SignalFire
About SignalFire
SignalFire is a San Francisco venture firm. Chris Farmer, who serves as partner and CEO, is listed as a founding partner from 2013. Ilya Kirnos is a co-founder, managing partner and CTO, and Jerry Ye is also listed among the founders. A 2019 profile said the firm then had about 30 staff across engineering and data science, portfolio operations, and investing. Its fifth and largest fund, a $1 billion vehicle announced in 2025, targets applied AI, and it follows a prior $900 million fund announced in February 2023. Assets under management were reported at about $3 billion.
SignalFire describes itself as a data-driven firm. Its in-house Beacon AI platform tracks roughly 650 million employees and 80 million organizations, and the firm says its portfolio companies use it. PitchBook describes SignalFire as an early adopter of AI-assisted venture investing. The firm's newest capital is aimed mainly at seed and pre-seed deals, with less participation in Series A and later rounds. On the Lounge deals desk, recent AI seed rounds include Preference Model ($16M, 2026-10), Tangos AI ($20M, 2026-07), Blue Voice ($6M, 2026-08, led by SignalFire) and SolidData ($20M, 2026-02, led by SignalFire).
Public reporting on the latest fund gives these ranges. Pre-seed commitments run from $100,000 to $1 million, with about 100 planned investments. Seed commitments run from $1 million to $5 million, with about 60 planned. The early-stage fund invests at Series A and Series B from $5 million to $30 million, mostly in companies it first backed at seed. Its Executive in Residence program invests $15 million to $30 million. PitchBook reports that later-stage checks for growing portfolio companies can reach $50 million to $100 million.
- Preference Model: Seed round of $16M (Lounge deals desk, 2026-10); named by PitchBook among SignalFire investments
- Tangos AI: Seed round of $20M (Lounge deals desk, 2026-07)
- Blue Voice: Seed round of $6M led by SignalFire (Lounge deals desk, 2026-08)
- SolidData: Seed round of $20M led by SignalFire (Lounge deals desk, 2026-02)
- Outmarket AI: named by PitchBook among SignalFire investments in financial software; round details not confirmed
- Foresight Health: named by PitchBook among SignalFire investments; round details not confirmed
- crunchbase.com/organization/signal-fire
- signalfire.com/team/chris-farmer
- signalfire.com/team
- techcrunch.com/2019/12/09/signalfire-just-six-years-old-has-raised-500
- news.crunchbase.com/venture/signalfire-new-fund-seed-early-stage-appli
- pitchbook.com/news/articles/signalfire-raises-1b-ai-venture-capital
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/60622-12
- pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2025/ai-startups-signalfire-ra
Investing activity
SignalFire appears in 7 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $96M, and led 2 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $20M. The most recent are Preference Model (Seed, $16M, Oct 2026), Blue Voice (Seed, $6M, Aug 2026) and Tangos (Seed, $20M, Jul 2026).
SignalFire most often invests alongside Red Dot Capital Partners, Clarim Ventures, Selah Ventures and Leaders Fund, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about SignalFire
What stages does SignalFire invest in?
Public reporting says SignalFire plans pre-seed and seed investments across its latest fund, with its early-stage fund investing at Series A and Series B. PitchBook reports it participates less in Series A and later rounds than before.
How big are SignalFire's checks?
Reported ranges are $100,000 to $1 million at pre-seed, $1 million to $5 million at seed, and $5 million to $30 million at Series A and B. Later-stage checks for growing companies can reach $50 million to $100 million.
How large is SignalFire's latest fund?
SignalFire raised $1 billion for its fifth and largest fund, announced in 2025, which targets applied AI. Its prior fund was $900 million and assets under management are about $3 billion.
Who leads SignalFire's AI investing?
Chris Farmer is the founder, partner and CEO, and Ilya Kirnos is co-founder, managing partner and CTO. Oana Olteanu is also listed as a partner on the firm's fund profile.
Does SignalFire use AI to choose investments?
Yes, the firm uses its proprietary Beacon AI platform, which tracks about 650 million employees and 80 million organizations, in its investment process. It was described as the first VC to use a proprietary AI model to make investment decisions.
What AI companies has SignalFire invested in?
SignalFire's AI investments include Preference Model, Blue Voice, Tangos, Tangos Ai, swsh, Solid and SolidData. The 7 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is SignalFire based?
SignalFire is based in San Francisco, California, United States.
What stage does SignalFire invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, SignalFire has invested at Seed, with a median round of $20M. SignalFire led 2 of those rounds.
Who does SignalFire co-invest with?
SignalFire's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Red Dot Capital Partners (2 deals), Clarim Ventures (2 deals), Selah Ventures (2 deals), Leaders Fund (2 deals) and Team8 (2 deals).
How can founders reach SignalFire?
Founders on AI Lounge can see SignalFire'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 SignalFire to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.