Baukunst Raises $100M Fund to Lead Pre-Seed Investments in Companies at the Frontiers of Technology and Design

Baukunst, the collective of creative technologists advancing the art of building companies at the frontiers of technology and design, announced it has raised a $100 million Fund I, the largest ever debut fund for a pre-seed firm.

Baukunst has four equal General Partners responsible for investing the fund’s capital: Kate McAndrew, Tyler Mincey, Axel Bichara and Matt Thoms. The team brings decades of experience building groundbreaking products, startups and venture capital firms. Together, the team has shaped over 100 first-generation technology products — including the first iPhone. They have been the first check lead investor in over 70 technology companies, including recent successes such as Tonal, Vention and Bobbie, and played instrumental roles in starting Solidworks, Onshape and Revit, among the most popular tools for today’s designers.

Baukunst invests in ‘creative technologists,’ which it describes as ‘founders who combine visionary thinking and their expertise with powerful technology tools’. These founders are building companies at the frontiers of technology and design. They craft transformative product experiences, inspire teams along the way and build companies to be proud of.

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With the $100 million debut fund, Baukunst will lead pre-seed investment rounds, often representing the first investment a founding team receives to build its company. Baukunst will make initial investments of $500,000 to $2 million, and serve as board members during the critical early years of company-building.

“We believe creative technologists will build the most impactful companies of our generation,” said Kate McAndrew, General Partner at Baukunst. “Once we gain conviction on a team and opportunity, we go all in. Visionary ideas are never simple. We specialize in the craft of getting the foundational product, team and business model right.”

The new firm has already made four investments out of the new fund, beginning with Five Flute, an issue-tracking platform embedded in Computer Aided Design (CAD) software that redefines how engineering teams approach design collaboration.

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“Every partner at Baukunst brings something uniquely valuable to the table,” said William Burke, Five Flute’s CEO. “I was impressed by the different perspectives they brought to the diligence process. That breadth of experience that we saw in diligence is now an incredibly powerful lever that we can use to build this company together.”

Baukunst raised $100M from Limited Partners united by entrepreneurial heritage, including family offices built by accomplished entrepreneurs, founders the General Partners have previously invested in and both companies and individuals responsible for shipping groundbreaking products in technology and design.

Baukunst will invest primarily in startups in North America and has offices in San Francisco and Boston.