[B12] / About
B12 is a Singapore-based venture firm. We write first cheques at pre-seed and seed for technical founders in machine learning, AI for science and developer infrastructure, and we spend most of our time with university spinouts.
01 / Why B12
The best AI companies start in labs, not boardrooms. Most capital arrives after the advantage is already obvious. We want to arrive before that.
The most important AI companies of the next decade will come from labs. Their founders spent years on a problem before anyone called it a market. They have a benchmark nobody else can match, a dataset nobody else has, or a method that took a PhD to work out.
Those founders tend to be underserved at the start. Generalist investors ask for revenue the company shouldn't have yet. Grant funding runs out. University processes move slowly.
B12 sits in that gap. We read the paper, run the code and back the founder while the advantage is still technical. Then we help turn it into a product, a team and a market.
02 / Principles
We'll back a strong technical advantage with no revenue over a thin product with early sales. At pre-seed, the advantage is the asset.
We read the paper and the repository before the deck. Diligence is technical first, so the conversation starts at your level.
We lead or co-lead the earliest round and decide quickly. You'll hear a clear yes or no from us, not a slow fade.
We focus on three things: the first product, the first hire and the first market. That's where research founders most often get stuck.
03 / Singapore
Singapore combines world-class research universities, national research institutes and a government that funds deep tech. It's also a short flight from many of the fastest-growing research ecosystems in the world.
We invest wherever strong technical founders are building, and we're especially well placed to help founders in Asia build companies that sell globally.
04 / Team
A small team of former researchers, engineers and founders who have done the move from lab to company themselves.
Former ML researcher turned founder. Leads investments in machine learning and AI infrastructure.
Computational biologist. Leads AI for science, with a focus on biology, chemistry and materials.
Systems engineer. Covers developer infrastructure, compilers and runtimes, and helps with first technical hires.
Has worked on technology transfer for years. Helps founders with licensing, IP and spinning out of universities.
05 / Next