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Pre-seed and seed · US, Australia & NZ

We back founders rebuilding the real economy.

We invest across the Built Environment, the Movement of People & Goods, and the Flow of Data & Information.

We invest across the US, Australia and New Zealand.

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Thesis

OUR THESIS

Our primary objective is to back diverse, passionate, and never-say-die founders to become world-class entrepreneurs who can leverage technology to build global companies and disrupt industries right from the early stages, and support them fully on their journeys.

We specialize in real-economy innovation across three pillars:

  1. 01

    Built Environment

    Construction, Manufacturing, Industrials, Utilities & Energy

  2. 02

    Movement of Goods & People

    Logistics, Supply Chain, Mobility.

  3. 03

    Flow of Data & Information

    FinTech and Data Infrastructure.

Our fund operates on an effective, but simple four-point mandate:

  1. 01

    DISRUPTION & INNOVATION

    We look for companies that can find and build solutions to problems that address inefficiencies across industries with the potential to create inflection points in the market and pave a new way forward for society.

  2. 02

    TECHNOLOGY

    We believe in the power of technology to make the world as we see fit. This is why we understand that technology enablers play a significant role in shaping the future of industries. Some of the enablers we're interested in include: AI, blockchain, automation, 5G, AR/VR, machine learning, exabyte storage, robotics, IoT, accelerated computing, and much more.

    We fully support founders who can find ingenious ways to use technology to create new markets and open the industry to innovation.

  3. 03

    FOUNDERS

    We ONLY invest in founders who are domain experts in their fields. These individuals are those who have worked in their chosen industries for many years and understand the problem intimately, but also have developed a strong industry network around them. They are building a solution that addresses the problem correctly and in a scalable way.

    Secondly, we invest in founders that we can help and support, be it through the team, our mentors, advisors, or our external network. We are not only a capital provider, but we envision being part of their entire journey.

    Thirdly, we evaluate one or more elements of traction, i.e., ARR (if any), Product-Market-Fit, Pilot Programs, growing D/MAU, customer relationships, retention, and much more.

    These elements give us the conviction we need to ensure we can participate, but also facilitate their growth towards success.

  4. 04

    EARLY STAGE

    We're here to help support and nurture founders from the very beginning of their journey. We know it's incredibly tough to create a company, so we are backing those folks who need it the most. For us, it all starts off with just a seed.

Portfolio

PORTFOLIO

For founders

How we invest.

Stage: pre-seed and seed · US, Australia and New Zealand

Pitch us →

  1. 01

    Send your deck

  2. 02

    First call

  3. 03

    Partner review

  4. 04

    Decision

Founder FAQ

Founder FAQ

General FAQ

General FAQ

Team

The people you'll work with.

  • Managing Partner

    LinkedIn ↗

    Managing Partner

    Barry Winata

    in LinkedIn

    Barry is a technology leader, investor, and operator with more than a decade of experience across Silicon Valley and Australia. He is the Founder and Managing Partner of MGV Capital (formerly Metagrove Ventures), an early-stage venture capital fund that supports founders and companies, particularly those building a bridge between the Asia-Pacific region and Silicon Valley.

    His background spans technology leadership, engineering, product management, strategy, growth, and operations. He contributed to engineering and product management at Skylo Technologies, a SoftBank-backed company, and played a significant role at Sensity Systems, later acquired by Verizon, where he led and managed embedded and cloud engineering teams. These roles gave him deep exposure to how technology is reshaping legacy industries such as logistics, supply chain, and construction.

    Earlier, he worked in engineering and operations at BAE Systems, as well as at Cochlear and at Australia's leading research institute, CSIRO, where he focused on high-voltage and energy research.

    Barry writes Alpha Work, a weekly newsletter for founders and operators on tools, AI, and how work gets done. He also founded Workstak, which helps founders find and use the right tools, and Workstak Runtime, which designs and builds custom operations systems for established businesses.

    Barry holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering (Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (Economics/Finance) from the University of Technology Sydney.

  • Partner

    LinkedIn ↗

    Partner

    Gabriel Guedes

    in LinkedIn

    Gabriel is the COO and CFO of Lyka Pet Food, one of Australia's fastest-growing startups. Before Lyka, he spent a decade at Bain & Company, rising to Associate Partner in the Industrial Goods & Services practice, where he focused on supply chain, logistics, and mining and worked with clients in more than 20 countries across six continents.

    Earlier in his career, he worked in logistics planning at Procter & Gamble in Latin America, across Brazil and Venezuela. Gabriel is also an advisor, board member, and investor.

    He holds a B.Sc. in Production Engineering from Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and an M.Sc. in Management, Economics and Production Engineering from Politecnico di Milano.

Writing · mgvcapital.substack.com

Notes from the fund.

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Get in touch

Building for the real economy? Talk to us early.

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