BOLT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Thesis

Bolt is a pre-seed venture capital firm that focuses on startups operating at the intersection of the digital and physical worlds, particularly those leveraging innovative technologies and valuable data sets to reimagine products, systems, and experiences. The firm has a strong preference for leading the initial financing rounds, with over 90% of its investments being lead rounds. Bolt's strategy involves investing in companies with unique hardware and software combinations. They are particularly interested in companies that plan to ship a product within 6-12 months and have a specific interest in the B2B/enterprise connected devices space. Bolt's sector allocation has included consumer products (36%), life sciences (23%), deeptech, enterprise, and logistics. They have also shown interest in connected device startups. Bolt primarily invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups. Bolt has deployed capital across multiple vehicles, including an $82 million Fund III. Their second fund, closed in February 2015, had $25 million in commitments. During its active investment period, Bolt typically wrote initial checks ranging from $100,000 to $1 million for hardware companies. With its second fund, Bolt invested up to $500,000 per startup. Bolt ceased new investments in 2020 to support its existing assets.