# Goodwater Capital

Goodwater Capital is a Private Equity based in Burlingame, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Burlingame, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Burlingame, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2014
- **Assets under management:** $1B–$5B (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** goodwatercap.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/goodwater-capital

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 172576
- **SEC file number:** 802-80285
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/172576

## About

Goodwater Capital is the world’s largest venture firm dedicated entirely to consumer and prosumer technology. It invests in consumer and prosumer technology companies at every stage, combining deep data-driven research with founder-first conviction. With over $3.3 billion of committed capital across 9 funds, it is the largest venture capital firm in the world focused exclusively on consumer tech. Its mission is to empower exceptional entrepreneurs everywhere to change the world for good.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- FinTech
- Digital Health
- AI/ML
- Media & Entertainment

## People

- Chi-Hua Chien — Co-Founder & Managing Partner
- Eric Kim — Co-Founder & Managing Partner

## Questions

### How does Goodwater source proprietary deal flow?

Goodwater built an internal engineering platform that continuously monitors download velocity, user retention, session frequency, and cohort behavior across an estimated 50,000-plus mobile applications. The firm uses that data to identify consumer-tech companies with exceptional unit economics before traditional venture firms detect them through revenue or pitch-deck visibility. This infrastructure is maintained in-house rather than licensed from third-party data providers.

### Is Goodwater a generalist venture firm or a consumer-tech specialist?

Goodwater concentrates nearly all of its capital on consumer-facing technology — mobile apps, fintech platforms, digital-health marketplaces, and AI-native consumer products. The firm does not actively invest in enterprise SaaS, deep-tech infrastructure, or hardware. Within consumer, it ranges from seed-stage checks to growth rounds, occasionally leading or co-leading financings alongside other venture firms.

### What investment stages does Goodwater typically target?

The firm spans seed through growth equity within the consumer-tech domain. Early checks can enter at the seed or Series A stage, while later deployments have included Series C rounds such as the $40M financing for Stash in 2018. Goodwater does not maintain a dedicated late-stage vehicle but has capacity to follow portfolio companies into later rounds when conviction warrants.

### How is Goodwater's approach different from other consumer-focused venture firms?

Most consumer VCs rely on founder networks, pattern recognition, and subjective product judgment. Goodwater adds a quantitative layer: an in-house data-engineering team builds and maintains analytics on app-ecosystem behavior that the investment team uses to source and diligence targets. The firm runs that capability alongside the partnership rather than as a separate research group, making its investment process structurally closer to a quant fund than a traditional VC firm.

### Where does Goodwater deploy capital geographically?

The firm invests primarily in North America, with a secondary focus on East Asia — particularly South Korea — where co-founder Eric Kim maintains relationships from his prior investment career. Portfolio companies such as musical.ly (Shanghai-based, acquired by ByteDance) reflect the firm's willingness to back consumer platforms with global user bases rather than restricting capital to the Bay Area.

## Related profiles

- [Good Startup](https://altss.com/profile/good-startup)
- [Good & Well](https://altss.com/profile/good-well)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:57.816Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/goodwater-capital

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