Sarah Smith Launches $16m Fund, Says Ai Can ‘unlock’ So Much For Solo Gps Like Herself

6 days ago

Image Credits:Courtesy of Sarah Smith

11:00 AM PDT · July 11, 2025

Sarah Smith, laminitis and managing partner of nan eponymous Sarah Smith Fund, announced Thursday nan last closing of a $16 cardinal Fund I.

Smith launched her eponymous money successful 2022 and is simply a solo GP. She said she’s “stunned” by what AI tin unlock for firms for illustration hers, solo and next-generation. “I can’t ideate doing task immoderate different measurement now,” she said. “While I judge institution building still requires a squad effort, I judge early-stage investing is champion done solo.”

She appreciates really she tin make accelerated decisions that don’t require committee approval. She’s besides taken to utilizing AI to thief her passim this journey.

“Every time I’m dreaming of much ways to support my founders, combining my acquisition and web pinch AI,” she said.

“For example, conscionable past week, I led a values articulation task for 1 of my founders,” Smith continued. “It took maine 2-3 hours of clip erstwhile it antecedently would person taken 20. When you person an AI-native patient that tin present 10x worth successful 1/10 of nan time, you tin standard up a ample portfolio pinch conscionable 1 person.”

She said she antecedently had a $3 cardinal rolling fund, and spent a twelvemonth raising this Fund I. Fund I hopes to put successful 50 companies and has already backed 17, pinch nan mean cheque size opinionated astatine $250,000. Limited partners see Pear VC, Ulu Ventures, and Verdis Investment Management.

Fund I focuses chiefly connected startups successful nan Stanford ecosystem (Smith is an alumna of nan university). She has investigation there, too, to backmost up her focus.

“It has produced much unicorns and exit worth than immoderate different assemblage successful nan world,” she said, citing nan research done by Ilya Strebulaev that shows that 11% of unicorn founders person an relation pinch Stanford. “While overmuch of nan bequest Sand Hill firms walk of of their clip up successful SF, 45 minutes north, I’m doubling down connected Stanford campus.”

Dominic-Madori Davis is simply a elder task superior and startup newsman astatine TechCrunch. She is based successful New York City. You tin interaction her connected Signal astatine +1 (646)-831-7565.