Key Takeaways
- • Vermilion Cliffs Ventures closed a $25 million Fund II, marking solo GP Ashley Smith's second institutional fund since founding the firm in 2023.
- • Fund II will target technical founders building in AI infrastructure, security, and developer tools, with check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $1 million and a goal to back at least 25 companies over 2.5 years.
- • Smith raised the fund in approximately four months with significant participation from existing Fund I investors, demonstrating strong LP retention and confidence in her thesis and execution.
- • The firm's debut $13 million Fund I backed 35 companies, including notable exits and portfolio companies like cybersecurity startup Keycard and AI infrastructure platform CopilotKit.
- • Smith leverages operational experience from marketing roles at Twilio, Facebook, GitHub, and GitLab to provide go-to-market strategy support, positioning the fund to help founders avoid costly mistakes in developer and security-focused sales.
Summary
Vermilion Cliffs Ventures, the venture capital firm founded by solo GP Ashley Smith in 2023, announced the close of its $25 million Fund II on Wednesday. Smith has established herself as one of a small cohort of female solo general partners in venture capital, a distinction that carries particular significance given the capital concentration dynamics within the industry.
Fund II will maintain the firm's investment thesis focused on technical founders developing solutions in AI infrastructure, security, and developer tools. The fund's check size will typically range between $500,000 and $1 million, with the firm targeting investment in at least 25 portfolio companies over the next two and a half years. Smith disclosed to TechCrunch that fundraising took approximately four months, with the majority of capital sourced from existing investors in Fund I, indicating strong LP confidence and fund performance validation.
Vermilion Cliffs' debut fund—a $13 million vehicle—has demonstrated traction across its portfolio of 35 companies, which includes cybersecurity startup Keycard and AI infrastructure company CopilotKit. Fund II has already committed capital to six companies at the time of close, suggesting active deployment before the announcement.
Smith's distinctive value proposition stems from operational experience in go-to-market strategy, having previously held marketing positions at Twilio, Facebook, GitHub, and GitLab—all companies with substantial developer and security-focused customer bases. In her investor capacity, she emphasizes providing founders with battle-tested sales and market entry strategies tailored to selling to developers and security teams, recognizing this as a specialized discipline that founders often learn through costly trial-and-error. This operational support model aligns with broader trends in venture capital toward value-added investing beyond capital provision, particularly in developer infrastructure and security verticals where product-market fit and go-to-market execution remain critical differentiators.
Fund II will maintain the firm's investment thesis focused on technical founders developing solutions in AI infrastructure, security, and developer tools. The fund's check size will typically range between $500,000 and $1 million, with the firm targeting investment in at least 25 portfolio companies over the next two and a half years. Smith disclosed to TechCrunch that fundraising took approximately four months, with the majority of capital sourced from existing investors in Fund I, indicating strong LP confidence and fund performance validation.
Vermilion Cliffs' debut fund—a $13 million vehicle—has demonstrated traction across its portfolio of 35 companies, which includes cybersecurity startup Keycard and AI infrastructure company CopilotKit. Fund II has already committed capital to six companies at the time of close, suggesting active deployment before the announcement.
Smith's distinctive value proposition stems from operational experience in go-to-market strategy, having previously held marketing positions at Twilio, Facebook, GitHub, and GitLab—all companies with substantial developer and security-focused customer bases. In her investor capacity, she emphasizes providing founders with battle-tested sales and market entry strategies tailored to selling to developers and security teams, recognizing this as a specialized discipline that founders often learn through costly trial-and-error. This operational support model aligns with broader trends in venture capital toward value-added investing beyond capital provision, particularly in developer infrastructure and security verticals where product-market fit and go-to-market execution remain critical differentiators.
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