Melbourne's Rampersand funding proposition is captured in its tagline: "First to believe. First to invest." Founded in 2013 by Jim Cassidy and Paul Naphtali, the firm has spent over a decade backing founders at the very earliest stages — and says it is the first venture investor in two-thirds of its portfolio.

Thesis, sectors and stage

Rampersand invests at inception, pre-seed and seed — its how-we-invest page is blunt: "true Series A is not where we play." It invests in founders who are ANZ-born, ANZ-based or ANZ-headquartered, wherever in the world they are building. Its current concentration is AI-native software, vertical AI and deep tech, spanning vertical AI, AI agents, B2B software, the future of work, spatial computing, life sciences × AI, climate & robotics, and quantum. The firm leads or co-leads rounds, takes board seats, targets 8–15% ownership at entry, and moves fast — from first meeting to term sheet in under two weeks.

Fund size and cheque size

The firm reports more than $100 million in invested principal across four funds since 2013. Fund 1 (2013) was $5.4 million; Fund 2 was a $50 million fund; Fund 3, the Rampersand Future Technology Fund, raised more than $40 million. A fourth fund exists but its size is not publicly disclosed. First cheques run A$250,000 to A$2.5 million, with roughly half to 60% of the fund held back for follow-on reserves.

Notable portfolio companies

Firm-site-confirmed portfolio names include drone-delivery mapping platform PredictHQ, augmented-reality company JigSpace, quantum startup Quantum Brilliance, food-waste company Goterra, hospitality AI platform Restoke (Rampersand led its A$5.1 million round), Hatch, Cuttable, Cake Equity, Expert360, AmazingCo, Sendle and Skedulo — with 40+ active portfolio companies.

Key partners and founder programmes

Founder and Managing Partner Paul Naphtali leads alongside partners Andrew Poesaste, Taryn Pieterse, Michael Naphtali and Martin Casey, plus Venture Partner Rod Hamilton (ex-Culture Amp). Co-founder Jim Cassidy has stepped back into an advisory role. Beyond capital, the firm runs Product Counsel (a product-leader community), Code & Coffee (founder and operator talent community), the Giant Warm Intro network, a Sales Lead Generator for portfolio companies' first 20 customers, and a Connected Network of more than 400 operators.

How to apply for funding

Pitch Rampersand at rampersand.vc/pitch.html — the page says it plainly: "Send us anything. We're curious. No deck required, no warm intro, no formal process." Every pitch is read by an investor (not a bot, not an analyst) with a response typically within five business days. You can also email [email protected]. Note that the firm does not sign NDAs before diligence.

Why it matters for founders

Rampersand funding is one of the few genuine "first cheque" doors in Australian VC — and the application process matches the philosophy: no deck required, no warm intro, and a real investor reads every pitch. For inception-to-seed founders building AI-native or deep tech products, it is a fund built specifically for your stage.