Felicis Ventures

Aydin Senkut is the Founder and Managing Partner. The firm operates a flat structure where conviction-driven decisions are made quickly, with the firm able to go from first meeting to term sheet in 24 hours. Peter Deng is also a named Partner on the firm's website.

The firm's primary source is referrals from existing founders. 80% of new Felicis-backed founders come from portfolio referrals, creating a closed-loop network that spans 40-plus countries. They also invest before consensus, acting on conviction in areas like sustainable compute and national security AI.

Felicis is a pure venture capital firm. It was founded in 2006 with an external LP base — 100% of whom are described as world-positive organizations — and has raised ten funds totaling $4.1 billion.

The firm focuses entirely on direct startup investments, with 94% of its deals at the Seed or Series A stage. It leads or co-leads more than 83% of those investments and does not actively market a fund-of-funds or LP commitment program.

Seed and Series A. The firm states that 94% of its investments are made at these earliest stages, writing first checks before it is obvious a company will become a category leader.

The firm's website does not list avoided sectors. Its disclosed thesis centers on AI, enterprise, fintech, infrastructure, cybersecurity, global resilience, health, and consumer. Investments in heavy industrials or extractive industries are absent from the portfolio.

Felicis allocates 1% of every first check to direct founder support for coaching and leadership development. It also maintains a perpetual pledge to vote with founders on all board matters — it has never cast a vote against a founder — which governance partners cite as a structural guarantee rather than a marketing claim.