# Cape Fear Ventures

Cape Fear Ventures is a Venture Capital based in Wilmington, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Wilmington, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Wilmington, NC, United States
- **Founded:** 2022
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.capefear.vc
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/capefearvc

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Cape Fear Ventures backs founders solving hard, physical-world problems early with capital, operating experience, and technology judgment from having built and sold companies. It concentrates on early-stage companies in enterprise software, applied AI, defense and national security, and space. The firm supports founders with insight into innovation approaches, organizational change, and seed/venture funding.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- AI/ML
- Defense Technology
- SpaceTech
- Data Science

## People

- Richard Stroupe — Founder / Managing Partner
- Matt Gittleman — Venture Partner
- Justin Edelman — Venture Partner
- Thomas Hornall — Venture Partner

## Questions

### How does Cape Fear Ventures source its deals?

The firm's sourcing model draws on multiple founder-facing surfaces. Richard Stroupe operates the Elevate CEO Retreat and hosts The Amplified CEO Podcast, both vehicles for identifying and attracting early-stage operators. Matt Gittleman's role as a founding partner of VC in DC connects the firm to over 700 investors across the Mid-Atlantic, while Thomas Hornall's journalistic research methods are applied to tracking sector narratives and discovering companies before they enter formal fundraising processes.

### What sectors does Cape Fear Ventures target, and are there any it explicitly avoids?

The firm focuses on enterprise software, data science and AI, defense technology, and space ventures. These five areas represent high-conviction exposure where the team claims deep domain expertise. Cape Fear Ventures does not publicly list sectors it avoids, though its absence from consumer internet, biotech, and hardware beyond defense and space signals a deliberate scope boundary.

### How does Cape Fear Ventures support portfolio companies beyond capital?

The firm embeds technical and operational support into its engagement model. Justin Edelman works hands-on with leadership teams on AI strategy, technical diligence, and agentic-engineering opportunity assessments. Thomas Hornall leads communications and market narrative development, helping founders translate domain expertise into public positioning. The firm describes this as bringing 'capital, cutting-edge technology strategies, operational expertise, and mentorship' to each investment.

### Has Cape Fear Ventures disclosed its assets under management or fund size?

No. As of mid-2026, Cape Fear Ventures has not publicly disclosed AUM, deployment totals, or any specific fund size. Without a regulatory filing or press report to reference, the firm's aggregate capital base remains undisclosed, which is not uncommon among early-stage venture practices operating on discretionary or deal-by-deal capital.

## Related profiles

- [Canopy Capital Partners](https://altss.com/profile/canopy-capital-partners-llc)
- [Capital Advisory Partners](https://altss.com/profile/capital-advisory-partners)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:20.694Z

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