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

  • 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
  • Apr 2026product
    EF hosted a Demo Day in San Francisco with Reid Hoffman and Matt Clifford, featuring 31 pre-seed/seed companies pitching to over 150 partner-level investors from the Bay Area and Europe. linkedin.com
  • Mar 2026fundraise
    EF's holding company raised capital at a $1.3bn valuation, reinforcing its position as the world's largest pre-company talent investor. matthewclifford.com
  • Mar 2026fundraise
    EF raised $200M to back global founders and expand its India portfolio, with Greylock Partners participating. tracxn.com
  • Jan 2026press
    EF hosted podcast host Dwarkesh Patel for the opening fireside chat of its January 2026 cohort event. joinef.com
  • Jan 2026investment
    AgileRL raised $7.5M in funding with Entrepreneur First as one of the backers, alongside Counterview Capital and Fusion Fund. tracxn.com
  • Feb 2026investment
    PleaseFix.ai secured $2.1M to automate manual finance team workflows, with Entrepreneur First among the backers. tracxn.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 June 5, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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