Pathbreaker Ventures

General contacts

Investor type

Founded

2016

AUM

Location

San Francisco, California, United States

Investment Ticket

$1-5 m

Investment Stage

Pre-seed Seed

Region of investment

North America

Investor profile last updated: 18 August, 2026

Profile

Pathbreaker Ventures is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California, founded in 2016. The firm is led by Ryan Gembala, a former Facebook deal lead, and focuses on investing in technology companies that leverage proprietary technology in emerging areas of computer science. Pathbreaker Ventures is known for its emphasis on founder control and its commitment to supporting technically deep founders tackling hard problems.

The firm primarily invests in sectors such as robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and hardware. Pathbreaker Ventures targets early-stage investments, specifically pre-seed and seed rounds, with typical check sizes ranging from $250K to $1M. The firm focuses on investments within the United States and has a portfolio of 52 companies with 21 exits.

Notable investments by Pathbreaker Ventures include Reliable Robotics - aerospace and defense, Material Hybrid Manufacturing - energy storage, Bravo Ordnance - aerospace and defense, and Diligent Robotics - robotics. The firm continues to actively seek new investments in its focus areas.

Industry

Defense Hardware Internet and Web Services Robotics Software AI Aerospace Deeptech

Contacts

Name

Title

Social Networks

Ryan Gembala Managing Partner

Managing Partner

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Investment-team contacts for Pathbreaker Ventures — including verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — are available to Private Equity List subscribers.
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FAQs about Pathbreaker Ventures

Is Pathbreaker Ventures a venture capital or private equity firm?

Pathbreaker Ventures is a venture capital firm. It backs companies at Pre-seed and Seed, writing tickets of $1-5 m.

Where is Pathbreaker Ventures located?

Pathbreaker Ventures is located in San Francisco, California, United States.

When was Pathbreaker Ventures founded?

Pathbreaker Ventures was founded in 2016.

What sectors and industries does Pathbreaker Ventures invest in?

Pathbreaker Ventures invests in companies and startups in Defense, Hardware, Internet and Web Services, Robotics, Software, AI, Aerospace, Deeptech.

What is Pathbreaker Ventures geographical focus of investments?

Pathbreaker Ventures invests in companies and startups in North America.

At what stages of companies and startups does Pathbreaker Ventures typically invest in?

Pathbreaker Ventures invests in companies and startups at Pre-seed, Seed.

What is the usual amount of Pathbreaker Ventures investment?

Pathbreaker Ventures usually invests $1-5 m on average.

What are the contacts of Pathbreaker Ventures?

Pathbreaker Ventures can be reached through its website pathbreakervc.com, its LinkedIn page and its X account. Cold-mailing a general inbox rarely reaches a partner, so Private Equity List also lists the investment-team contacts for Pathbreaker Ventures — names, roles, verified work emails and LinkedIn profiles — available on a Pro plan from $129/month (see pricing). Contacts are sourced from the firm's website and LinkedIn and re-verified on a rolling cycle. Spot a stale contact, or none at all? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.

Can I access Pathbreaker Ventures data via API or MCP?

Yes. Every field on this page — profile, funds, investment criteria, portfolio and investment-team contacts — is available programmatically through the Private Equity List REST API and MCP server, so AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT can query Pathbreaker Ventures directly instead of scraping this page. One subscription covers both the web app and machine access — see API & MCP.

When was the Pathbreaker Ventures profile last updated?

Private Equity List re-verifies investor profiles on a rolling cycle, pulling from the firm's own website and LinkedIn rather than a one-off import. This profile was last updated on 18 August, 2026. Something out of date here? Report it — we re-run that firm within 48h and get back to you.