Pre-seed VC, UK

Entrepreneur First

Venture capital firm · London · Founded August 2011

Quick read

Entrepreneur First (EF) is a pre-seed talent investor founded in 2011 in London, now valued at $1.3bn as a holding company. Unlike traditional accelerators, EF recruits exceptional individuals before they have a co-founder or idea, then funds them to build companies from scratch. Portfolio companies are collectively worth over $16bn, and EF runs cohorts across Europe, Asia, and San Francisco.

Key facts

Founded
August 2011
Founders
Matt Clifford, Alice Bentinck
Employees
967
Sectors
ai, hardware, generalist
Website
www.joinef.com

Investment thesis

EF invests in exceptional individuals before they have a co-founder or idea, backing them at the pre-company stage to form teams, develop theses, and build globally important technology companies from scratch — with a particular focus on AI and deep tech.

Recent activity

  • Jan 2026product
    EF held its January 2026 Demo Day in San Francisco, opened by a fireside chat with Dwarkesh Patel. The event marked EF's push into the SF startup scene via its new residency programme, The Bridge. joinef.com
  • Jan 2026press
    Alice Bentinck hosted an EF community event in San Francisco celebrating the firm's $200m fundraise, bringing together founders joining The Bridge residency alongside existing portfolio founders. linkedin.com
  • 2025press
    Fast Company named EF on its Most Innovative Companies list, citing The Bridge — the firm's San Francisco-based residency for ambitious founders — as a standout product. linkedin.com
  • Oct 2025product
    EF's October 2025 Demo Day opened with a fireside chat with Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic. joinef.com
  • Apr 2025product
    EF's April 2025 Demo Day opened with a fireside chat with Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures. joinef.com
  • 2024fundraise
    EF raised $200m in fresh capital, including $130m into its management company at a unicorn valuation. New backers included Charlie Songhurst, Patrick Collison, John Collison, Eric Schmidt, Claire Hughes Johnson, Aidan Gomez, Jeff Dean, Sara Clemens, and Mati Staniszewski. linkedin.com
  • 2024press
    Matt Clifford was awarded a CBE for services to AI and named to the Time AI100 list of most influential people in AI. matthewclifford.com
  • Mar 2026press
    Alice Bentinck told Sifted that EF founders are moving faster than ever since relocating to Silicon Valley, with Bentinck herself now based there as CEO. sifted.eu
  • Mar 2026fundraise
    EF was crowned a unicorn following a $200m fundraise, according to Sifted. sifted.eu
  • Jan 2026product
    EF held its first Demo Day in San Francisco, with co-founders Alice Bentinck and Matt Clifford hosting alongside Reid Hoffman. linkedin.com
  • Jan 2026press
    EF's website highlights a January 2026 opening fireside chat with podcaster Dwarkesh Patel. joinef.com
  • Apr 2026leadership
    Matt Clifford stepped back from his full-time CEO role after 15 years to become non-executive Chair, freeing time for UK government AI advisory work and his role chairing ARIA. uk.linkedin.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Matt Clifford · Co-founder & Non-Executive Chair
    LinkedIn
  • Alice Bentinck · Co-founder
    LinkedIn
  • Javier Torremocha · CTO

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Entrepreneur First?+

Entrepreneur First (EF) is a pre-seed talent investor founded in 2011 in London, now valued at $1. 3bn as a holding company.

Where is Entrepreneur First headquartered?+

Entrepreneur First is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

When was Entrepreneur First founded?+

Entrepreneur First was founded in August 2011 by Matt Clifford, Alice Bentinck.

What sectors does Entrepreneur First invest in?+

Entrepreneur First focuses on ai, hardware, generalist. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Entrepreneur First?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated July 21, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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