups: in June 2025 Felicis published the problems it wants to fund across its four themes and said "we want to hear from you." It is a reading list for fit, not a submission route
  • Fellows: if you are a student or researcher, the AI Fellows week and the MIT CSAIL Scholars program are the firm's own on-ramp

What Gets You Passed

  • Waiting for a signal: Felicis says it does not wait for other investors, and it expects founders to move the same way; a round that is waiting on a lead from somewhere else is not its shape
  • No referral path: with 85% of its founders arriving by referral and no public inbox, a cold approach has no published route
  • A late-stage ask: 94% of its investments are seed or Series A; its later rounds go to companies it already backs

A second track: Pitch Protocol

Warm paths into a fund like Felicis take time. Pitch Protocol is not a route into Felicis; it is a second track you can run alongside your outreach. Applying is free, your own AI agent submits one application in about ten minutes with no web form, and the funds in our network whose thesis matches reach out to you directly. Apply to the First 100 Founders Cohort →

Founder FAQ

Which Felicis partner should I pitch for my sector?

Felicis's team page lists titles only; each profile carries focus tags. AI: Peter Deng, James Detweiler and Viviana Faga (also cybersecurity and defense). Health and bio: Sundeep Peechu and Tobi Coker. AI-native enterprise security and developer infrastructure: Feyza Haskaraman. Students, dropouts and researchers at the earliest stage: Tony Shi.

Does Felicis lead seed rounds?

Yes. "83% of the time, Felicis leads or co-leads," and "94% of our investments are Seed or Series A," per its about page. In February 2026 it led Entire's $60M seed.

What is Felicis's typical check size?

Felicis does not publish a check size or ownership target. The only first-check figure on its site is that "1% of every first check goes to founder support" (about page), and its Founder Pledge adds 1% of the investment as non-dilutive capital.

Does Felicis invest outside the United States?

Yes. Its homepage says "We have backed early-stage founders from 40+ countries," and the about page says "Greatness can come from anywhere." It publishes no list of regions and no US-only rule.

How long does Felicis take to decide?

Its about page says "24 hours from first meeting to term sheet," and its Fund X post says "We don't wait for a signal from other investors." It publishes no fuller process description.

Does Felicis take cold inbound?

No pitch form, submission email or contact page is published on felicis.com; the only addresses on the site are for privacy and compliance. The firm says "85% of the founders we back are referrals from our network" (about page). Its June 2025 call for startups says "we want to hear from you" but gives no route.

What is the Felicis Founder Pledge?

Two commitments on its Founder Pledge page: "Felicis commits an additional 1% in non-dilutive capital on top of our investment," and "Felicis promises to always vote its shares alongside founders." The voting commitment dates from 2014 and the 1% pledge from September 2018.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Felicis invest beyond seed and Series A?

Its blog carries Series B and Series C posts (Fractile, Heaviside, Mercor) and it led Series A rounds for Simular and Arena in the last year, but 94% of its investments are seed or Series A by its own count.

Does Felicis have a program for founders?

Not an accelerator. Its Fellows programs are for students and researchers: a week-long AI Fellows deep dive in San Francisco, VC Fellows, and a Scholars program with MIT CSAIL that funds five AI researchers a year.

Can I apply through Pitch Protocol instead of waiting for a warm intro?

Pitch Protocol is not a back door into Felicis, and we do not share which funds review an application before it is in. What it does: applying is free, your own AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any agent that can read a URL) submits one application in about ten minutes with no web form, and the funds in our network whose thesis matches reach out to you directly. Founders anywhere can apply. Keep working your warm path to Felicis in parallel. Apply to the First 100 Founders Cohort →