Criteria
Bonfire leads seed rounds in AI-native B2B companies. We’re most excited by founders building products with real workflow depth, hard-won insight, and a clear path to getting more valuable with every use. Here’s how to tell, fast, whether we’re the right investor for you.
At a glance
B2B SaaS, infrastructure, or software-powered services
We lead at seed (and sometimes early A)
Typically $250K ARR, though the founder matters more than the number
Company must be U.S. based; your team can be anywhere
If any of these aren’t true, we’re not the right partner...yet.
We lead nearly every seed round and usually take a board seat
This is the size of our first check and we hold meaningful reserves for follow-on investment
Our strategy is fewer investments per year so every company gets our meaningful attention
The fund we're investing from today
Active partnership from seed to growth
We look closely at two things: who you are and what you're building.
AI is part of how you work every day. You use it firsthand and lead its adoption across the company.
You know what great looks like in your product and your brand and your hires. When anyone can build fast, taste is what keeps you from shipping faster slop.
Your team is small and every hire counts. AI handles a lot of the heavy lifting, so the company runs the way the product does.
You've lived the problem. You know which workflows are load-bearing and which ones are simply habit.
You're out to win the category, and a playbook that changes every few months energizes you rather than rattles you.
Your product is built around intelligence from day one. AI powers the core workflow rather than appearing as a feature added to an existing tool.
AI does the execution, not just the suggestions. Your customers get real work off their plate.
You can show exactly why the product beats the alternatives, from incumbents to the obvious AI clones, in a workflow that matters.
Every customer, task, and correction makes the next experience better. Usage makes the product harder to compete with.
Early customers would be genuinely upset if it disappeared tomorrow. Not polite references, but real dependence.
Where we invest
.svg)
Go deeper
Whatever the category, every company we back passes the same five-question filter first.
Is this a multiplayer problem?
Does product value compound with every customer?
When a better foundation model drops, does it help or hurt?
What does this look like when costs deflate 50%?
Is the customer buying out of existential need — or nice-to-have?
.svg)