Family Offices That Lead Seed–Series A in 2025

Family offices — private investment firms of ultra-wealthy families — are playing an increasingly active role in early-stage venture funding in 2025. Unlike traditional VC funds, they invest their own capital and can afford longer timelines, flexible structures, and patient support.

The most visible shift: family offices are no longer content to sit behind the scenes as LPs. They’re showing up directly on cap tables as lead investors in Seed and Series A rounds. That means founders are now seeing them alongside — or even instead of — traditional VCs when closing their first institutional rounds.

What follows is a guide to some of the family offices that are making headlines in 2025 by leading early-stage deals, with a focus on their investment theses, notable recent activity, and typical check sizes.

Bezos Expeditions (Jeff Bezos) – Deep Tech & Space

The personal investment office of Amazon’s founder has long pursued transformative technologies. In 2025, Bezos Expeditions co-led a $115 million seed round for Atlas Data Storage, a company storing data on synthetic DNA.

Notable past bets include early stakes in Google and Unity Biotechnology, underscoring its comfort with long-horizon science. Sectors of interest include space, cloud computing, healthcare, and fintech.

Geographically, Bezos Expeditions invests globally with a U.S. anchor. Check sizes are highly flexible — ranging from a few million to nine-figure “seed” rounds when the thesis is bold enough.

Thiel Capital (Peter Thiel) – Frontier Tech & Defense

Peter Thiel’s family office is known for backing contrarian, frontier bets. In mid-2025, Thiel Capital led a $171 million Series C for Quantum Systems, a German AI-drone startup, reinforcing its defense and aerospace thesis.

Past investments include Palantir and Facebook, showing Thiel’s preference for companies with outsized impact potential.

Focus areas: defense tech, biotech, fintech, and any breakthrough technology. Geography spans the U.S. and Europe. Thiel Capital’s check sizes range from small seed tickets in the hundreds of thousands to hundred-million-dollar growth rounds. It operates with speed and flexibility, unconstrained by fund cycles.

Tao Capital Partners (Pritzker Family) – Climate & Deep Science

Tao Capital, linked to Joby Pritzker, has become one of the most active family offices in early-stage tech. In 2025, it co-led the Atlas Data Storage seed round with Bezos Expeditions — a bold bet on biotech-driven storage.

Historically, Tao backed Tesla, Uber, and Joby Aviation, highlighting its comfort with transformational innovation.

Focus: clean energy, mobility, life sciences, and deep tech. Geography is primarily U.S. with selective global bets. Check sizes are typically mid- to high-seven figures for Seed and Series A, but Tao has demonstrated capacity for nine-figure co-investments when conviction is strong.

ICONIQ Capital – Enterprise Software & Growth Tech

ICONIQ manages the wealth of Mark Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley figures but operates more like a hybrid family office and growth equity fund. It is one of the most prolific tech-focused family offices worldwide.

In May 2025, ICONIQ led a $100 million Series C in Statsig, strengthening its role as a top-tier player in enterprise tech. Its portfolio spans SaaS, analytics, fintech, and consumer internet.

Geography: global, with roots in Silicon Valley. Average check size: $20M to $100M+, though ICONIQ occasionally joins earlier rounds with smaller allocations. With a full-scale team, ICONIQ functions more like a growth equity fund backed by family capital than a traditional single-family office.

Horizons Ventures (Li Ka-shing Family, Hong Kong) – Disruptive Tech & Biotech

Horizons Ventures, fueled by Li Ka-shing’s $35 billion fortune, has backed some of tech’s most iconic startups — Facebook, Skype, Siri, and DeepMind among them. It remains one of the most global and prolific family offices.

By 2025, Horizons had participated in biotech and AI startups such as CellVoyant, Chemify, and BioLoomics, and joined Harrison.ai’s Series C in January 2025.

Focus: disruptive, tech-driven models spanning media, telecom, internet platforms, fintech, and healthtech. Horizons typically writes $1–5M seed checks and can lead $10–50M Series A/B rounds when conviction is high. Its reach is global, with emphasis on Asia-Pacific.

Prima Materia (Daniel Ek) – European Deep Tech

Daniel Ek, Spotify’s founder, channels his wealth into Prima Materia, which takes bold swings on European deep tech.

In 2025, Prima Materia led a €600 million Series B in Helsing, an AI defense company — one of the largest such rounds in European history.

The thesis: back moonshot innovations in AI, defense, health, and industrial technologies, often with European roots. Prima Materia’s checks are substantial — $50M+ when conviction is high — but it also seeds smaller frontier projects. As a founder-led family office, its capital is patient and mission-driven.

Blue Earth Capital (Wyss Family) – Climate & Impact Ventures

Blue Earth Capital, tied to Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, emphasizes impact alongside financial return. Its investments align with climate, healthcare, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In July 2025, Blue Earth led a $44 million Series B in GeologicAI, a Canadian mining-tech company applying AI to critical mineral discovery — joined by BHP and Rio Tinto.

Typical checks range from $10–50M in growth rounds, though Blue Earth participates in earlier stages too. It often co-invests alongside institutional funds but takes a patient, mission-aligned view on capital.

LMDV (Del Vecchio Family) – Consumer & Brand Ventures

LMDV Capital represents the heirs of Leonardo Del Vecchio, founder of Luxottica. It blends luxury industry expertise with venture investing in consumer, fashion, and retail innovation.

In June 2025, LMDV backed Shakira’s beauty-tech startup Isímia in a ~$12 million seed round, reflecting its focus on brand-driven, science-backed consumer plays.

Focus: consumer products, fashion/beauty tech, luxury, and select healthtech. Geography spans Europe (Italy, France) and the U.S. Check sizes are usually $5–15M in Seed or Series A as an anchor or lead, with larger follow-ons possible.

Why This Trend Matters

The examples above highlight a broader shift: family offices now provide roughly 30–35% of early-stage VC capital in 2025. They are not just following VC funds; they are leading rounds outright.

For founders, this means:

• More patient capital. Family offices aren’t bound by 10-year fund cycles. They can support companies for longer horizons.
• Flexible deal structures. Many are open to bespoke terms — sometimes friendlier than institutional VCs.
• Strategic value. Sector-linked family offices (e.g. industrial fortunes backing climate tech) bring operating knowledge and connections beyond money.
• Quiet but influential. Many operate discreetly through LLCs or trusts. Finding them often requires research, warm introductions, or specialized platforms.

Final Thought

Family offices are no longer passive bystanders in venture. They’re shaping rounds, anchoring early-stage deals, and backing transformative companies with patient, flexible capital.

For founders raising Seed or Series A in 2025, understanding this capital source is critical. The best strategy: build a list of relevant family offices, track their recent activity, and approach them with a clear, targeted thesis fit.

These investors may not always have household names, but when they commit, they can be some of the most aligned and durable partners a founder can secure.

Call to Action

Looking to identify and connect with family offices actively leading Seed and Series A rounds in 2025? Altss hosts the largest, most up-to-date database of family offices worldwide — making it easier to target the right ones and get your outreach in front of decision-makers.

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