Solo GP Ashley Smith announces second $25M fund to back startups in AI, security and more

Vermilion Cliffs Ventures has officially announced the closing of its second fund, totaling $25 million. Founded in 2023 by Ashley Smith, one of the few solo female general partners in the venture capital landscape, the firm aims to continue its mission of supporting technical founders. Smith emphasized the focus on startups developing solutions in AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, and developer tools. In a conversation with TechCrunch, Smith shared that the fund's establishment took approximately four months, with a significant portion of the investment coming from previous backers. The average investment size for this fund will range between $500,000 and $1 million, with the goal of supporting at least 25 startups over the next two and a half years. Already, the firm has made investments in six companies. Previously, Vermilion Cliffs Ventures raised a debut fund of $13 million, which supported 35 startups, including notable names like cybersecurity firm Keycard and the AI infrastructure company CopilotKit. Drawing from her extensive experience in marketing roles at Twilio, Facebook, GitHub, and GitLab, Smith aims to provide founders with strategic guidance in their go-to-market efforts, helping them navigate the unique challenges of selling to developers and security teams. "Most founders learn this discipline the hard way over time," she remarked, expressing her commitment to helping them avoid common pitfalls.