Entrepreneurs First has secured USD 200 million in fresh funding from a group of leading technology founders and investors to strengthen its mission of building the next generation of global startups while expanding its founder development programmes.
The funding round attracted participation from prominent technology leaders, including Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, John Collison, and Patrick Collison. In addition, institutional investors such as Greylock also joined the round, highlighting strong confidence in the firm’s talent-first investment approach.
Entrepreneurs First operates a unique model that prioritizes talent before ideas. The firm identifies individuals with exceptional technical or entrepreneurial potential and then supports them in forming companies from the ground up through structured programmes and early-stage investment capital.
As a result of this strategy, the company has built a rapidly expanding global startup portfolio. Currently, the combined valuation of EF-backed startups exceeds USD 16 billion, a sharp rise from USD 3 billion in 2021, according to the company.
“We have raised this capital to double down on what we do best: identifying extraordinary individuals early and helping them build outlier companies from scratch,” said Alice Bentinck.
Bentinck co-founded Entrepreneurs First alongside Matt Clifford. Together, they established company-building programmes across Europe, India, and the United States, where EF selects participants from top academic institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California Berkeley.
In India, the organisation operates its programme from Bengaluru under the leadership of Rahul Samat. The initiative focuses on identifying early-stage technical founders and guiding them as they build companies from the idea stage to their first funding round.
Participants frequently enter the programme without a co-founder or even a defined startup concept. However, EF provides structured support in areas such as product development, team formation, and fundraising, enabling founders to transform early concepts into scalable businesses.
Currently, EF India manages a portfolio of more than 50 startups, including companies like Unbox Robotics, Unsiloed AI, Sidecar AI, and Aule Space. Many of these startups have successfully secured follow-on funding from major venture capital firms such as Nexus Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, SOSV, and Pi Ventures.
Since 2024, Entrepreneurs First has relocated all pre-seed-funded startups to the San Francisco Bay Area before their seed rounds. The company implemented this strategy to accelerate fundraising opportunities and improve access to global markets.
According to EF, this shift has already produced measurable results. The average time required for founders to raise funding has reduced significantly, while startup valuations have doubled.
“India continues to be one of the deepest pools of technical and entrepreneurial talent in the world,” Samat said, adding that the new capital will help the firm identify more early-stage founders and support them in building globally competitive startups.
The USD 200 million funding round strengthens Entrepreneurs First’s position as a leading global company builder focused on talent-driven innovation. By identifying promising individuals at an early stage and guiding them through structured startup development, the firm continues to create high-growth companies across global markets. Moreover, with strong investor backing and an expanding presence in India, the organisation is well positioned to nurture the next wave of globally competitive founders.
