San Francisco hacker houses launch early-stage venture funds in AI startup push

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SF hacker houses fund AI

Highlights

Mission Street Capital, founded by Surabhi Todi and Lisa Shmulyan, launched 'Fund 0' with less than $2 million to back early-stage AI founders before traditional VCs.
Limited partners in Mission Street's fund include researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and anchor investor Fly.io, leveraging proximity to hacker house entrepreneurs.
Hacker house communities like AGI House and HF0 are expanding into direct startup investing to capitalize on the AI startup boom and source deals ahead of mainstream VCs.

Mission Street enters founder funding race

As reported by Business Insider, former Mission Control roommates Surabhi Todi and Lisa Shmulyan have launched Mission Street Capital, a new fund aimed at making very early investments in founders before traditional venture firms move in.

The fund has raised less than $2 million for its "Fund 0", a modest amount by venture capital standards but enough to place early bets and build a performance record for larger future funds. Its limited partners include researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, as well as investors from Andreessen Horowitz, CRV, and Emergence; Fly.io is the anchor investor.

Todi says the fund's edge comes from proximity to founders inside hacker house networks, where scouts can spend far more time observing how prospective entrepreneurs operate than a conventional investor meeting allows. Mission Street's initial portfolio includes Smallest, Aside, and HydraDB, companies focused on voice AI, browsing tools, and infrastructure for AI agents.

AI boom reshapes hacker house business model

Mission Street is joining a small but growing set of hacker house communities that are moving beyond housing and events into direct startup investing. AGI House in Hillsborough has launched AGI House Ventures, while HF0 has combined residential founder programs with capital since 2021.

Mission Control, founded in 2013 by a group of Thiel fellows, presents itself as San Francisco's oldest hacker house and counts founders from Hightouch, Pylon, ScaleAI, and Passes among its alumni. Todi says the idea for Mission Street emerged from discussions about how companies built by former residents went on to create billions of dollars in value without the house sharing in those gains.

Founders do not need to live in Mission Control to receive backing, reflecting a broader strategy focused on the wider hacker house ecosystem. Todi says founders prefer spending time with other builders rather than investors, a dynamic that may help these communities source deals before mainstream venture capital firms do.

Earlier, we discussed a KPMG survey on AI agents showing efficiency gains at big U.S. firms but limited transformation so far.

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