Investor Profile: Atypical Ventures - Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

If you are a technical founder building something most investors dismiss as too strange, Atypical Ventures funding may be worth a closer look. This profile explains how to get funding from Atypical Ventures, what the New York firm backs, and where its public record runs thin. Atypical Ventures is a seed-stage investor based in Manhattan, New York, and it describes its focus in plain terms: engineers with empathy building across atoms, bits and cells.

Investment thesis

Atypical Ventures backs technical founders who can inspire a movement, in the words used about its founder, Chris Wake. The firm says it goes deep rather than wide, and that it is built for the edge cases consensus skips over. It also says it helps with talent, go-to-market pressure-testing and narrative, positioning itself as a hands-on partner rather than a quarterly-update investor.

Sectors and stages

The firm invests at pre-seed and seed stage. Its stated territory spans atoms, bits and cells, a deliberately broad phrase covering hardware and frontier technology, software and the life sciences. Directory summaries list enterprise applications, high technology and life sciences among its sectors, and its public deals run from fintech infrastructure to lunar infrastructure.

Fund size and cheque size

The total fund size of Atypical Ventures is not publicly disclosed in the sources reviewed for this profile, so no fund total is stated here. For cheque size, a directory summary of the firm's own positioning puts its range at $500,000 to $1 million at pre-seed and seed.

Notable portfolio

The best-documented recent deal is Brooklyn Investment Group, whose parent, Brooklyn Artificial Intelligence Research, closed a strategic round led by Atypical Ventures with participation from S&P Global Ventures. Its platform offers multi-asset direct indexing and personalised, tax-managed portfolios for asset managers and advisers. Another striking name is Lonestar, described as building the first data centre on the Moon, which landed on the lunar surface in February 2024.

Partners and team

Chris Wake is the founding and managing partner of Atypical Ventures, which he established in 2019. Profiles of Wake stress hands-on mentoring and a search for high-empathy engineers, people who can turn a breakthrough into a large, enduring business.

Programs, credits and perks

No formal accelerator programme, credits bundle or perks scheme run by Atypical Ventures was verified in the sources reviewed. What the firm does offer, on its own description, is practical help building talent engines, testing go-to-market and sharpening narrative.

How to apply for funding

No public application form or pitch email for Atypical Ventures was verified in the sources reviewed, so this profile does not invent one. The honest route is a warm introduction through a founder, operator or investor who knows Chris Wake or the firm, or a direct approach through the firm's own website, with a short, specific note on the technical advantage, why now, and what the first cheque would unlock.