Haystack

Quick read

Haystack is a seed-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco, US. It focuses on backing founders at the earliest stages, before product-market fit is established. The firm is run by Semil Shah and has backed a number of notable consumer and enterprise companies.

Key facts

Founded

2013

Founders

Semil Shah

Employees

1-10

Sectors

generalist

Website

haystack.vc

Investment thesis

Haystack backs seed-stage founders across generalist categories, writing first checks before conventional traction milestones and maintaining close relationships with founders over multiple fund cycles. (inferred)

Recent activity

• Apr 2026investment
  Haystack participated in a $7M Pre-Seed and Seed round for Soma Energy, alongside TO VC, Panache Ventures, Uncork Capital, and four other investors. tracxn.com
• Jun 2026investment
  Haystack has made 9 investments so far in 2026, putting it on pace to exceed its 2025 total of 10 investments for the full year. tracxn.com
• Jun 2026investment
  Haystack's total portfolio reached 257 companies, with 11 new investments recorded over the prior 12 months. tracxn.com

Notable investments

• Soma EnergySeedApr 2026tracxn.com

Sources

• https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/haystack/__F4tcOYA5PvATdeRly3fxfGFtQOJybFp0ZR-XraRustc

Other VCs in United States

• Sequoia Capital · Generalist VC, Menlo Park·
• Andreessen Horowitz · Generalist VC, Menlo Park·
• Benchmark Capital · Early-stage VC, San Francisco·
• Founders Fund · Contrarian VC, San Francisco·
• Khosla Ventures · Multi-stage VC, Menlo Park·
• Greylock Partners · Early-stage VC, Menlo Park

Explore VCs by sector

• Generalist in United States

Globally

• Generalist worldwide

Frequently asked