Most funds are run by investors. DeVC is run by people who have shipped products: a decentralised venture capital collective of experienced founders, operators and early-stage investors that backs the next generation of category-defining companies. Founded in 2022, the collective describes itself as being by the community, for the community — and it has already partnered with more than 100 early-stage founders, with $500m+ invested across 100+ investments and a collective of 50+ members.

The model: operators in the room, not on the sidelines

DeVC's pitch is that zero-to-one is a product and velocity game, and founders benefit hugely from having someone in the room who has scaled before. The collective's members include Miten Sampat (CRED), Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar (Razorpay), Jitendra Gupta (Jupiter), Aakrit Vaish (Haptik), Ashwini Asokan (Vue.ai), Anil Goteti (Scapia), Amit Lakhotia (Park+), Asish Mohapatra (OfBusiness) and Rohit Kapoor (Swiggy), alongside early-stage investors such as Vishesh Rajaram (Speciale Invest). The idea: operators do not just advise — they co-own the journey, sharpening decisions and participating in the upside.

The cheque: $50K–$500K at pre-seed and seed

The collective writes first cheques of $50K to $500K — strategic early-stage capital designed to fuel initial growth, with quick decision-making and a promise of agile evaluation. Backed startups also gain access to resources across talent acquisition, finance and legal support through a partner network and a dedicated community management team. The fund's total corpus is not publicly disclosed, but the collective's stated ambition is to back more than 50 startups a year.

Sectors: from AI to spacetech

DeVC is deliberately broad, backing founders across AI, consumer, DevTools and infrastructure, fintech, hardware and deeptech, gaming, Web3, and industrial and manufacturing. Featured investments include Ambak (home-loan financing), Boba Bhai (premium QSR), CodeAnt (AI code reviewer), Confido Health (healthcare front-office automation), Felicity (indie game publishing), Gameramp (AI tools for games), Inspecity (in-space satellite servicing), Kintsugi (sales-tax automation), PowerUp Money (wealth management), RapidClaims (medical coding automation), Realfast (AI-native Salesforce partner) and Smallest AI (voice AI). Earlier bets reported in the press include Blockfenders, Solar Ladder and Bidso, spanning semiconductors, cleantech, spacetech and SaaS.

Founder feedback: strategic horsepower, not just a cheque

The collective's site leads with founder voices, and the pattern is consistent: DeVC's backing feels like strategic horsepower. Founders cite product-ops feedback, board-level thinking, doors opened to early trials, and help on everything from compliance to GTM pivots — the kind of in-the-weeds support only operators can credibly offer. For a founder in the lonely zero-to-one phase, that is the entire value proposition.

Why it matters for founders

If you are building at pre-seed or seed stage and want more than capital — you want people who have scaled companies sitting with you on product, GTM and hiring — DeVC's founder-operator collective is built for exactly that. With $50K–$500K first cheques, a 50+ member network of proven builders, and coverage from AI to deeptech, it is a compelling first institutional partner. Apply through their site, and come ready to be challenged: this is a collective that studies ground reality, not themes.