BOOTSTRAPLABS PRESS KIT

About BootstrapLabs

Please use the following description when writing about or introducing BootstrapLabs.

Founded in 2008, BootstrapLabs is a leading Venture Capital firm based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence. BootstrapLabs invests in and empowers the most talented founders to solve today’s hardest problems by applying artificial intelligence to shape a better future

BootstrapLabs is often the first institutional money and acts as a lead investor in the early stages, with follow-on capital at the growth stages.

Artificial Intelligence is impacting every single sector and we are particularly excited about Transportation, Logistics, Energy, the Future of Work (FoW), Cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), Health, and FinTech.

As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know it takes an exceptional team amplified by a nurturing community to build successful companies, so we stand by our founders in good times and bad times, because the road to success is paved with setbacks, challenges, and lessons learned from past failures – and building something big is hard.

Ultimately we believe technology should always be used to create a positive impact on society, and that founders should always place fellow humans at the heart of their vision.

BootstrapLabs Headshots / Images / Bios

Click on image for high-resolution version. Then use CTRL-Mouse Click/Save Image to download.

Nicolai is the Founder, CEO and General Partner of BootstrapLabs, a leading venture capital firm, based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence and one of the most active firms in the Applied Artificial Intelligence space.

Nicolai launched his first business at 15, first tech startup in his early 20’s and have been launching and building companies through-out his professional career and launched BootstrapLabs in San Francisco Bay Area in 2008.

He brings 25+ years of operational experience as founding CEO & CTO scaling software technology platforms in VR, Internet, Financial Trading Systems (publicly listed on NASDAQ:OMX), Enterprise Software, etc.

Through BootstrapLabs he has invested in, advised, and mentored 35+ companies and founding teams, helping them successfully build and scale proprietary technology, products, teams and operations

He is applying lifetime of operational, entrepreneurial and technology product development experience to support the BootstrapLabs portfolio companies to build and scale.

He is also a frequent speaker and mentor at top Universities and Conferences in the US and Europe on topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Disruption, Startups and Venture Capital.

Ben is the Co-Founder of BootstrapLabs, a leading venture capital firm, based in Silicon Valley and focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence.

Over the past 7 years, Ben has been actively investing in software technology startups and supporting BootstrapLabs’ portfolio companies and their founders. Some of BootstrapLabs’ portfolio companies include AEye, Qurious.io, Roger.ai, Vidora, Mendel, Indus, Sibly, Prezi, AngelList, and Trusted Insight.

Born in France and living in Silicon Valley for the past 20 years, Ben is a repeat entrepreneur who launched, built and exited two startups in the financial technology space. Praedea Solutions, a data mining software company using machine learning and image recognition technology, that was acquired by Mergent in 2005, and InsideVenture, a financial social network for the founders of venture-backed pre-IPO startups and long-only institutional investors on Wall Street, that was acquired by SecondMarket in 2009 (and is now part of NASDAQ).

Earlier in his career, Ben was a Technology, Media, and Telecom Investment Banker who advised CxOs of Fortune 500 companies and startup founders on corporate strategy, financing, and M&A. Over a period of 10 years, Ben helped his clients raise over $300M from institutional investors and close over $5B in M&A transactions. His banking experience spans across firms like Lazard, SG Cowen, Houlihan Lokey, Wedbush Securities, and QuantumWave Capital.

Ben is also a member of AAAI (Association for the Advancement of AI), and a frequent keynote speaker on innovation, technology investing, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence in the US, Europe, and Asia.