As a brand-new entrepreneur looking to get help and mentorship, finding the right venture studio is critically important. These organizations—sometimes called startup studios or venture builders—provide expertise and resources that can help bring your scalable ideas to life and help your startup navigate the rough seas of the business world.
Of all the venture studios out there, it can be challenging to determine which ones stand out from the competition. That’s why we created this list of some of the top venture studios today that are redefining startup growth. In this guide, we’ll walk through what a venture studio is and what each one on our list has to offer.
Best Venture Studios Redefining Startup Growth
If you’re a startup founder focused on building up your company, you’ve likely encountered various support models. But what exactly makes a venture studio different?
These organizations not only ideate, fund, and build startups from scratch but also go far beyond what traditional incubators or accelerators offer. Venture studios are company builders that take a hands-on approach, providing funding, operational support, and strategic guidance to help founders build high-valuation startups with clear paths to exit or IPO.
Let’s explore some of the best companies in this space that could give your startup the extra edge it needs to succeed.
1. Nobody Studios
Nobody Studios, established in 2020 as the brainchild of Mark S. McNally, is a revolutionary venture studio with a mission to incubate 100 novel companies within five years. This studio’s unique method involves harnessing the power of crowds to speed up the processes of idea generation validation and company development.
Nobody Studios’ key focus is on fostering socially responsible businesses that actively contribute to society. The impressive portfolio of Nobody Studios includes remarkable startups like Webdelics, a groundbreaking educational platform for plant medicine, and ThoughtForma, an intelligent no-code platform that enables rapid digital app development.
In an industry often criticized for its exclusivity, Nobody Studios stands out for its commitment to fostering an inclusive environment and, ultimately, making entrepreneurship more attainable for all.
2. Atomic
Established in 2012, Atomic is a startup studio that takes an innovative approach to catalyze the creation of new companies. Cofounded by Jack Abraham and Steph Mui, Atomic’s mission is to partner with driven entrepreneurs and equip them with resources, expertise, and capital. Through this hands-on approach, Atomic is all about accelerating ideas and mitigating risks.
This studio’s portfolio is diverse, spanning industries from healthcare to facial recognition and co-living, and it has successfully cofounded more than 12 ventures within the past year alone. Atomic’s comprehensive and holistic support of founders is the key to their success. This venture builder has invested in more than 20 companies, including the likes of Terminal, Hims, and Hers.
Atomic’s primary goal is to foster a culture of entrepreneurship, which it does by providing budding entrepreneurs with a supportive platform to bring their transformative new companies to life. With a substantial fund of $260 million, Atomic continues to empower and encourage innovation. The firm looks for seasoned individuals with leadership skills, perseverance, and innovative insights into untapped areas.
3. Alloy Partners (Formerly High Alpha Innovation)
Alloy Partners is a venture builder that collaborates with leading corporations, universities, and large organizations to systematically launch startups. Established in 2020 as an extension of Alloy’s pioneering venture studio model, this firm helps organizations move beyond the illusion of innovation by transforming strategic challenges into high-impact, venture-backed companies.
Unlike traditional startup studios, Alloy partners directly with scaled enterprises to create a portfolio of advantaged startups that leverage an organization’s deep industry expertise and market access. By combining the agility of startups with the resources of large enterprises, this model accelerates innovation and produces scalable, investment-ready businesses.
Through a structured venture-building playbook, Alloy Parnters offers a step-by-step process that includes executive workshops, venture assessments, and full-scale company launches. This approach enables organizations to rapidly experiment, validate concepts, and bring bold ideas to market.
4. Betaworks
Betaworks, a New York-based investor and builder of early stage businesses, was founded in 2007 by Andy Weissman, Billy Chasen, and John Borthwick. This venture studio demonstrates a remarkable knack for identifying, investing in, and nurturing startups that show promising potential in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and Web3.
Known for being both a developer and an investor, Betaworks has been instrumental in the growth and success of products like Giphy, Bitly, and TweetDeck. Its portfolio includes notable names like X (formerly Twitter), Tumblr, Kickstarter, and Rec Room — all of which are a testament to the firm’s success in the digital landscape.
Betaworks also operates Betaworks Camp, which is an accelerator program aimed at funding and supporting startups within emerging tech sectors.
5. Pioneer Square Labs
Pioneer Square Labs, based in the heart of Seattle, is a venture capital fund and startup studio established by a team of five co-founders: Ben Gilbert, Geoff Entress, Greg Gottesman, Julie Sandler, and Mike Galgon back in 2015. The company operates with a mission to not only bring big ideas to life, but also actively partner with exceptional founders who can transform these ideas into world-changing companies.
With two distinct programs, the firm offers early stage funding and guidance through its Ventures offering or a chance for founders to start their own enterprise through its Studio program. Pioneer Square Labs’ investment portfolio is impressive, containing the likes of the popular podcast outlet Acquired and Starfish Space.
Pioneer Square Labs also has a keen interest in evolving technology, leveraging the power of generative AI to assist businesses in testing automatically created ideas.
6. Colab
Founded by Jon Bradford and Michael Buchanan in 2013, Colab is not your average venture studio. Nestled in the heart of Los Angeles, it’s a hub where bright ideas, invaluable resources, and experts come together to form trailblazing companies. Colab is on a mission to solve big challenges, having helped to establish more than 100 companies with impressive portfolio exits exceeding $2 billion.
From the spark of an idea to the complexities of fundraising, Colab is hands-on, providing extensive support every step of the way. BOOTI and NoCap are among the companies with which it has successfully collaborated. NoCap is a revolutionary live-streaming platform for artists that has made waves in the industry. To date, it has hosted more than 200 concerts and reimbursed artists with a whopping $6 million.
Colab does more than merely partner with startups, though. The firm becomes a key part of the team, ready to scale up or down according to the evolving needs of the business.
7. Founders Factory
Located in the heart of the United Kingdom, Founders Factory was brought to life by Brent Hoberman, Henry Lane Fox, and George Northcott in 2015. With a shared vision, these entrepreneurs set out to provide fellow idea-makers with the tools needed to transform their concepts into high-growth companies.
Under the Founders Factory umbrella, ambitious entrepreneurs can find funding as well as dedicated support teams and access to a range of partners like Aviva, Reckitt, and Nesta. These prominent partner organizations each cater to different areas, including fintech, home/hygiene, and social impact.
The Venture Studio at Founders Factory also fosters a vibrant community of innovators from different backgrounds. Founders Factory works equally with first-time founders filled with passion to serial entrepreneurs who have it down to a science.
8. Expa
Established in 2014 by visionary entrepreneur Garrett Camp, Expa Studio has been transforming budding business ideas into resounding successes.
With an extensive service offering, including branding, product design, and operational support, Expa stands as a comprehensive incubation hub for aspiring founders and their young companies (e.g., Current, Haus, Aero, and Drip).
But there’s more to Expa than just monetary backing. The firm also serves as a crucial link between founders and prominent investors from circles like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. Expa has built up an ecosystem that fosters growth not just through resource provision, but also by cultivating connections.
For anyone with a bold idea and a burning desire to succeed, Expa Studio lays the groundwork for a journey from conceptualization to growth — all within a community that inspires action and stimulates positive impact.
9. Science Inc.
In Santa Monica, California, the venture studio Science Inc. was set in motion in 2011 by founders Alex Kehr, Greg Gilman, Michael Jones, Mike Macadaan, Peter Pham, and Tom Dare. This firm specializes in scouting, investing in, and bolstering early stage technology front-runners.
At the core of Science Inc.’s approach is an intelligent mix of uncanny trend identification, a strategic fusion of promising ideas, top-tier talent, and funding through its versatile platform. With a stunning track record of more than 60 company investments, $500 million in subsequent financing, and more than $1.3 billion in acquisitions, Science Inc. is a definite leader in the venture builder space.
The firm has carved out an impressive niche in diverse sectors, including ecommerce, marketplaces, influencer networks, and blockchain technology.
10. Borgfy
Borgfy is a venture studio that strives to revolutionize digital transformation. The company was started in 2021 by a dynamic entrepreneur, Abdullah Imran, who envisioned a world where technology and business ideas converge to bring about innovation. Based on this vision, Borgfy provides all-encompassing product development services to guide businesses from the birth of an idea to a successful market launch.
The firm’s expertise spans app development, AI, and user interface/user experience (UI/UX) design. With a portfolio that features an influencer booking app and a Qatari travel app, Borgfy established itself as a trailblazer in driving digital initiatives for enterprises and startups alike.
As a venture studio, Borgfy continuously mentors aspiring entrepreneurs as well as providing them with funding and cofounding roles. This unique business model significantly mitigates risks and facilitates faster growth, making Borgfy’s success rate approximately 30% higher than other contemporary models.
11. Alien Technology Transfer
Alien Technology Transfer, the brainchild of Fabio Manzi and Alessandro Rufo, has grown from a small London-based startup in 2013 to a beacon of global innovation today. With offices across three continents, this venture studio has made a name for itself by managing a multitalented team and overseeing an impressive $550 million in raised funds for European and US clients.
In 2022 alone, Alien Technology Transfer helped land a significant €3.3 million ($3.5 million) grant from the European Innovation Council for its first venture studio project, Astound.
With its goal of converting visionary ideas into tangible realities and empower budding companies to revolutionize the industry, Alien Technology Transfer does more than fund projects. The firm provides end-to-end support in research and development (R&D), business model development, and executive selection as well as guidance in critical business functions like human resources (HR), admin, legal, information technology (IT), and marketing communication.
This unique approach allows companies to focus on what they do best: driving their projects and getting their breakthrough technologies to market.
12. Idealab Studio
Founded by parallel entrepreneur Bill Gross in 2018, Idealab Studio builds on the legacy of Idealab, which Gross established back in 1996. The startup studio invests in exceptional founders tackling big problems across AI/Robotics, Consumer/Commerce, Enterprise, and Clean Energy sectors.
As a pioneer of parallel entrepreneurship, Gross has built multiple scalable ventures simultaneously for over two decades, refining a model that blends rapid innovation with strategic execution. The studio provides hands-on support to help portfolio companies achieve strong valuations and successful exits, leveraging decades of startup experience.
Gross’s innovations include inventing the “paid click” model with GoTo.com that now powers much of internet monetization. His recent ventures include Heliogen (renewable energy) and Energy Vault (energy storage), both of which have successfully reached public markets. With this impressive track record, Idealab Studio continues its mission of transforming breakthrough ideas into companies with meaningful impact.