---
title: "Most Active Seed Investors (2026) | Altss"
description: "Y Combinator leads most active seed-stage investors with 153 companies backed in Altss-tracked deal announcements over the trailing 12 months."
canonical: "https://altss.com/rankings/most-active-seed-investors"
---

Rankings

# The Most Active Seed-Stage Investors

Y Combinator backed 153 companies in early-stage rounds Altss tracked over the trailing 12 months, outpacing multi-stage giants as accelerators dominate seed activity.

[Explore institutional coverage](https://altss.com/platform) [See the methodology](https://altss.com/methodology)

Most active: Y Combinator (153 companies) · Second: Andreessen Horowitz (82 companies) · Top 20 total: 918 pairings

Activity here means distinct investor-company pairings in deal announcements Altss tracked over the trailing 12 months to 17 July 2026. The seed page counts only early-stage rounds: seed, pre-seed, angel, and Series A. A firm earns credit for a company only when Altss recorded such a pairing. Y Combinator leads the ranking with 153 distinct portfolio companies. Andreessen Horowitz ranks second at 82. General Catalyst places third with 75. Altss tracked more than 100,000 distinct investor-company pairings across all investor types. The 20 firms on this list account for 918 of those pairings. These counts reflect confidence-filtered announcements. The approach surfaces high-volume early-stage players. Accelerators and dedicated seed funds rise on this measure.

This ranking measures activity, not assets under management or fund size. High-volume models lift accelerators and seed specialists above pure AUM leaders. Y Combinator's two batches a year of pre-seed and seed startups produce 153 companies. Multi-stage firms like Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst place high through broad early checks across software, AI, and fintech. Geography spreads across the list. United States firms dominate the top ranks, with bases in Mountain View, Menlo Park, Cambridge, and New York. European players include Balderton Capital in London at 50 companies and Seedcamp at 23. India features Peak XV Partners in Bengaluru and Singapore, Inflection Point Ventures in Gurugram, and Blume Ventures in Mumbai. Antler from Singapore adds a global early-stage platform that backs founders from formation. The list reveals how seed activity concentrates among specialized high-throughput investors.

The ranking highlights a seed market where volume models and multi-stage firms coexist at the top. Accelerators like Y Combinator and Antler, plus networks like Alumni Ventures and Inflection Point Ventures, secure places through frequent early pairings. Traditional venture names such as Accel, Khosla Ventures, and Sequoia Capital maintain strong early-stage presence. Insight Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners show multi-stage reach into seed. European and Asian firms fill mid-ranks, underscoring regional seed ecosystems. Counts range from 153 down to 22 for Draper Associates. The top 20 capture 918 pairings from the broader set of more than 100,000. This points to selective concentration in tracked early-stage announcements. Later-stage specialists fall away by design. Every firm on the list links to its Altss profile for deeper portfolio and activity detail.

Key takeaways

## The most active seed-stage investors, by the numbers

- Y Combinator leads with 153 distinct portfolio companies backed.
- Andreessen Horowitz ranks second with 82 companies.
- General Catalyst places third with 75 companies.
- The 20 firms account for 918 of more than 100,000 tracked pairings.
- Balderton Capital is the top European firm with 50 companies.
- Draper Associates closes the list with 22 companies.

By tracked deal activity

## Most Active Seed-Stage Investors

Distinct companies backed in Altss-tracked seed, pre-seed, angel, and Series A announcements, trailing 12 months to 17 July 2026

The table ranks seed-stage investors by the number of distinct companies each backed in early-stage announcements. Counts derive from investor-company pairings Altss tracked over the trailing 12 months.

| # | Investor | Seed deals (12mo) | Headquarters |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Y Combinator](https://altss.com/profile/y-combinator)Seed accelerator and early-stage venture investor; two batches a year of pre-seed and seed startups. | 153 deals | Mountain View, United States |
| 2 | [Andreessen Horowitz](https://altss.com/profile/andreessen-horowitz)Multi-stage venture and growth firm spanning software, AI, fintech, bio, and crypto. | 82 deals | Menlo Park, United States |
| 3 | [General Catalyst](https://altss.com/profile/general-catalyst-partners)Multi-stage venture and growth investor backing founders from seed through late-stage. | 75 deals | Cambridge / New York, United States |
| 4 | [Accel](https://altss.com/profile/accel)Early- and growth-stage venture firm with US, European, and India-focused funds. | 59 deals | Palo Alto / London |
| 5 | [Khosla Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/khosla-ventures)Early-stage venture firm focused on deep tech, AI, climate, and healthcare. | 53 deals | Menlo Park, United States |
| 6 | [Lightspeed Venture Partners](https://altss.com/profile/lightspeed-venture-partners)Multi-stage venture and growth investor across enterprise, consumer, fintech, and health. | 52 deals | Menlo Park, United States |
| 7 | [Balderton Capital](https://altss.com/profile/balderton-capital)European early- and growth-stage venture firm backing technology founders. | 50 deals | London, United Kingdom |
| 8 | [Alumni Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/alumni-ventures)Venture firm running alumni-network funds that co-invest across stages and sectors. | 41 deals | Manchester, United States |
| 9 | [Bessemer Venture Partners](https://altss.com/profile/bessemer-venture-partners)Multi-stage venture firm investing across cloud, healthcare, fintech, and consumer. | 39 deals | San Francisco / New York |
| 10 | [Peak XV Partners](https://altss.com/profile/peak-xv-partners)Multi-stage venture and growth firm across India and Southeast Asia (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA). | 39 deals | Bengaluru / Singapore |
| 11 | [Index Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/index-ventures)Multi-stage venture and growth firm investing across Europe, the US, and Israel. | 34 deals | London / San Francisco |
| 12 | [Sequoia Capital](https://altss.com/profile/sequoia-capital)Multi-stage venture firm investing from seed to growth across the US and Europe. | 34 deals | Menlo Park, United States |
| 13 | [Inflection Point Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/inflection-point-ventures)Angel-network platform funding early-stage startups, largely in India. | 30 deals | Gurugram, India |
| 14 | [Menlo Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/menlo-ventures)Early- and growth-stage venture firm across consumer, enterprise, fintech, and health. | 30 deals | Menlo Park, United States |
| 15 | [Antler](https://altss.com/profile/antler)Global early-stage venture platform that backs founders from company formation onward. | 27 deals | Singapore |
| 16 | [SV Angel](https://altss.com/profile/sv-angel)Seed-stage firm making small early checks across a broad portfolio of technology startups. | 26 deals | San Francisco, United States |
| 17 | [Insight Partners](https://altss.com/profile/insight-partners)Software-focused growth and venture investor spanning early rounds through buyout-scale growth. | 25 deals | New York, United States |
| 18 | [Blume Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/blume-ventures)India-focused early-stage venture firm backing seed and Series A founders. | 24 deals | Mumbai, India |
| 19 | [Seedcamp](https://altss.com/profile/seedcamp)European pre-seed and seed fund backing early-stage technology founders. | 23 deals | London, United Kingdom |
| 20 | [Draper Associates](https://altss.com/profile/draper-associates)Early-stage seed venture firm backing technology and crypto startups. | 22 deals | San Mateo, United States |

The metric counts distinct investor-company pairs in deal announcement events Altss tracked over the trailing 12 months to 17 July 2026. Results are confidence-filtered, with name variants merged and non-venture types excluded.

## Activity as a distinct measure

Tracked activity provides a useful lens separate from AUM or fund-size league tables. It shows actual companies backed rather than capital under management.

Activity is measured as distinct investor-company pairings in deal announcements Altss tracked over the trailing 12 months. This framing highlights early-stage volume on the seed page.

[Read the full methodology](https://altss.com/methodology)

FAQ

## Most active seed investors - common questions

How is this different from an AUM or fundraising ranking?

This ranking orders firms by activity: the number of distinct companies backed in Altss-tracked early-stage announcements. It does not measure assets under management or capital raised. Large multi-stage funds can rank lower if their seed volume is limited.

Why does Y Combinator rank so high?

Y Combinator operates as a seed accelerator with two batches a year of pre-seed and seed startups. That structure produced 153 distinct portfolio companies in the tracked announcements, the highest total.

Why aren't buyout giants like Blackstone or KKR on this list?

Non-venture investor types including buyout and PE firms, banks, sovereign funds, and corporates are excluded. The seed page credits only early-stage venture pairings for seed, pre-seed, angel, and Series A.

What time period and events does the ranking cover?

Activity is measured as distinct investor-company pairings in deal announcements Altss tracked over the trailing 12 months to 17 July 2026. Only confidence-filtered early-stage announcements count toward a firm's total on this page.

## Examine the seed-stage activity leaders

Open firm profiles for the full ranked list alongside coverage of 30,000+ institutional investors, RIAs, and family offices.

[Explore institutional coverage](https://altss.com/platform) [Browse all rankings](https://altss.com/rankings)

## Canonical URL

https://altss.com/rankings/most-active-seed-investors