For Gaurav Jain, there’s no such thing as “too early” when it comes to venture capital (VC) investment. Over the past decade, Jain has become a pivotal figure in early-stage investing, initially establishing his reputation at Founder Collective and subsequently co-founding Afore Capital in 2016 to shift the perception around pre-seed funding.
Since its inception, Afore Capital has evolved into one of the most dynamic early-stage funds, backing companies like Modern Health, Neo, and Hightouch.
Jain’s mission? To discover ingenious founders brimming with potential but lacking the traction to secure conventional seed rounds. His vision ultimately birthed Afore Capital, a unique fund that defies the industry’s traditional timeline.
Ranked No. 2 on Business Insider’s Seed 100 list for 2025, based on data by Termina, Jain reflects, “A lot of founders were telling us we were too early, but you need money to get traction, and traction to get money. This realization was the genesis of Afore Capital.”
A Career at the Early Stage
Born in India, Jain began his illustrious journey at Google in 2009 as one of the early product managers in the Android division when it boasted fewer than 1 million users. His tenure included leading the Android Nexus product line, which would later evolve into the widely recognized Google Pixel.
In 2011, Jain transitioned to Harvard Business School, determined to dive into the venture capital realm. His time at Founder Collective was marked by notable investments in companies like Cruise, Socure, Firebase, Airtable, and Smyte. However, in conversations with founders, he frequently encountered those brimming with promise yet squarely outside the realm of seed funding.
At that time, pre-seed rounds were both rare and often viewed skeptically, but Jain was quick to see a market opportunity amidst the uncertainty.
“There was this gap in the market, where all of these first-time founders had no celebrity and no meaningful traction,” he explains. “I witnessed the problem firsthand, spurring us to create a fund dedicated to fixing it.”
Redefining Pre-Seed Investing
In 2016, Jain joined forces with Anamitra Banerji, a partner at Foundation Capital and former product manager at Twitter. Together, they pioneered Afore Capital, a fund optimized for pre-seed investments. With around $500 million in assets under management, Afore’s latest, $185 million Fund IV, was closed in February, allowing for checks of up to $2 million.
Notable successes in Afore’s portfolio include Modern Health, which achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $1.17 billion after raising $74 million in a Series D in 2023; the fintech challenger Neo, which attracted a whopping CAD 259 million in its Series D; and the AI marketing platform Hightouch, which recently raised $80 million at a $1.2 billion valuation.
Afore’s recent successful exits include Highlight, acquired by LaunchDarkly, and Factor, acquired by Cofactr.
While Afore identifies as a generalist firm selecting pre-seed startups, Jain notes a preference towards software investments, particularly in the booming AI sector. However, he emphasizes that the core of their investing strategy lies in identifying strong founders whose concepts may evolve significantly before they nail down product-market fit.
“At the pre-seed stage, we invest in people,” Jain asserts. “We seek founders with a growth mindset capable of rapidly iterating their ideas and overcoming obstacles.”
Afore Capital also runs a program to nurture “pre-idea” founders as they seek to ignite their startup visions, committing to investing at least $100,000 once they’ve identified a viable concept. There’s even a college initiative that allows students to explore entrepreneurial ideas with Afore’s support instead of pursuing traditional internships.
“At the pre-seed stage, it’s crucial to provide founders a safe space to explore,” Jain states. “We back you, not a rigid concept. Our dedication ensures that we’ll be the most engaged, hands-on investors you’ll ever encounter.”
