Restive Ventures, the early-stage venture firm, has closed its third fund with $45 million in committed capital, targeting what the firm projects will be a $1 trillion market opportunity in AI-native financial services. Fund III attracted a mix of returning limited partners and new institutional investors, including endowments and global asset managers, as well as strategic partners across banking, insurance, payments, and technology.
The firm’s thesis centers on a new generation of companies not merely improving legacy fintech systems but building entirely new products, workflows, and outcomes across payments, commerce, and financial operations. Restive says these AI-native startups are reaching scale faster and with less capital than prior generations, and the firm intends to continue writing the first check into founders at the earliest stages with a concentrated, high-conviction approach.
Fund III builds on a track record that includes Restive’s 2019 Fund I, currently marked at 6.3x, and its 2021 Fund II, marked at 4x. The firm’s portfolio includes one public company and two unicorns, with dozens of additional companies raising hundreds of millions in follow-on capital. A notable early signal for Fund III came from portfolio company Hiro, which was acquired by OpenAI just three months after emerging from stealth.
Restive said it plans to invest across agentic payments, autonomous underwriting, and AI-driven financial operations, areas the firm believes will define how capital moves, risk is assessed, and financial decisions are made over the coming decade. The close of Fund III marks a continued bet that the most durable financial infrastructure companies of the next era will be built AI-first from day one.
KEY QUOTES:
“Financial services are being rebuilt from the ground up. AI is enabling entirely new categories that didn’t exist before. We expect AI to add $1T in new financial services revenue over the next decade, and we intend to back the founders who are pursuing this opportunity early. Building on the success of our investing in AI companies starting in previous funds, we want to continue to be their first check and most helpful partner.”
Ryan Falvey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Restive Ventures
“Smaller, disciplined funds drive stronger returns, and our strategy is simple: stay concentrated, stay early, and be helpful.”
Tyler Griffin, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Restive Ventures
