Recursive Ventures Closes a $30M Solo Capitalist Fund, an Outlier in the Increasingly Challenging Fundraising Environment for Emerging Solo Venture Capitalists
San Francisco, CA, February 26, 2025 --(PR.com)-- Recursive Ventures is thrilled to announce the launch of its third fund, Recursive Ventures III. The firm will be leading Pre-Seed and Seed stage investments in mainly US and Israeli startups leveraging Data and AI to disrupt outdated businesses.
Recursive Ventures is led by Solo Capitalist Itamar Novick, a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience building startups. Itamar has been on all sides of the startup table - a founder, executive, institutional VC, and an angel investor. He played a pivotal role at Life360, scaling the company from Seed to IPO, and growing it into a $250m+ business. Previously, Itamar was part of the founding team of Gigya (sold to SAP for $350m).
Since 2010, Itamar has backed over 100 startups, including seven unicorns, and has been recognized by Business Insider as a Top 100 global seed investor. Some notable companies in Itamar’s portfolio include Deel, Honeybook, Life360, Tile, Credible, and SafeGraph. Itamar is not new to investing in AI and has been focused on supporting Data and AI companies for a decade, backing significant players such as Placer AI and May Mobility.
As a solo General Partner, Novick operates with complete autonomy, free from traditional VC firm bureaucracy. “Founders want a single decision-maker who has walked in their shoes and isn’t bogged down by firm politics. Why should an enterprise-focused partner veto a consumer deal outside their expertise? Traditional VC structures slow down decision-making and lead to group-think. My advantage is agility—I can make investment decisions in a day and pivot as fast as my portfolio companies need,” said Novick.
The launch of Recursive III comes at the heels of an especially challenging fundraising period for Emerging VCs, particularly for Solo Capitalists. 2024 marked the lowest fundraising year since 2019, with just $76.1 billion raised across 508 new funds, the second-lowest count since 2014. Established firms dominated, with the top 30 funds securing 75% ($57 billion) of the year’s total, as LPs increasingly chose to “flight to safety” and funnel money into firms with reliable track records, intensifying the consolidation trend.
“To succeed in today’s hyper-competitive venture landscape, emerging managers need to be both stage and sector-focused. Venture capital isn’t one monolithic asset class - it consists of three micro-asset classes: Seed, Early, and Late Stage. Each requires a distinct mindset, operational cadence, and portfolio construction. A sin in VC is chasing multi-stage investments to maximize AUM. We are not playing the AUM game—our sole focus is on building the best AI Pre-Seed fund in Silicon Valley,” Novick emphasized.
Recursive Ventures III has been deploying capital since late 2022, and plans to launch Fund IV in mid 2026, continuing its commitment to supporting the next wave of AI startups.
About Recursive Ventures
Recursive Ventures is a San Francisco-based VC fund investing in Pre-seed and Seed Tech Startups disrupting industries through use of Data and Artificial Intelligence.
Founded in 2014, the firm has consistently outperformed most US venture funds, with Recursive Ventures I & II ranking in the top decline of US venture funds.
Recursive Ventures is led by Solo Capitalist Itamar Novick, a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with over 20 years of experience building startups. Itamar has been on all sides of the startup table - a founder, executive, institutional VC, and an angel investor. He played a pivotal role at Life360, scaling the company from Seed to IPO, and growing it into a $250m+ business. Previously, Itamar was part of the founding team of Gigya (sold to SAP for $350m).
Since 2010, Itamar has backed over 100 startups, including seven unicorns, and has been recognized by Business Insider as a Top 100 global seed investor. Some notable companies in Itamar’s portfolio include Deel, Honeybook, Life360, Tile, Credible, and SafeGraph. Itamar is not new to investing in AI and has been focused on supporting Data and AI companies for a decade, backing significant players such as Placer AI and May Mobility.
As a solo General Partner, Novick operates with complete autonomy, free from traditional VC firm bureaucracy. “Founders want a single decision-maker who has walked in their shoes and isn’t bogged down by firm politics. Why should an enterprise-focused partner veto a consumer deal outside their expertise? Traditional VC structures slow down decision-making and lead to group-think. My advantage is agility—I can make investment decisions in a day and pivot as fast as my portfolio companies need,” said Novick.
The launch of Recursive III comes at the heels of an especially challenging fundraising period for Emerging VCs, particularly for Solo Capitalists. 2024 marked the lowest fundraising year since 2019, with just $76.1 billion raised across 508 new funds, the second-lowest count since 2014. Established firms dominated, with the top 30 funds securing 75% ($57 billion) of the year’s total, as LPs increasingly chose to “flight to safety” and funnel money into firms with reliable track records, intensifying the consolidation trend.
“To succeed in today’s hyper-competitive venture landscape, emerging managers need to be both stage and sector-focused. Venture capital isn’t one monolithic asset class - it consists of three micro-asset classes: Seed, Early, and Late Stage. Each requires a distinct mindset, operational cadence, and portfolio construction. A sin in VC is chasing multi-stage investments to maximize AUM. We are not playing the AUM game—our sole focus is on building the best AI Pre-Seed fund in Silicon Valley,” Novick emphasized.
Recursive Ventures III has been deploying capital since late 2022, and plans to launch Fund IV in mid 2026, continuing its commitment to supporting the next wave of AI startups.
About Recursive Ventures
Recursive Ventures is a San Francisco-based VC fund investing in Pre-seed and Seed Tech Startups disrupting industries through use of Data and Artificial Intelligence.
Founded in 2014, the firm has consistently outperformed most US venture funds, with Recursive Ventures I & II ranking in the top decline of US venture funds.
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Recursive Ventures
Itamar Novick
510-508-6605
https://recursiveventures.com/
Itamar Novick
510-508-6605
https://recursiveventures.com/
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