First Move

The firm identifies as founder-led and has not published individual partner names or investment committee composition. First Move emphasizes that it is run by former founders who have built and scaled businesses themselves, though specific biographies are not publicly available on the firm's website. The investment process is designed to be fast precisely because decision-making is kept close to this operator group.

First Move uses a standard YC-style SAFE with a post-money valuation cap of up to $3 million for its Fund I commitments. The firm pledges up to $100,000 as a first check. This standardized structure is meant to remove friction from negotiations, allowing founders to receive a term quickly and return to building.

The firm's disclosed activity is exclusively direct early-stage investing into operating companies. There is no public indication that First Move commits capital to other funds as a limited partner or engages in fund-of-funds activity. Its portfolio page lists only direct equity positions in startups.

First Move targets the earliest institutional stage — pre-seed and seed rounds. Its standard $100,000 check on a $3 million post-money SAFE is designed for companies still validating product-market fit. Most of its publicly listed portfolio companies receive First Move's funding as one of their initial external capital injections.

First Move publicly states it invests in AI-powered solutions, health and wellbeing, and consumer brands. The firm has not published a negative sector list. However, its portfolio composition shows a gap in areas such as deep fintech, logistics infrastructure, and hard industrial tech, suggesting its operator network and due diligence focus are concentrated on the three named verticals.

First Move has not disclosed its limited partner base. The firm's 'founder-led' designation means its general partners are very likely significant personal capital contributors, but the identities of any external institutional or family-office backers remain private.

While First Move is headquartered in Singapore, its portfolio stretches across Southeast Asia. Publicly disclosed positions include companies based in Malaysia (Koppiku, Notti), Indonesia (Tjufoo, Arysun), and cross-border platforms targeting pan-Asian student mobility (Study In Asia). Singapore remains the sole office location.