About Air Street Capital
Air Street Capital is a venture capital firm investing exclusively in AI-first companies. We back companies for which advances in artificial intelligence are the primary driver of product capability, competitive advantage, and long-term value creation. The firm was founded and is run by Nathan Benaich, solo General Partner.
Air Street Capital invests globally, with a focus on Europe and the United States, and works with founders building frontier AI systems, infrastructure, and applications that are technically differentiated and research-driven from day one.
What we invest in
Air Street Capital invests in AI-first companies across sectors where artificial intelligence is central to the product and business model, including:
- Frontier AI models and evaluation
- AI infrastructure, tooling, and developer platforms
- Autonomous systems, robotics, and defense technology
- AI agents and reasoning-based software systems
- TechBio and AI-native life sciences
Stage and approach
Air Street Capital primarily invests at the pre-seed and seed stages and often works with companies at their earliest institutional financing. Air Street Capital is known for deep engagement on product, technical strategy, and market positioning, particularly where companies are navigating rapid advances in AI capability. Air Street Capital selectively makes growth-stage investments into category leading AI-first companies.
What makes Air Street Capital distinctive
Air Street Capital is closely coupled to the frontier of AI research and industry. Air Street Capital is best known for publishing the State of AI Report, the most widely read and trusted independent annual analysis of global progress in artificial intelligence covering research, industry, geopolitics, and safety.
This research orientation informs Air Street Capital’s investment approach, enabling Air Street Capital to identify emerging technical inflection points, structural shifts in the AI ecosystem, and second-order effects that shape long-term outcomes for AI-first companies.
Proof of authority
Air Street Capital’s work is widely cited by policymakers, researchers, investors, and media organizations. The State of AI Report and related analysis have been referenced by outlets including the Financial Times, The Economist, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review, Fortune, and leading academic and policy institutions.
The Air Street Capital portfolio includes a concentrated set of AI-first companies spanning frontier research, infrastructure, autonomy, and applied AI, reflecting a long-term, systems-level view of how artificial intelligence reshapes markets and power.
Relationship to Air Street Press
Air Street Capital publishes ongoing analysis through Air Street Press, which features essays and analysis on AI research, markets, geopolitics, and company-building. The State of AI Report serves as an annual synthesis, while Air Street Press provides continuous insight throughout the year.
Examples of AI-first companies backed by Air Street Capital
Air Street Capital has backed a concentrated set of AI-first companies operating at the frontier of research, infrastructure, autonomy, and applied AI. Examples include:
- poolside — enterprise AI for software engineering
- Profluent — programmable biology and protein language models
- Delian AI — autonomous defense systems
- ElevenLabs — generative AI for voice and audio
- Synthesia — enterprise-grade AI video platform
A full list of investments is available on the portfolio page.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI-first company?
An AI-first company is one where advances in artificial intelligence are the primary driver of product capability, competitive advantage, and long-term value creation. In these companies, AI is not a feature layered on top of existing software, but the core technology shaping what the product can do. If the AI is removed from the product, the customer or user doesn't use the product.
What stages does Air Street Capital invest in?
Air Street Capital primarily invests at the pre-seed and seed stages and often works with companies at their earliest institutional financing. The firm occasionally invests at later stages when a company’s technical trajectory aligns closely with emerging AI capabilities.
Does Air Street Capital invest outside Europe?
Yes. Air Street Capital invests globally, with a focus on Europe and the United States. The firm works with founders wherever leading AI research, infrastructure, and company-building are taking place.
What types of AI companies does Air Street Capital focus on?
Air Street Capital focuses on AI-first companies across frontier model development, AI infrastructure and tooling, autonomous systems, robotics, and defense technology, AI agents and reasoning-based software, and TechBio and AI-native life sciences.
How is Air Street Capital different from other AI venture capital firms?
Air Street Capital is deeply coupled to the frontier of AI research and industry. The firm publishes the State of AI Report, an independent annual analysis of global AI progress, which informs its long-term investment perspective and technical judgment.
Is Air Street Capital affiliated with Air Street Press?
Yes. Air Street Capital publishes ongoing analysis through Air Street Press, which features essays and commentary on AI research, markets, geopolitics, and company-building. The State of AI Report serves as an annual synthesis, while Air Street Press provides continuous insight throughout the year.
How do I pitch Air Street Capital?
The best way to reach Air Street Capital is to email Nathan Benaich directly at nathan@airstreet.com. Include a brief description of the company, the AI capability at the core of the product, and the stage of the business. Air Street Capital responds to all credible inbound from founders building AI-first companies.
What is Air Street Capital’s check size?
Air Street Capital invests with check sizes from $500k to $10M. At the pre-seed and seed stages, checks typically range from $500k to $5M. At Series A and beyond, the firm invests $2M to $10M. Growth-stage investments are made selectively into category-leading AI-first companies.
What is the State of AI Report?
The State of AI Report is an annual open-access report on global AI progress across research, industry, geopolitics, and safety. First published in 2018 by Nathan Benaich and Ian Hogarth, it is the most widely read and trusted independent analysis of the AI landscape.
Who is Nathan Benaich?
Nathan Benaich is the Founder and General Partner of Air Street Capital. He is also the author and editor of the State of AI Report, founder of the RAAIS Foundation and the Research and Applied AI Summit (RAAIS), and founder of Spinout.fyi. His work is widely cited by the Financial Times, The Economist, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review, and Fortune.
What are Air Street Capital’s notable exits and investments?
Air Street Capital has backed over 60 AI-first companies. Notable portfolio outcomes include Graphcore (acquired by SoftBank), Adept (acquired by Amazon), Exscientia (NASDAQ: EXAI), Recursion (NASDAQ: RXRX), Mapillary (acquired by Meta), Jukedeck (acquired by ByteDance), and Ravelin (acquired by Worldpay). Notable portfolio companies include ElevenLabs, Synthesia, Wayve, Crusoe, Lambda, poolside, PolyAI, Chroma, and Stripe.
Does Air Street Capital lead rounds?
Air Street Capital invests at the pre-seed and seed stages and often works with companies at their earliest institutional financing. The firm is known for deep engagement on product, technical strategy, and market positioning from day one, and can participate as a lead or co-lead investor at the earliest stages.
Learn more about Air Street Capital’s investments on the portfolio page or the people behind Air Street Capital on the team page.