Trailblazing Investor Terri Burns Launches Own VC Firm, Type Capital

The former GV partner plans to cut checks for pre-seed and seed-stage investments through her early-stage venture capital firm.

Terri Burns, formerly a partner at Google Ventures, has launched Type Capital, her very own early-stage venture capital firm.

As stated on its official website, Type Capital aims to invest in trailblazing founders pushing the boundaries of social and technological innovation. According to Tech Crunch‘s report, Burns has etched her name among the select few Black women who have established their own venture firms, with her company planning to cut checks for pre-seed and seed-stage investments.

Burns has set her sights on Gen Z founders, digital consumer companies, developer tools, and artificial intelligence, aspiring to be the first investor on board, contrary to other other investors that she said wait to see if a company is worth an investment. Her goal is to identify promising founders and leverage her vast network to facilitate subsequent investment opportunities.

Burns’ trajectory in the venture industry commenced in 2017 when she joined GV. At the age of 26, she marked a historic moment in her career when she became GV’s youngest and first Black woman partner, according to BLACK ENTERPRISE. The New York University computer science graduate initially kickstarted her career as an associate product manager at Twitter. “When I started my career as a computer scientist and product manager, I was hyper-focused: there was always one project, one feature, and one team I was focused on,” she said at the time. “…As a VC, I have the unique opportunity to really go broad and understand the greater entrepreneurial and technological market. As a person with many different interests, it’s the perfect balance for me.”

Tech Crunch highlighted that Burns played an instrumental role in several of the firm’s successful investments during her tenure at GV. She spearheaded the investment into the social app HAGS, which was later acquired by Snapchat. She was involved in Partiful, which further cemented her reputation. The angel investor also co-founded an angel investment collective that has invested in nearly a dozen companies.

Burns, named on the 2021 Forbes “30 Under 30” list, also served on the board of the nonprofit Brave Initiatives, imparting coding skills to girls from underserved communities.