First Round Capital
First Round Capital is an American venture capital firm founded in 2004 and specialized exclusively in seed-stage investing. The firm was founded by Josh Kopelman and Howard Morgan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has invested in more than 500 companies. Its portfolio includes Uber, Square, Roblox, Notion, Warby Parker, Flatiron Health, and Verkada. First Round wrote the first institutional check into Uber in 2010 — approximately $510,000 as part of a $1.6 million total commitment across two early rounds — a position worth roughly $2.5 billion at Uber's 2019 IPO.2
Founding
First Round Capital was founded in 2004 by Josh Kopelman and Howard Morgan. Kopelman had previously founded Half.com, an online marketplace for used books and media, which was acquired by eBay in 2000. Morgan had co-founded Idealab and served as Founding President of Renaissance Technologies.1
The firm was established with an explicit focus on seed-stage investing at a moment when most venture capital firms concentrated their activity on Series A and later rounds. The founding thesis held that founders needed institutional capital and structured support at the earliest possible stage — before product-market fit, often before revenue.5
By 2009, Bloomberg reported that First Round had become the most active seed-stage investor in the United States.3 The firm's headquarters began in Philadelphia, a deliberate departure from Sand Hill Road convention; the firm now maintains offices in San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia.1
Partnership
Morgan retired from the firm in 2017. Kopelman has remained as Managing Partner, appearing on the Forbes Midas List of top technology investors multiple times, including a fourth-place ranking in 2015.1
Additional partners include Bill Trenchard, who joined in 2012 and has made the Midas List five times, leading investments in Looker, Verkada, and Flexport. Brett Berson joined First Round in 2008 as a college intern and was named a partner in 2016. Todd Jackson, who held product management roles at Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Dropbox before joining the firm, is also a partner. Liz Wessel, who joined in 2023, was named to the Forbes Midas Brink List in 2025.1
Investment approach
First Round operates as a generalist fund investing across AI, consumer, enterprise software, fintech, hardware, and healthcare at the seed stage. The firm writes initial checks when companies are pre-product or pre-revenue, often before a founding team has defined a business model.4
The firm typically makes investments from a single fund vehicle per vintage. Each fund targets capital from institutional limited partners. First Round has launched at least ten successive funds since 2004; Fund X targeted $500 million, reflecting the firm's growth in fund size over two decades of operation.6
Notable investments
Uber. First Round was the first institutional investor in Uber, then known as UberCab, leading the company's seed round in 2010. The firm invested approximately $1.6 million across UberCab's first two funding rounds. That stake was worth approximately $2.5 billion at the time of Uber's 2019 IPO.2
Roblox. First Round invested in Roblox in July 2009, holding approximately 6.8% of the company at the time of its 2021 direct listing.1
Square. The same seed fund that contained the Uber and Roblox investments also included Square, the payments hardware and software company co-founded by Jack Dorsey, which went public in 2015.1
Notion. First Round wrote the largest check in Notion's $2 million seed round in 2013. Notion reached a $10 billion valuation by 2024.1
Looker. First Round led Looker's $2 million seed round in April 2013. The data analytics company was acquired by Google for $2.6 billion in 2020.1
Flatiron Health. First Round backed the oncology data company, which was acquired by Roche for $1.9 billion in 2018.1
Verkada. The firm invested in Verkada's $3.9 million seed round in 2017. The enterprise security camera company reached a $5.8 billion valuation in December 2025.1
Additional portfolio companies include Warby Parker, AppNexus, Mint (acquired by Intuit), Ring (acquired by Amazon), Clover Health, SingleStore, Upstart, Clay (valued at $3.1 billion in 2025), fal (valued at $4.5 billion in 2025), Together AI, K2 Space (valued at $3 billion in 2025), and Pomelo Care (valued at $1.7 billion in January 2026).1
Programs
Dorm Room Fund. In 2012, First Round created the Dorm Room Fund, a $10 million fund investing in student-run startups. The fund is operated by full-time undergraduate and graduate students across several university campuses.1
Graduate Fund. In 2019, First Round launched the Graduate Fund, a pre-seed vehicle for recent graduates of undergraduate or master's programs.1
First Round Review. In 2013, the firm launched First Round Review, an online publication of interviews and tactical guides for startup founders. It covers topics including product-market fit, hiring, and fundraising.1
Angel Track. Launched in 2018, Angel Track trains startup executives in angel investing. As of 2023, the program has more than 400 alumni.1
PMF Method. In 2024, First Round launched PMF Method, a structured program with a tactical framework for early-stage founders pursuing product-market fit.1