Liquid 2 Ventures
About Liquid 2 Ventures
Liquid 2 Ventures, co-founded by Joe Montana, invests at seed in software and AI startups, often from Y Combinator.
Most sources date Liquid 2 Ventures to 2015, when Joe Montana, Mike Miller and Michael Ma founded it. The firm's LinkedIn page says 2016. Fund I has a 2016 vintage. Miller previously co-founded Cloudant, which IBM acquired, and Ma co-founded TalkBin, which Google acquired. Montana is Managing Partner, Miller and Ma are General Partners, and Nate Montana is also a partner. The firm has raised three core funds: Fund I (vintage 2016), Fund II (vintage 2018) and Fund III. Fund III closed in December 2021 at $80M, above its $75M target, and was announced in February 2022. Fund I and Fund II sizes are not confirmed in the sources found. The firm does not publish a partner who leads AI investing specifically.
Liquid 2 describes itself as a generalist across all sectors of technology, so AI is one part of a broad portfolio and not a separate fund. Its site describes two funds: an early-stage fund for pre-seed and seed rounds, and a growth-stage fund that starts at Series B. PitchBook lists artificial intelligence among the sectors for Fund II. Third-party trackers describe the firm as mostly a co-investor in syndicated rounds. On the Lounge deals desk, the firm appears in AI seed rounds from $4M to $480M in 2026: humans& ($480M), Noetive ($41M), Aslan Protects ($20.8M), Axiomatic AI ($18M), Rilian Technologies ($17.5M), Altara ($7M), Conntour ($7M), Feltsense Holdings ($5.1M), Hilt ($4.2M) and Wafer ($4M).
The firm's site says its median check in early-stage opportunities is $250K to $500K. LinkedIn describes the aim as institutional angel investing of $250K to $1M in pre-seed and seed technology startups. The growth-stage fund starts at Series B. A third-party profile puts growth checks at $2M to $5M, but the firm does not state this on its site. Ownership targets and reserve policy are not public.
- humans&: AI model developer focused on human interaction research, founded in 2025; $480M seed on the Lounge deals desk (January 2026).
- Axiomatic AI: $18M seed in March 2026, with Engine Ventures reported as lead.
- Noetive: $41M seed on the Lounge deals desk (2026).
- Aslan Protects: $20.8M seed on the Lounge deals desk (2026).
- Rilian Technologies: $17.5M seed on the Lounge deals desk (April 2026).
- Jasper AI: named by the firm on LinkedIn among portfolio companies valued or exited above $200M.
- Hyperplane AI: named by a third-party fund profile as a notable investment.
- liquid2.vc
- linkedin.com/company/liquid-2-ventures
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/nfl-legend--hall-of-famer-joe-montana-and
- finsmes.com/2022/02/liquid-2-ventures-raises-80m-for-third-core-fund.h
- signal.nfx.com/firms/liquid-2-ventures
- foundersbeta.com/directory-listing/liquid-2-ventures
- pitchbook.com/profiles/fund/16250-95F
- tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/liquid-2-ventures/**axrb610ZUrYPiGjGLAhjS
Investing activity
Liquid 2 Ventures appears in 15 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $610M. The rounds are mostly Seed and Pre-seed, with a median round size of $9M and the largest at $480M. The most recent are Hilt (Seed, $4.2M, Oct 2026), Noetive (Seed, $41M, Sep 2026) and Aslan Protects (Seed, $20.8M, Sep 2026).
Liquid 2 Ventures most often invests alongside Alumni Ventures, Y Combinator, BoxGroup and Jeffrey Dean, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI and AI research lab.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Liquid 2 Ventures
Does Liquid 2 Ventures invest in AI startups?
Yes. The firm invests across all technology sectors, and its recent seed deals include humans&, Axiomatic AI, Noetive and Aslan Protects. Its LinkedIn page also names Jasper AI in its portfolio.
What check size does Liquid 2 Ventures write?
The firm's site gives a median early-stage check of $250K to $500K. LinkedIn gives a $250K to $1M range for pre-seed and seed. Its growth-stage fund starts at Series B.
Who founded Liquid 2 Ventures?
Joe Montana, Mike Miller and Michael Ma founded it, most often dated to 2015. Miller co-founded Cloudant and Ma co-founded TalkBin.
How big are the Liquid 2 Ventures funds?
Fund III closed at $80M in December 2021, above its $75M target. Fund I (2016) and Fund II (2018) sizes are not confirmed publicly. A third-party site lists about $300M in assets under management, which is unverified.
Does Liquid 2 Ventures lead rounds?
Third-party trackers describe it as mostly a co-investor in syndicated rounds. In the Axiomatic AI seed it appears alongside lead Engine Ventures. The firm does not publish a lead policy.
What AI companies has Liquid 2 Ventures invested in?
Liquid 2 Ventures's AI investments include Hilt, Noetive, Aslan Protects, Willow Voice, Lemma, Multifactor, Byron and Altara. The 15 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Liquid 2 Ventures based?
Liquid 2 Ventures is based in San Francisco, California, United States.
What stage does Liquid 2 Ventures invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Liquid 2 Ventures has invested at Seed and Pre-seed, with a median round of $9M.
Who does Liquid 2 Ventures co-invest with?
Liquid 2 Ventures's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Alumni Ventures (4 deals), Y Combinator (4 deals), BoxGroup (3 deals), Jeffrey Dean (2 deals) and First In (2 deals).
How can founders reach Liquid 2 Ventures?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Liquid 2 Ventures's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Liquid 2 Ventures to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.