Threshold Ventures
About Threshold Ventures
Formerly DFJ; co-led Core Automation's seed.
Threshold Ventures rebranded from DFJ (Draper Fisher Jurvetson) in January 2019, after DFJ's founding partners had left. Crunchbase lists Emily Melton and Josh Stein as founders. Both are managing partners. Melton worked at DFJ from 2000 to 2009 and again from 2014. Stein spent more than 15 years at DFJ. Other partners named in 2019 coverage include Andreas Stavropoulos, Chirag Chotalia, Chris Kelley, Heidi Roizen, Mohammad Islam and Bill Bryant. In a post on the firm's Medium page, Melton and Stein say they began deploying their first fund in 2014. They say they later raised two more funds, then Threshold IV and Threshold Select, with more than $450M in committed capital between them. The post's date is not shown in the source I found. The firm filed a Form D in July 2019 to raise up to $250M for Threshold Ventures III. The firm has not published which partners lead its AI investing.
Threshold describes itself as a focused early-stage firm. Crunchbase describes its sectors as enterprise software, consumer platforms, fintech and digital health. It does not publish a separate AI thesis. Its recent AI activity is concentrated in 2026 seed rounds. It led the $100M seed for Core Automation, a San Francisco company founded in 2026. It took part in the $50M seed for Adaption Labs, which builds AI systems that learn continuously and cost less to run. Emergence Capital led that round. The Lounge deals desk also records a $10M Ellis seed in July 2026. Core Automation's date varies by source. Lounge records April 2026, PitchBook lists 25 April 2026, and Seedtable says January 2026.
Crunchbase says Threshold invests at seed and Series A. The firm does not publish check sizes. The third-party database VC Beast lists a range of $1M to $10M. Treat that range as unconfirmed. Seedtable estimates Threshold put in about $50M of Core Automation's $100M seed. That is a modelled figure, not one the firm has disclosed.
- Core Automation: San Francisco company founded in 2026. Threshold led its $100M seed, reported at a $1B post-money valuation by Seedtable.
- Adaption Labs: AI research startup from former Cohere researchers Sara Hooker and Sudip Roy. It builds adaptive, lower-compute models. Threshold joined its $50M seed in February 2026, led by Emergence Capital.
- Ellis: $10M seed in July 2026, per the Lounge deals desk. PitchBook lists it as a Threshold investment. I did not find a description of what the company does.
- news.crunchbase.com/venture/threshold-formerly-known-as-dfj-targets-25
- pulse2.com/threshold-ventures-is-targeting-250-million-for-new-fund
- crunchbase.com/organization/threshold
- medium.com/threshold-ventures/announcing-thresholds-new-funds-88fe2cba
- vcbeast.com/vc-firms/threshold-ventures
- seedtable.com/companies/core-automation
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/267929-02
- fortune.com/2026/02/04/adaption-labs-50-million-seed-funding-emergence
Investing activity
Threshold Ventures appears in 3 AI deals tracked by the AI Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $150M, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $50M and the largest at $100M. The most recent are Ellis (Seed, $10M, Jul 2026), Core Automation (Seed, $100M, Apr 2026) and Adaption Labs (Seed, $50M, Feb 2026).
Threshold Ventures most often invests alongside Initialized Capital, Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital and Westbound, and the companies it backs on AI Lounge are mostly in AI and Enterprise agents.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Threshold Ventures
Does Threshold Ventures invest in AI startups?
Yes. It led Core Automation's $100M seed and took part in Adaption Labs' $50M seed in February 2026. The Lounge deals desk also records a $10M Ellis seed in July 2026.
What stages does Threshold Ventures invest in?
Crunchbase says seed and Series A. The firm does not publish a stage policy beyond that.
How much does Threshold Ventures invest per company?
The firm does not publish check sizes. A third-party database lists $1M to $10M, which is unconfirmed.
Who leads Threshold Ventures?
Emily Melton and Josh Stein are the managing partners and are listed as founders. Heidi Roizen and Andreas Stavropoulos are among the partners. The firm has not named a partner dedicated to AI.
Where is Threshold Ventures based and what was it called before?
It is based in Menlo Park, California. It was known as DFJ before rebranding as Threshold in January 2019.
What AI companies has Threshold Ventures invested in?
Threshold Ventures's AI investments include Ellis, Core Automation and Adaption Labs. The 3 rounds on AI Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Threshold Ventures based?
Threshold Ventures is based in Menlo Park, US.
What stage does Threshold Ventures invest at?
In the rounds tracked on AI Lounge, Threshold Ventures has invested at Seed, with a median round of $50M. Threshold Ventures led 1 of those rounds.
Who does Threshold Ventures co-invest with?
Threshold Ventures's most frequent co-investors on AI Lounge are Initialized Capital (1 deal), Sequoia Capital (1 deal), First Round Capital (1 deal), Westbound (1 deal) and Westbound Equity Partners (1 deal).
How can founders reach Threshold Ventures?
Founders on AI Lounge can see Threshold 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 Threshold Ventures to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.