Capital and a senior build team for new AI companies.

We invest $25k to $100k in early AI companies and run a hands-on program to get them to market. You build with the same team that builds and runs our own AI products.

Submit your idea Read our thesis
FUNDING
$25k to $100k per company
PROGRAM
About 14 weeks scoping plus build
FOCUS
AI-native products in real industries
REPLY
Within two weeks of every submission
WHAT YOU GET

Money, builders, and a path to customers.

Most early founders need three things at once: enough runway to build, people who have shipped AI in production, and help finding the first buyers. We bring all three.

01

Funding

We invest $25k to $100k per company, sized to the plan we agree on together. You get the terms in writing before you commit to anything.

02

Build support

Engineers and AI architects from our senior team work in your repo. Model choice, evaluations, data pipelines and product scope, done with you every week.

03

Go-to-market

Positioning, pricing and your first paying customers. We use the same go-to-market methods we run for leadership teams, and make introductions where we can.

04

Tools and infrastructure

Help getting cloud and model credits through provider programs, and a production stack set up properly from the first week.

We run two live AI products ourselves: Celestial Dial, a daily horoscope sent by SMS, and LodeFinder, which scores lapsed federal mining claims every morning. The founders we back get that same team.

THE PROGRAM

Five stages, from idea to next raise.

The build follows SHIP, the framework we teach leadership teams: Scope, Harness, Iterate, Prove. Durations below are the program design. Each company's plan is set in the scoping sprint.

  1. STAGE 1

    Apply

    About 15 minutes

    Fill in the form below. We read every submission and reply within two weeks.

  2. STAGE 2

    Review call

    About 45 minutes

    We talk through the problem, the buyer and your plan. If it fits, we send terms in writing.

  3. STAGE 3 · SCOPE

    Scoping sprint

    About 2 weeks

    We pick the first customer, the smallest product that proves the idea, and the one number that says it works.

  4. STAGE 4 · HARNESS + ITERATE

    Build

    About 12 weeks

    Weekly working sessions with our engineers. Real users early, then changes driven by what they actually do.

  5. STAGE 5 · PROVE

    Demo and next raise

    End of program

    Show the evidence: usage, retention, revenue. Then raise the next round, or grow on revenue.

INVESTMENT THESIS

What we fund, and what we pass on.

Models get cheaper and better every quarter. The companies that last own something models can't copy: a hard workflow, a data advantage, or a path to buyers. That is what we look for.

  1. 01

    The model does the work.

    The product finishes a task end to end that a person used to do by hand. Take the model out and there is no product. A chat box on top of someone else's API is a feature, and features get copied.

  2. 02

    Vertical, messy, expensive.

    We like industries with messy data and costly manual work, where generalist tools rarely reach the buyer.

  3. 03

    An edge in data or distribution.

    Proprietary data, a workflow that creates data as it runs, or a channel to buyers that others can't reach. Model access is a commodity. Those advantages compound.

  4. 04

    A founder close to the problem.

    You have done the job, sold to the buyer, or lived the pain. We can help write the code. We can't give you ten years inside an industry.

  5. 05

    Revenue within a year.

    A buyer with a budget and a credible path to paying customers within twelve months of starting the program. Pilots are a fine first step. Free forever is not a plan.

  6. 06

    Trust built in.

    Audit trails, human approval where the stakes are high, and evaluations that show the system works. Buyers in serious industries ask for this on the first call.

  7. 07

    Small teams that ship.

    One to three people who put working software in front of users every week. AI makes a small team strong. We fund the teams that use it that way.

We pass on

  • Thin wrappers around a single model API.
  • Ideas that need heavy foundation-model training spend to work.
  • Consumer social bets with no clear wedge.
  • Crypto-first products.
  • Regulated products, such as health, lending or legal advice, without a compliance path.
WHO SHOULD APPLY

Early, close to the problem, ready to build.

Solo founders and small teams

One to three people. No technical cofounder yet is fine. Our engineers fill that gap during the program.

Idea stage to first prototype

You have a sharp problem and maybe a rough demo. Some early users is a plus. A finished product is not required.

Operators with an AI idea

You work inside an industry and see a job AI could do. You know the buyer. We help you turn that into a company.

FAQ

Questions founders ask.

Something else? Email hello@innovaite.com.

Do you take equity?

Yes. We invest in exchange for equity. After the first conversation we send the terms in plain language, in writing, before anyone commits to anything.

Do I need a technical cofounder?

No. Our engineers build with you during the program. You need to own the problem, the customer and the decisions. We will also help you plan who to hire once the product works.

What stage do you fund?

Idea stage through first prototype, and some companies with early users. If you already have revenue, apply anyway and tell us where you are.

Is the program remote or in person?

Remote-first. Our team is based in Irvine, California, and founders nearby are welcome to work with us in person.

Will you sign an NDA?

Not at submission. That is standard for programs like ours, because we read many ideas and some of them overlap. Share only what you are comfortable sharing. A clear description of the problem is enough to start.

How fast will you reply?

Within two weeks of your submission, with a yes, a no, or a request for a call.

What do you do with my application?

We use it to review your idea and to contact you. We do not sell it or share it outside the Innovaite team. See our privacy policy.

SUBMIT YOUR IDEA

Tell us what you want to build.

About 15 minutes. Plain answers beat polished ones. We read every submission and reply within two weeks.

Please don't include confidential information. We don't sign NDAs at this stage.

hello@innovaite.com

Fields marked with an asterisk are required.

Who feels this pain, how often, and what it costs them today.

What the model does that was not possible or affordable a few years ago.

Who is building this and what each person has done. A few lines is plenty.