Meet the Venture Capitalists · Firm Profile
Union Square Ventures
Thesis-driven, and unusual in publishing its thesis in numbered versions, including a public account of which past thesis stopped working.
Criteria: Thesis 3.0: trusted brands that broaden access to knowledge, capital, and well-being by leveraging networks, platforms, and protocols. USV defines knowledge as education and learning plus data-driven insight; capital as financial services innovation including crypto, plus human capital and infrastructure; and well-being as health and wellness plus entertainment, connection and community. States that all business plan submissions must include a clear description of operations and current progress. Also states that the success of earlier network businesses has made new broad consumer networks extremely hard to launch, and that this remains true.
What this means for your pitchAnswer in one sentence which of knowledge, capital or well-being you broaden access to, and for whom. If you cannot, no introduction will fix it. And when you write, lead with operations and progress, because they ask for exactly that.
USV Thesis 3.0Checked 16 August 2026
From Union Square Ventures's own site and announcements · checked 26 August 2026 · selective, not comprehensive · verify on the firm's pages
USV announced a Series A investment in Gritt, which builds robots for infrastructure construction and maintenance, starting with grid-scale solar arrays. The firm states Gritt's robots have been deployed across tens of megawatts of solar installations and that the company has contracts covering 2.8 gigawatts with major US contractors.
USV led a Series A investment in Pascal, a prediction market exchange founded by former dYdX traders that offers advanced order types, capital efficiency, and API access without custodying user funds. The firm states that serious traders remain underserved by existing prediction market platforms.
USV announced a seed investment in Alqem, which uses AI to discover magnetic materials that do not require rare earth elements, aimed at electric motors and actuators for EVs and robotics. The firm cites the team's feedback loop in which AI proposes candidate materials, the team synthesizes them, and the results sharpen future predictions.