Bonfire Ventures
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder | Jim Andelman Mark Mullen  |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Key people |
|
| AUM | >US$1 billion (2025)[1] |
Number of employees | 7 (2022) |
| Website | www |
Bonfire Ventures is a private venture capital firm based in Los Angeles, California. It invests primarily in seed-stage business-to-business (B2B) software companies. The firm was founded in 2017 by Jim Andelman and Mark Mullen. As of 2025, Bonfire Ventures has more than $1 billion in assets under management across four core funds and related companion and select funds. Its fourth core fund, Bonfire IV, closed at $245 million in 2025.[1]
The firm’s recent investments have included companies developing artificial-intelligence applications for enterprise and professional workflows.
History and funds
[edit]Andelman and Mullen began discussing consolidating their investment activities in 2014.[1][2] At the time, Andelman was leading Rincon Venture Partners, and Mullen owned Double M Partners.[3] In 2017, they formally established Bonfire Ventures to unify their investment efforts into a single institutional fund dedicated to leading seed-stage rounds in B2B software startups. In 2018, Brett Queener, who had held senior roles at Salesforce and Siebel Systems, became a partner.[4] Tyler Churchill joined Bonfire as an intern and became a partner in 2025.[5]
Bonfire Ventures has raised four core funds since its inception. Bonfire I closed in 2018 with US$63 million and invested in approximately 30 early-stage companies, primarily based in Southern California.[6][7] Early portfolio companies included Spekit, Aforza, Boulevard, a platform for appointment-based businesses, and Postie, which provides direct mail automation software.[6][3]
Bonfire II was announced in 2020 with approximately $100 million in capital.[7] The fund maintained a portfolio similar in size to that of its predecessor while investing beyond Southern California. Seed-stage investments from Bonfire II include companies such as Cube Software.[7][8] Bonfire also participated in early financing rounds for Figment and joined the blockchain infrastructure company’s $50 million Series B round in 2021, when Figment was valued at approximately $500 million.[9] In addition to Bonfire II, the firm manages a Select Fund, which focuses on Series B investments in later-stage startups. Notable investments from the Select Fund include ChowNow Inc., a restaurant ordering platform based in Santa Monica, California.[8]
In 2022, Bonfire raised US$168 million for its third core fund, along with US$63 million in a companion opportunity fund, totaling US$231 million.[4] Portfolio companies supported through this fund include Topline Pro, and Rwazi.[10][11] In 2024, Bonfire participated in a Series A funding round for Supio, an AI-driven legal technology company.[12][13]
Bonfire IV closed in February 2025 with US$245 million, making it the firm's largest fund to date.[1] It continues the firm's model of backing seed-stage software companies, including businesses integrating artificial intelligence.[1][14]
During 2025 and 2026, Bonfire led seed rounds for companies developing software for commercial insurance, tax preparation, information-technology support, marketing, and industrial project management.[15][16]
Investment approach
[edit]Bonfire Ventures invests primarily in seed-stage B2B software companies that have begun generating recurring revenue and show early evidence of product-market fit and customer retention. A 2024 Los Angeles Business Journal profile reported that the firm generally looks for companies with approximately $500,000 in annual recurring revenue.[17] Earlier reports placed Bonfire’s initial investments at approximately $2.5 million to $4 million, with Bonfire often acting as lead investor.[3] The firm invests in approximately 25 to 30 companies per fund.[6]
Portfolio
[edit]Bonfire Ventures’ portfolio includes companies across sectors such as financial technology, enterprise software, and AI. The firm has made several early-stage investments in AI-focused startups, including Operative Intelligence, a developer of machine-learning tools for business operations, and Rwazi, a data analytics platform leveraging AI to support consumer intelligence in emerging markets.[11][18] In 2023, Rwazi completed a US$4 million seed round, followed by a US$12 million Series A led by Bonfire Ventures in July 2025.[19][18]
Other investments in the AI domain include Postie, which uses machine learning for direct-mail marketing optimization, and Topline Pro, a platform that applies generative AI to help small businesses manage digital marketing.[20] Bonfire participated in Topline Pro's US$5 million seed funding round in October 2022,[10] its US$12 million funding round in 2023,[20] and its US$27 million Series B in August 2025.[21]
Investments in software for financial and professional services include Juno, an AI tax-preparation company whose $12 million seed round Bonfire led in 2026, and 1Fort, a commercial-insurance software company whose $7.5 million seed round Bonfire led in 2025.[22][15] In enterprise infrastructure, Bonfire led the seed round for IT-support automation company Risotto and participated in financing for ZeroTier, a secure-network infrastructure company.[16][23]
In legal and healthcare software, the firm has invested in Supio, which develops software for legal analysis, and Vali Health, a home-care AI company.[12][24] Its industrial and workforce-software investments include Ranger AI, a developer of project-management and bidding software, and TeamSense, an SMS-based communications platform for manufacturing workers.[25][26]
Other portfolio companies include MNTN,[1] Spekit,[4] Cube,[6] and Boulevard.[27] In 2025, Fortune reported more than 50 exits across Bonfire and the founders’ predecessor funds. Reported examples included The Trade Desk; TaxJar, acquired by Stripe in 2021; Openpath, acquired by Motorola Solutions in 2021; Moat, acquired by Oracle; and Scopely, acquired by Savvy Games Group in 2023.[1][28]
Operations
[edit]Bonfire Ventures is managed by co-founders Andelman and Mullen.[2] Queener joined the investment team in 2018 after holding executive positions at Salesforce and serving as president and chief operating officer of SmartRecruiters.[1]
Churchill was promoted to partner in 2025 after more than six years at Bonfire, having initially joined the firm as a summer intern.[5] Jennifer Richard joined Bonfire in 2020 after working in operational positions at early-stage technology companies. She later became a principal specializing in seed-stage investments.[29]
Bonfire generally leads seed-stage rounds and limits the number of companies in each fund. Its partners may take board positions and assist portfolio companies with administrative matters.[7][1] The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, while Churchill is based in Seattle.[30]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Garfinkle, Allie (2025-02-20). "Exclusive: Bonfire Ventures, seed stage VC firm focused on B2B software, raises $245 million fourth fund". Fortune. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 Anderson, Caroline (2017-10-06). "Andelman and Mullen, VC Vets, Announce New Venture". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 3 Shieber, Jonathan (2018-01-29). "Bonfire Ventures closes $60 million to invest in SoCal B2B startups". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 3 Hall, Christine (2022-05-31). "Bonfire Ventures secures $230M for B2B software startups". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 Stiffler, Lisa (2025-08-01). "Tech Moves: Protect AI founders get roles at Palo Alto; F5 board chair to retire; new Chainguard hires". GeekWire. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 3 4 Ellingson, Annlee (2018-01-29). "L.A. venture capitalists light Bonfire Ventures with $60 million fund". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 3 4 Bergman, Ben (2020-09-10). "Bonfire Ventures Raises $100M Fund II - dot.LA". dot.la. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 Cutchin, James (2020-09-11). "Bonfire Ventures Raises New $100 Million Fund". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ↑ Ossinger, Joanna (2021-08-16). "Crypto Staking Firm Figment Raises $50 Million in New Round". Bloomberg Law.
- 1 2 Hall, Christine (2022-10-31). "Topline Pro grabs $5M to help home service businesses scale online". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 Redrup, Yolanda (2022-12-06). "US VCs Bonfire and Wonder back Aussie brothers' tech start-up". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 Soper, Taylor (2024-08-27). "Ex-Microsoft engineers raise $25M for legal tech startup that uses AI to help lawyers analyze data". GeekWire. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ "Supio Emerges from Stealth with $25 Million Series A Investment". www.supio.com. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ↑ "Bonfire Ventures Raises Over $230M For Two New Funds To Help B2B Software Startups Beat The Odds". CEO Magazine. 2022-06-08. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 Nuñez, Michael (2025-04-17). "This AI startup just raised $7.5m to fix commercial insurance for America's 24m underprotected small businesses". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2025-07-23. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- 1 2 Brandom, Russell (2026-01-27). "Risotto raises $10M seed to use AI to make ticketing systems easier to use". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ Vedantam, Keerthi (2024-12-02). "VC Firms Like to Invest Locally". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- 1 2 Davis, Dominic-Madori (2025-07-15). "Rwazi raises $12M Series A to help companies with consumer insights and intelligence". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ↑ Nnamani, Caleb; Oladunmade, Muktar (2023-03-24). "Rwazi raises $4m to penetrate emerging markets and offer insights". TechCabal. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- 1 2 Hall, Christine (2023-07-31). "Topline Pro grabs $12M in new capital to help home service businesses get discovered". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ Shen, Lucinda (2025-08-14). "Exclusive: Topline Pro raises $27M to bring AI automation to landscapers, plumbers". Axios. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ↑ Clemetson, Jeff (2026-04-20). "Tax Prep Co. Juno Lands $12M Seed". San Diego Business Journal.
- ↑ Arghire, Ionut (2024-07-30). "ZeroTier Raises $13.5 Million in Series A Funding". SecurityWeek. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ "Vali Health Raises $6M to Ease Homecare Workload With AI". www.homecaremag.com. 2026-06-19. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ "Ranger AI Raises $8.4M in Seed Funding". FinSMEs. 2026-05-14. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ "TeamSense raises $4m to bridge the digital connection gap between deskless workers and employers | DC Velocity". www.dcvelocity.com. 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2022-08-09). "Boulevard books $70M to help beauty and wellness salons with their bookings". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-30.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2021-04-27). "Stripe acquires TaxJar to add cloud-based, automated sales tax tools into its payments platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ Vedantam, Keerthi (2025-03-24). "'Democratized Access' at Bonfire Ventures". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
- ↑ Soper, Taylor (2023-04-10). "Los Angeles venture firm Bonfire eyeing Seattle for B2B startup investments". GeekWire. Retrieved 2026-07-01.