Felicis is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups, including notable companies in the Artificial intelligence sector. Founded in 2006 by Aydin Senkut, a Turkish-born former Google product manager, the firm focuses on seed and Series A investments, with additional participation in later rounds. It operates from offices in Menlo Park, California, San Francisco, and New York City, and has backed companies such as Shopify, Plaid, Canva, Notion, and Mercor.
The firm's philosophy centers on aligning investor interests with founders. In 2014, Felicis introduced a term sheet clause pledging not to vote against founders, and in 2018 it launched the Founder Pledge, committing 1% of every first check to founder development programs including coaching and peer groups. This approach has positioned Felicis as a boutique venture firm capable of moving faster than larger funds, as noted by Forbes.
Background and Philosophy
Aydin Senkut founded Felicis in 2006 after serving as the first product manager at Google. The New York Times listed him among the Top 20 Venture Capitalists in the world in 2017, and Forbes has included him on its Midas List for 13 consecutive years as of 2026. Senkut's background in Machine learning and enterprise software influenced the firm's early focus on Generative AI companies.
Felicis invests across sectors including AI, cybersecurity, health, and biotech, with a geographic reach spanning the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe, and the Near East. By 2014, the firm had backed 50 startups that were acquired or went public, demonstrating an early track record in creative destruction.
The firm's portfolio includes several prominent companies. In 2010, Felicis participated in the $15 million Series A round for Shopify, the e-commerce platform, followed by Series B and C rounds before Shopify's 2015 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2013, Felicis invested in Plaid, the fintech company connecting bank accounts to apps, and also backed Notion, a collaboration tool that has since became widely adopted in the Deep learning ecosystem.
In 2015, Felicis led the Series A for Canva, an Australian design platform, which reached a $42 billion valuation by August 2025. The firm also invested early in Credit Karma, which Intuit acquired in 2020 for $7.1 billion.
2010s Expansion
The 2010s marked a series of strategic investments. In 2013, Felicis backed Adyen, a Netherlands-based payments giant, initially participating in a Series B round of $250 million in December 2014. The firm's patience with longer term view was demonstrated by its continued backing of Shopify from 2010 through its 2015 IPO.
By the end of the decade, Felicis had established itself as a seed-to-Series B investor with a penchant for founders. Inc. magazine named it one of the Top 13 Seed Investors in Silicon Valley in 2016.
2020s
In the 2020s, Felicis doubled down on AI. In 2021, it led a Series A for Berlin-based workflow automation n8n and led the $80 million Series B for Supabase, an open-source backend-as-a-service. In 2022, Felicis was the largest investor in Runway ML's $50 million Series C, a startup behind Stable Diffusion, and notably launched Stable Diffusion for AI image generation.
In 2024, Felicis led a $21.5 million Series A for Wherobots, a cloud geospatial platform. In 2025, the firm led Series B and Series C rounds for Mercor, an AI-driven recruiting startup that automates hiring for technology companies. In June 2025, Felicis raised its tenth fund, totaling $900 million, bringing assets under management to over $3.8 billion.
The firm also participated in Verkada's $200 million Series E in 2025, having held a stake since 2019. In 2026, Senkut was included in Business Insider's AI Power List.
Team and Approach
Felicis maintains a lean managing team. Notably, in 2025, former OpenAI consumer vice president Peter Deng joined the firm. The firm's approach to founder alignment, including the 1% Founder Pledge and its no-vote clause, distinguishes it from other venture firms.
The firm has been described as "nimble boutique VC" by Forbes, attributed to its ability to move quickly on investments. Felicis often leads rounds at Series A and B stages, but it also participates in larger later rounds.
Impact and Recognition
Felicis has been recognized for its influence in AI investing, with Senkut's inclusion on the Midas List for 13 consecutive years by 2026. The firm's early positions in pivotal AI companies like Notion and Runway ML, combined with its portfolio including Shopify, Plaid, and Canva, have solidified its impact.
The founder-pledge model has inspired other VC firms to adopt similar clauses, affecting the broader venture ecosystem. Felicis's performance in seed-stage deals, like those in Credit Karma which yielded a 7.1-billion exit, cemented its reputation.