Gradient

Gradient is a seed fund that invests in AI companies. It started inside Google in 2017 and is led by former founders and technical specialists. The firm says it leads investments at the earliest stages of a company, and it describes its fifth fund, $220 million, as a seed fund designed for founders in AI.

Gradient's AI portfolio leans toward developer tools and infrastructure. In 2026 alone it led the seed round for Linkup, a web search API built for AI systems, and co-led the seed round for Photon, which lets developers run AI agents over iMessage, WhatsApp and other messaging channels.

Sources: Gradient, Tech Funding News

Leadership

• Darian ShiraziGeneral Partner
• Zach Bratun-GlennonGeneral Partner

At a glance

Stage

Seed

Focus

AI, Developer tools

AI companies backed

11

AI companies backed

• Photon · developer tools for running AI agents over iMessage, WhatsApp, SMS and other messaging channels

  Co-led Photon's $4.5 million seed round with A*, announced October 1, 2026. Vercel, HongShan and Z Fellows also took part.

  Read our review of Photon · Founder: Daniel Tian · Source: Gradient, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Linkup · a real-time web search API for AI systems

  Led Linkup's $10 million seed round, announced March 3, 2026.

  Read our review of Linkup · Founder: Philippe Mizrahi · Source: Linkup, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Patlytics · AI software for patent discovery, analytics and comparison

  Led Patlytics' $4.5 million seed round, announced April 11, 2024.

  Read our review of Patlytics · Founder: Paul Lee · Source: Patlytics, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Secureframe · security compliance automation for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and similar standards

  Co-led Secureframe's $4.5 million seed round with Base10 Partners, announced October 2020.

  Read our review of Secureframe · Founder: Shrav Mehta · Source: TechCrunch, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Rootly · incident management and on-call software that runs inside Slack

  Took part in Rootly's $12 million Series A, announced August 2023, which Renegade Partners led.

  Read our review of Rootly · Founder: JJ Tang · Source: TechCrunch, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Mastra · an open-source TypeScript framework for building AI agents

  Took part in Mastra's $13 million seed round, announced October 8, 2025, alongside Y Combinator and more than 120 other investors.

  Read our review of Mastra · Founder: Sam Bhagwat · Source: Mastra, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Arga Labs · sandboxes that copy enterprise apps so teams can test and train AI agents safely

  Listed on Gradient's portfolio page, partnered 2026.

  Read our review of Arga Labs · Founder: Phillip Li · Source: Gradient portfolio, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Malachyte · real-time shopping personalization for online stores

  Listed on Gradient's portfolio page, partnered 2025.

  Read our review of Malachyte · Founder: Sidd Motwani · Source: Gradient portfolio, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Labelbox · software for creating and managing labeled training data

  Took part in Labelbox's $3.9 million seed round in July 2018, which Kleiner Perkins led.

  Read our review of Labelbox · Founder: Manu Sharma · Source: Labelbox announcement via PR Newswire, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Writer · an enterprise generative AI platform built on its own Palmyra models

  Listed on Gradient's portfolio page, partnered 2021.

  Read our review of Writer · Founder: May Habib · Source: Gradient portfolio, checked Oct 9, 2026

• Lambda · GPU cloud and hardware for training and running AI models

  Listed on Gradient's portfolio page, partnered 2017.

  Read our review of Lambda · Founder: Stephen Balaban · Source: Gradient portfolio, checked Oct 9, 2026