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Baukunst

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Announcing Baukunst: a collective of creative technologists

A collective of creative technologists advancing the art of building
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Announcing

Baukunst Logo

A collective of creative technologists
advancing the art of building

Today, alongside my partners Axel Bichara, Matt Thoms, and Kate McAndrew, I am proud to announce the launch of Baukunst. Baukunst is a collective of creative technologists advancing the art of building companies at the frontiers of technology and design. We invest in, we build with, and we document the work of the creative technologists of our time.

We invest:

Baukunst makes venture investments in creative technologists at company formation. We are independent minded and invest with conviction. We lead pre-seed rounds, and often invest the full round ourselves.

We build:

You can think of Baukunst like a decentralized studio: where resources, experts, and thoughtful peers come together to focus on achieving our best, most impactful work.

We document:

The early messy magic of product and company creation is unique, and it is our sole focus. We capture and share origin stories as they unfold.

Many investors start with what they invest in, we start with who.

Seeking Creative Technologists: those in pursuit of the art of building.

Creative technologist founders combine two potent talents: visionary thinking and expertise with powerful tools. They craft transformative product experiences, inspire teams along the way, and build companies we can be proud of.

Interdisciplinary in nature, creative technologists have unique insights into unexplored areas of opportunity. The products and systems they design often defy comfortable categorization and require multi-disciplinary teams to clear technical and regulatory hurdles in the early days of building. While many say, “sounds complicated,” we lean forward and say, “tell us more.”

Creative technologists are our people and we have a long history of being the foundational partners to their success.

We’ve led first investment rounds in creative technologists who are:

These themes illustrate what we will focus on investing in at Baukunst. In all examples, we were early investors, often writing the founding team their first lead check, or co-founding the company ourselves.

At a time of unprecedented change, creative technologists are the builders we want shaping the future. They build with the long term in mind and use technology as their medium of impact actualization rather than fetishizing tech for tech’s sake.

Meet the Collective

Baukunst is a selective ecosystem of founders, investors, and domain experts coming together to elevate our culture of creation. We specialize in doing new things well and welcome people, products, and companies that don’t easily fit into existing boxes.

General Partners:

Baukunst has four equal general partners responsible for investing the collective’s capital: Kate McAndrew, Tyler Mincey, Axel Bichara, and Matt Thoms. We have shipped over 50 first generation technology products (including the first iPhone), co-founded multiple startups, and have been the first check lead investor in over seventy interdisciplinary technology companies.

Axel Bichara

Axel Bichara

Co-founded two acquired startups. Raised & invested $2.8B as managing partner. Thirty years as first round lead investor & company builder. GP at Atlas Venture & Bolt.

Kate McAndrew

Kate McAndrew

Nine years as first round lead investor & board member with a focus on companies evolving the cultural conversation. Built Bolt's venture capital practice and community presence over two successful funds. Founder of Women in Hardware.

Matt Thomas

Matt Thoms

Founding team & early operator/CEO at four emerging tech startups. Nine years as first round lead investor, company builder, & board member at Allied Minds & Bolt.

Tyler Mincey

Tyler Mincey

Fifteen years design, product, & engineering including leading teams that built the first iPhone and many generations of iPods. Founding team of Pearl Automation, four years investing at Bolt.

Domain Experts:

We have assembled world renowned experts into the Creative Technologist Council. Each person is a master of their craft, able to define and redefine the bounds of their domain — not simply work within them. You can read more about the council here.

Founders and early teams:

Founders and early teams in Baukunst are building new products and companies that will grow, scale, and endure.

In celebration,
and with gratitude

To commemorate Baukunst’s launch, we have commissioned a unique work of generative art by renowned new media artist, designer, computer programmer, and educator Zach Lieberman. The commissioned work begins today and will evolve and change over ten years to match the investment period of our fund. We’re honored to work with Zach and look forward to collaborating with more artists in the future.

Many thanks to those who make today possible: our families, friends, creative communities, past portfolio companies, investors, and close collaborators. We are honored to be stewards of Baukunst, to promote, to champion, and refine our collective level of craft and discernment—and the dynamic and vibrant ecosystem we foster within Baukunst.