In May 2026 I announced Curious Ventures Fund I, a $10 M pre‑seed hybrid vehicle designed to back community‑native, distribution‑first founders at the intersection of Consumer AI and Crypto Consumer.
Equity allocation: $8 M.
Liquid allocation: $2 M for early‑liquidity participation.
Target checks: ~25.
Each founder receives 50+ distribution nodes, aiming for 1,000+ total nodes across the portfolio.
The fund’s three investment bets are Consumer AI (“apps that do the work”), Crypto Consumer (“chains, made invisible”), and Human‑Time (monetising attention, presence and participation).
We source founders through three pillars: the Network State Channel (digital‑native communities & on‑chain DAOs), the Creator Partner Program (top crypto & consumer creators co‑invest), and the Curious House (our own audience where founders ship straight into it).
Key thesis shifts announced on May 18: verticalised AI autopilots, micro‑earning platforms compressing labour, and a Web3 Application Era focused on retention via chain abstraction and retail‑grade UX.
I decided on a hybrid fund design to let founders monetize early while keeping long‑term equity upside, and to double‑down on distribution‑first as the durable moat in an AI‑commodified world.
Open questions remain around measuring founder quality within network states, defining success metrics for the 50+ community nodes per founder, balancing liquidity with equity upside, and the long‑term impact of “taste” as a retention mechanism.