55 Foundry

Brian Noble is the Managing Partner and sole decision-maker. He sources, evaluates, and approves every investment. Noble's background combines venture investing with an operating stint as a software CEO, which he leverages when advising portfolio founders on go-to-market and technical hiring.

The firm's origination relies almost entirely on Brian Noble's personal network of technical founders, former colleagues, and co-investors. He targets platform shifts in enterprise infrastructure — data orchestration, AI tooling, cybersecurity — where founder quality is the primary selection filter and cold-inbound deals rarely advance.

55 Foundry operates as a traditional venture capital firm, not a family office. It raises capital from limited partners and deploys it into early-stage enterprise startups. The firm's Manhattan Beach headquarters reflects Noble's Southern California base, though the portfolio spans the US enterprise-software corridor.

55 Foundry invests exclusively through direct equity and converts in Seed and Series A rounds. It does not act as a fund-of-funds or allocate to other venture managers. The firm reserves significant capital — sometimes writing follow-on checks up to $5 million — for its best-performing companies in later rounds.

The firm targets pre-revenue to early-revenue companies at the Seed and Series A stages. Check sizes start between $1 million and $3 million. In selected cases — such as Astronomer's 2023 growth round — 55 Foundry has followed its position into later-stage financings led by growth-equity firms.

The firm avoids consumer internet, hardware, biotech, and capital-intensive cleantech. Its focus is purely enterprise software, AI/ML infrastructure, cybersecurity, and adjacent developer-tooling markets. Consumer-adjacent or physical-product startups fall outside the investment mandate.

55 Foundry routinely co-invests alongside larger venture firms and growth-stage managers. For example, it joined Bain Capital Ventures in Astronomer's 2023 Series C. Co-investment rights are negotiated at the Seed and Series A stage, allowing the firm to participate in insider rounds when syndicate partners lead subsequent financings.