Jonathan Chow's investing perspective is shaped by hands-on exposure to startup operators like BuildPass and Matilda, and he advises founders bluntly to understand a VC's specific thesis before pitching rather than offering generic advice. His investment picks show a pattern of connecting technology to real-world shifts, whether that's backing gaming startups like Layer for their use of recognizable pop culture to make digital worlds feel real, or backing BuildPass for using AI to modernize the overlooked, labor-heavy construction industry.
About their Fund
Carthona started as a syndicate of angel investors making deals one by one before becoming a formal fund, and it now invests globally from pre-seed onward, backing companies like Daedalean and Ouster while building its picks around specific themes about where technology is heading rather than judging startups case by case; it also follows a strong follow-on strategy, staying in one company through eight rounds, and builds enforceable environmental terms like carbon reporting directly into its term sheets rather than just talking about sustainability. Beyond typical software and fintech bets, Carthona has funded frontier technology such as autonomous vehicle lidar and autopilot systems for private flying vehicles, has backed a platform giving Australia's mass affluent investors access to private markets usually reserved for institutions and the ultra-wealthy, and has taken only one cold-email pitch as an investment in the fund's history.
















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