Great companies emerge at intersections.

Orthogonal is an early stage venture firm. We back exceptional founders from day one.

Intersections

What is now possible?

Pioneering companies don’t adhere to traditional boundaries. They emerge between the fundamental technologies and economic forces changing our world. Exceptional founders see the future before others, and show us what’s next.

  1. Backing founders at technological intersections since 2014.

  2. Earnest

    Data science × lending

    Earnest — opens in a new tab

  3. Ginkgo Bioworks

    Computer science × biology

    Ginkgo Bioworks — opens in a new tab

  4. Deepgram

    Particle physics × voice × AI

    Deepgram — opens in a new tab

  5. Air Space Intelligence

    Machine learning × transportation

    Air Space Intelligence — opens in a new tab

  6. Deel

    Money × AI × globalisation

    Deel — opens in a new tab

  7. SpaceX

    Launch × satellites × ground

    SpaceX — opens in a new tab

  8. Stoke Space

    Space × transportation

    Stoke Space — opens in a new tab

  9. xAI (now part of SpaceX)

    AI × industrial engineering

    xAI (now part of SpaceX) — opens in a new tab

  10. Perimeter

    AI × biology × defense

    Perimeter — opens in a new tab

Partnerships

We build partnerships very early with founders creating extraordinary companies.

  • 23 Companies with billion plus valuations backed at seed
  • 6 IPOs
  • $200bn+ Enterprise value of companies backed at seed
  • 5 Continents

Team

We have founded, scaled, operated, and exited multiple technology businesses. We have lived the challenges founders confront every day, from a blank sheet of paper to IPO.

Our mission is to be the partner seed-stage founders choose first; everything we do is relentlessly focused on this effort. We do the hard work to make it happen.

  • Louis is a 3x founder, investor, and builder with a track record of scaling companies at the intersection of technology and finance. He has founded three companies - SolidEnergy, Earnest, and Rocketplace - with successful outcomes including the IPO of SolidEnergy (NASDAQ: SES) at a $3.6B valuation and Earnest’s $200M exit to Navient. Prior to founding, Louis was a Partner at A16Z and YC, where he backed category-defining companies across software, fintech, and infrastructure. He has spent over a decade as an investor at Four Cities. Louis began his career at Morgan Stanley, holds a degree in Engineering from Princeton, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.

    LinkedIn: Louis Beryl, opens in a new tab

  • George is a seed investor and firm builder with a track record of backing and scaling breakthrough technology companies. Before Four Cities George was a GP at Salica Investments where he helped to scale that firm into a multi-strategy venture capital firm. Earlier in his career, George spent 15 years advising CEOs, founders, and leaders at McKinsey & Company and the Tony Blair Institute. George holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, studied History at Oxford University, and is an Adjunct Lecturer in VC and entrepreneurship at London Business School.

    LinkedIn: George Davies, opens in a new tab

  • Ben is a 2x founder with a track record of building and scaling companies in fintech and beyond. He co-founded Earnest, acquired by Navient (NASDAQ: NAVI), where he built teams from 2 to over 200 people and raised more than $125M in equity and $1B+ in debt financing. He later co-founded Rocketplace.

    Alongside his operating career, Ben has spent over a decade as an angel investor and advisor to founders. Ben studied Mathematics at Edinburgh University and began his career at UBS, the UK Treasury and the BBC before moving into technology and venture.

    LinkedIn: Ben Hutchinson, opens in a new tab

  • Matt is a seasoned operator and investor and is currently the Founder and CEO of Perimeter Bio, an Orthogonal portfolio company. He was previously CCO of Ginkgo Bioworks, where he helped scale the company through its IPO and has built Ginkgo BioSecurity from inception to $50M ARR and 100+ employees. Previously, Matt was COO of Decision Resources Group, acquired for $900M, and served as a US Marine Corps officer. Earlier in his career he also worked at Palantir. Matt holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and studied History at Dartmouth College.

    LinkedIn: Matt McKnight, opens in a new tab

Approach

Building enduring companies takes patience, grit, brilliance, relentlessness, vision, optimism, discipline and time. We are here for the journey.

We partner with founders from the beginning and build relationships that last. We seek entrepreneurs whose experience has earned them an insight others have missed, and who are building where multiple technologies meet.

  1. We are decisive partners to founders at seed and pre-seed.

  2. The success of the companies we back is existential for us. We are building our firm from the ground-up, just as our founders are. We are all in.

  3. We build deep, trusted partnerships. We deploy our expertise and global networks to maximise the chance of extraordinary success.

  4. We take a very long-term view of what it takes to build companies, and we stay close to founders all the way.

Values

  • We exist to enable the ubiquitous companies of tomorrow.

    We look for companies pursuing breakthroughs at intersections where there are extremely large market opportunities.

  • We believe in founders.

    We build partnerships with founders who think differently about the future and we work tirelessly to help them enable their immense ambition.

  • We prioritize character.

    Our reputation is the primary driver of the value we create, and there are no shortcuts. We are never transactional, and we seek to add value even in the deals we don't do.

  • We are a firm, not a fund.

    We aspire to be a permanent, preeminent partner that founders and LPs seek out. We do the hard, often unglamorous work to make things happen.