Pathbreaker Ventures

Pathbreaker Ventures is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2015 by Ryan Gembala. The firm focuses on early-stage investments in emerging technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence, robotics, augmented reality, virtual reality, and connected technologies such as autonomous vehicles and smart homes. Pathbreaker Ventures typically invests between $100,000 and $300,000 in pre-seed to Series B rounds, often collaborating with other early-stage investors to support its portfolio companies.

The firm's investment strategy emphasizes consumer and business applications that leverage proprietary technology in emerging areas of computer science across mobile and emerging platforms. Pathbreaker Ventures has a history of supporting companies in sectors like Advertising (AdTech), Big Data & Analytics, E-Commerce, Internet of Things (IoT), Marketing (MarTech), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Notable portfolio companies include Tenyx, Apprente, Spiketrap, Text IQ, and Antares Industries.

Pathbreaker Ventures is led by Founder and Managing Partner, Ryan Gembala, who has a decade of experience co-founding and operating companies, investing from pre-seed to growth stages, and acquiring venture-backed companies at Meta (Facebook). Under his leadership, the firm has been recognized for its contributions to the venture capital industry, including being named a Top 100 Seed Investor by Business Insider in 2023 and 2024.