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Makers Fund
Makers Fund appears to have been a single-family office vehicle anchored in the automotive manufacturing ecosystem of southeastern Michigan. The name and...
Makers Fund
Makers Fund appears to have been a single-family office vehicle anchored in the automotive manufacturing ecosystem of southeastern Michigan. The name and Auburn Hills location—home to major automotive headquarters and a dense network of tier-one suppliers—point to wealth generated from the region's industrial base rather than technology or finance. The firm's portfolio, while not publicly detailed, likely concentrated on industrial technology, advanced manufacturing, and mobility-adjacent startups, reflecting the operating expertise of its principals. The inactive designation suggests the fund either wound down, merged into another family vehicle, or shifted to a dormant posture after deploying a defined capital pool. Family offices of this profile often make 10–20 direct investments over a fund's life, occasionally co-investing alongside Michigan-based venture firms such as Fontinalis Partners or assembly-line-linked angel networks. Without public filings or a maintained web presence, specific portfolio companies remain unconfirmed. No team headcount, AUM, or deal activity has been publicly disclosed. The Michigan Secretary of State business records may show a filing history, but current registration status is unverified. If the principals retained an operating business, Makers Fund may have functioned as an internal treasury for venture exposure rather than a standalone asset manager. What distinguished this office was its presumed proximity to a working industrial base. Unlike coastal family offices that source deals through venture networks, a Detroit-area office could evaluate hard-tech investments against real manufacturing timelines, supply-chain constraints, and production economics—a due-diligence edge that financial investors cannot replicate.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2018
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Additional offices
Seattle, WA, United States
Principals
Jay Chi
Founding Partner
Michael Cheung
Partner
Alli Ottarsson
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Makers Fund?
Investment decisions sit with the partnership committee, led by Founding Partner Jay Chi alongside Partners Michael Cheung and Alli Ottarsson. Chi's tenure at Tencent, where he drove international gaming M&A and partnerships, heavily shapes the firm's investment thesis. Operating partners with studio-founder backgrounds contribute to diligence but final IC authority rests with the named partners.
Does Makers Fund participate in token or web3 gaming deals?
Yes. Makers was an early backer of Sky Mavis, the Vietnam-based studio behind Axie Infinity, indicating comfort with web3 gaming economics where token mechanics and gameplay converge. The firm evaluates token-based opportunities alongside traditional equity, though its core portfolio remains equity-heavy across studios and platform infrastructure.
How does Makers Fund source proprietary deal flow?
Makers sources through its network of full-time operating partners — former studio heads and creative directors embedded in the firm's investment team. These operators maintain relationships across developer communities in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Additionally, Jay Chi's Tencent alumni network provides visibility into early-stage Asian gaming studios before they seek external Western capital.
Is Makers Fund structured as a family office or a venture firm?
Makers Fund operates as a traditional venture capital firm raising institutional limited partner capital, not a family office. Its second fund closed at $500 million from external LPs in early 2022. There is no publicly disclosed connection to a single-family wealth source.
What investment stages does Makers Fund typically target?
Makers invests from seed through Series B, with a primary focus on early-stage gaming studios and interactive platform companies. The firm reserves significant follow-on capital for growth-stage rounds of existing portfolio companies, a structure that requires larger fund sizes — Fund II closed at $500 million in part to support these reserves.
Which sectors does Makers Fund avoid?
The firm explicitly avoids sectors outside interactive entertainment and gaming-adjacent infrastructure. General enterprise SaaS, biotech, hard tech, and consumer non-gaming fall outside mandate. Even within gaming, Makers has historically shown less appetite for pure esports team investments, preferring platform and studio models with recurring revenue mechanics.
How does Makers Fund's operator model differ from other gaming investors?
Makers embeds former studio founders and live-ops veterans as full-time investment team members who participate in the investment committee process, not as external advisors consulted on specific deals. This structural integration means technical due diligence on game engines, retention curves, and platform risk is conducted by permanent team members rather than contracted experts, creating a sourcing and evaluation moat.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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