Getting a new automotive idea off the ground requires more than just a great concept; it needs the right financial backing. The good news is there are many investors looking to fund the future of how we get around.
Firms like Viola Ventures have made over 280 investments and seen more than 50 exits, while EQT Ventures and Gobi Partners have each backed over 230 companies. These investors are actively shaping the industry.
Below is our list of the best 11 Automotive VC firms.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
Tool
Fundraising OS
Everything you need to raise funding for your startup, including 3,500+ investors, 7 tools, 18 templates and 3 learning resources.
Buy It For $97 $297 →With a team of former founders and operators, EQT Ventures backs ambitious tech startups across Europe, providing multi-stage funding and hands-on support. Their data-driven approach, powered by an in-house AI platform called Motherbrain, helps them identify and support future global success stories like Wolt.
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Hjalmar Winbladh, Kees Koolen, Lars Jörnow |
| Total Funding | €1.4B |
| Average Check Size | €50M |
| Industries | Cybersecurity, Biotech, Social, Media, E-Commerce, AR & VR, AI & ML, Fintech, Gaming, Internet & Mobile, Developer Tools, Manufacturing, Automotive, SaaS |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage |
| Nº of Investments | 233 (134 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 25 (1 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Peltarion, Verto Analytics, Nectarine Health |
GoAhead Ventures writes $1M checks for pre-seed and seed stage startups across all industries. The firm differentiates itself with a founder-friendly process that delivers a funding decision the day after a partner pitch.
| Headquarters | Menlo Park, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Clancey Stahr, Phil Brady, Takeshi Mori |
| Total Funding | $120M |
| Average Check Size | $1M |
| Industries | AI & ML, AR & VR, Transportation, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, E-Commerce, Education, IoT, Life Sciences, Gaming, Food & Beverage, Supply Chain & Logistics, SaaS, Proptech & Real Estate, Marketplace, Automotive |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Seed, Pre-Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 73 (38 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 7 |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Deskfirst, Omnisearch, Cake |
| Contact | pitch@goaheadvc.com / (650) 275-2465 |
Afore Capital exclusively backs product-centric founders at the pre-seed stage, often leading their first institutional round of funding. The firm's partners draw on their founding product experience from Android and Twitter to guide companies through their initial development.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Anamitra Banerji, Gaurav Jain |
| Total Funding | $300M |
| Average Check Size | $1.5M |
| Industries | Fintech, Consumer, SaaS, Automotive, Marketplace, Construction, AR & VR, Enterprise, Crypto & Blockchain, Developer Tools, Gaming, Healthcare, E-Commerce |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed, Pre-Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 209 (87 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 15 |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Zuul Kitchen, Stream, Pinch |
| Contact | (415) 562-7342 |
Viola Ventures empowers early-stage Israeli tech startups to become global leaders, focusing on ambitious teams in AI, deeptech, and consumer products. Their portfolio of transformational companies includes well-known names like ironSource, Payoneer, Lightricks, and Redis Labs.
| Headquarters | Herzliya, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Year Founded | 2000 |
| Founders | Avi Zeevi, Shlomo Dovrat |
| Industries | AI & ML, Biotech, Cybersecurity, Enterprise, InsurTech, Proptech & Real Estate, Internet & Mobile, Media, Travel & Hospitality, Climate & Sustainability, DTC, Automotive, Agriculture, SaaS |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed, Series A, Series B |
| Nº of Investments | 284 (105 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 57 (4 IPO'd) |
| Contact | info@viola.vc |
As a $50M Pan-African fund, Ingressive Capital invests in pre-seed and seed stage tech companies led by indigenous founders across the continent. They support startups that build for Africa's youth and increase the continent's value chain ownership, with a portfolio that includes successes like Paystack and Bamboo.
| Headquarters | Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Maya Horgan Famodu |
| Total Funding | $10M |
| Average Check Size | $400k |
| Industries | Fintech, Devops, Transportation, Biotech, Supply Chain & Logistics, Proptech & Real Estate, API, Cloud, Automotive, Agriculture |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Seed, Pre-Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 58 (9 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 3 |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Paystack, Bamboo, 54gene |
| Contact | communications@ingressive.vc |
Inventure backs early-stage founders across the Nordics and Baltics, fighting fiercely for a select few they believe can build transformative futures. This dedicated approach has helped launch successful companies like the delivery platform Wolt, proving their model of building lasting, two-way trust.
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Founders | Kevin Lösch, Sami Lampinen, Timo Tirkkonen |
| Total Funding | $230M |
| Average Check Size | $10M |
| Industries | SaaS, Deep Tech & Hard Science, AI & ML, Healthcare, Education, Gaming, Devops, Cybersecurity, IoT, Consumer, InsurTech, Hardware, AR & VR, Food & Beverage, Enterprise, Marketplace, Big Data & Analytics, Manufacturing, Marketing, Automotive, Telecommunications |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Seed, Series A |
| Nº of Investments | 162 (78 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 21 (1 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Mojo, Coudescene, Wolt |
| Contact | hello@inventure.vc / +46 76 600 95 60 |
Focusing on the Nordics and Baltics, Icebreaker.vc provides pre-seed and seed funding to tech companies built by founders with deep industry experience. They cultivate a large community to support their portfolio, which includes HoxHunt, helping them build a position of strength and avoid the post-accelerator slump.
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Aleksi Partanen, Lasse Lehtinen, Riku Seppälä, Teddie Wardi |
| Total Funding | €126M |
| Average Check Size | €800k |
| Industries | Cybersecurity, IoT, Travel & Hospitality, Advertising, AI & ML, Big Data & Analytics, Proptech & Real Estate, AR & VR, Automation, Developer Tools, Media, Entertainment, Automotive, Energy, Human Resources, Legal, SaaS, Hardware, E-Commerce, Education |
| Investment Stage | Convertible Note, Early Stage, Seed, Pre-Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 126 (71 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 4 |
| Top Portfolio Startups | HoxHunt, Logmore, Flowhaven |
| Contact | info@icebreaker.vc |
Maniv Mobility invests in startups creating the next generation of transportation technology, from vehicle autonomy to new mobility business models. With a portfolio that includes companies like Turo, they support founders from seed to late stage who are working to solve issues like traffic fatalities, congestion, and pollution.
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Michael Granoff |
| Industries | Supply Chain & Logistics, Robotics, Transportation, Automotive, Mobility |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed |
| Nº of Investments | 81 (23 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 7 (2 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | ClairLabs, Pact, Turo |
| Contact | (201) 727-1411 |
With its TIDE Africa funds, TLcom Capital Partners backs entrepreneurs building tech companies with disruptive business models across the continent. They invest in sectors from financial services to education, helping to scale companies like the learning platform uLesson.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 1999 |
| Founders | Maurizio Caio |
| Total Funding | $300M |
| Average Check Size | $10M |
| Industries | Media, Internet & Mobile, DTC, Supply Chain & Logistics, Transportation, Education, InsurTech, Healthcare, Automotive |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage |
| Nº of Investments | 59 (31 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 9 |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Kobo, Cuebiq, uLesson |
| Contact | info@tlcomcapital.com / +44 208 2377070 |
As one of the most interconnected Pan-Asian venture capital firms, Gobi Partners backs entrepreneurs from the early to growth stages, focusing on emerging and underserved markets. The firm has invested in over 350 startups and cultivated 10 unicorns, including the prominent gaming and metaverse company Animoca Brands.
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Year Founded | 2002 |
| Founders | Thomas Tsao |
| Total Funding | $430.5M |
| Industries | AI & ML, Biotech, Crypto & Blockchain, E-Commerce, Education, Food & Beverage, Hardware, Healthcare, Supply Chain & Logistics, Marketplace, Media, SaaS, Transportation, AR & VR, Agriculture, Automotive, Sports, Fintech |
| Investment Stage | Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed, Series A |
| Nº of Investments | 238 (102 as Lead Investor) |
| Nº of Exits | 18 (4 IPO'd) |
| Top Portfolio Startups | Animoca Brands, Liveme, Tuniu |
| Contact | mail@gobi.vc / +861084554115 |
1 Additional Automotive VC Firm Worth Pitching
The firms we've highlighted so far are just part of the story. Other investors are also backing founders, with this next one having made over 150 investments.
These investments have led to successful exits, showing there are many paths to building a great company. Here is another venture capital firm funding what's next in the automotive space.