“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clarke
SCROLL DOWN1. About Us
1. About Us
ifMagic Ventures seeks visionary founders
ifMagic Ventures seeks visionary founders
Founders that not only can develop products no one else can, but go further and develop products no one else can imagine. What the world can’t fathom today, what the world sees as indistinguishable from magic, is actually a technological inevitability in the eyes of such entrepreneurs.
We partner with leaders who see radical solutions to the world’s biggest problems
We partner with leaders who see radical solutions to the world’s biggest problems
When we look back in history, the biggest problems weren’t solved by the common ideas of that age, but rather by some new, transformative shift in understanding. We believe such shifts are inevitable and we want to help the entrepreneurial dreamers that reach into the future and bring back magic in their hand.
2. Investment Criteria
Nurture your idea with us
ifMagic Ventures partners and invests with visionary founders at the earliest stages. While most investments are done at the Seed and Series A stages, we love discussing ideas with founders long before that.
We find that the most fascinating solutions to today’s problems are best solved by radical thinkers that typically don’t realize the magnitude of their scientific undertaking or reasons others have failed with their concept in the past. These are dreamers we absolutely want to speak with and help shepherd that fragile idea into a fundable product and company. Our investment approach is high-touch, with both partners closely involved with each investment and company. Founders can expect both partners in each meeting and call, with the benefit of varied viewpoints and experiences to draw upon.
The fund also understands that radical solutions ripped from the pages of science fiction take time. Ours is a patient approach, knowing that the most valuable, transformative companies often take longer. Our goal is to help founders accelerate the realization and broad adoption of the magic they develop.
3. Meet our Team
Curtis co-founded ifMagic Ventures based on the belief that there is no greater way to positively impact the future of humanity than through pioneering, technological progress. Core to this is the desire to identify and assist entrepreneurs developing what the world would today call “magic”, but which is in reality merely a future technology yet to be realized.
Although now an investor with over a decade of startup investing experience, Curtis began his career as an entrepreneur. While finishing his degrees in computer engineering and mechanical engineering at Lehigh University, he developed and patented a new type of microwave antenna. This invention led to the formation of his startup hField Technologies, which sold long-range WiFi communication devices.
After leaving hField Technologies, Curtis joined the investment team of High Tech Gruenderfonds in Germany, one of the most active seed stage funds in the world ($1 billion under management, 130 exits, 600 active portfolio companies). At HTGF, he personally invested and managed a lucrative venture fund portfolio of over a dozen startups, with a core focus on deep-tech investing. This portfolio covered a mix of both software and communication startups, as well as robots, encryption, and AI, and has led to some of the fund’s largest recent exits. Curtis continues to support prior portfolio companies as a Venture Partner at HTGF.
Ajay co-founded IFMagic Ventures to support mission-driven founders and seed-stage, deep-tech companies that are here to co-create a better future by disrupting the status-quo and by doing the impossible. He actively seeks the entrepreneurs with a ‘magical-mindset‘ who view problems and challenges as opportunities.
A Silicon Valley native, Ajay brings decades of experience as a successful serial entrepreneur and startup investor. An engineer by nature (with a degree in genetic engineering), Ajay loves creating companies and working with founders. As an entrepreneur himself, Ajay’s been part of the core executive team in 11 startups, 7 of which were successfully acquired and 2 of which IPO’d. He’s also been an active angel investor.
Ajay is passionate about transformative companies, which have identified a significant opportunity which is most easily addressed through radical, new technology.
4. Portfolio highlights
"As the founder and CEO of Beyond Imagination I am delighted to have ifMagic Ventures as a venture partner. Curtis and Ajay are a pleasure to work with, they provide excellent advice and feedback to us, but are never intrusive. Since coming onto our board, they have applied their great wealth of knowledge to help us position our company for future investment rounds, guidance on acquisition of customers, and positioning of the companies objectives. We often but don’t always agree on matters, and they are fine with that, giving advice and not orders. As the visionary for the company I appreciate they respect my process and my vision for the company. We see them as a true partner and I would highly recommend any startup company to consider them for funding"
Dr. Harry Kloor
"Partnering with ifMagic was an obvious choice for us – no other firm we encountered had the same combination of grit, patience, and expertise. Ajay & Curtis together deliver an incredibly wide and thorough scope of knowledge, while the long term view they take on startups and revolutionary technology is hard to come by. For any founding team looking for a 10 year partner to change the world with, ifMagic is a clear winner."
Ben Taft, Matt Stern & Montana Reed
"As a serial entrepreneur and senior tech executive, I have been in Silicon Valley for a while and Ajay is someone I respect and trust as a high value seed investor I would be happy to lead my seed round anytime. Ajay and Curtis add real value and are always available at key moments in the company’s journey to provide guidance and expertise to help us navigate challenging situation as well as growth and scale opportunities. They’ve been an invaluable partner to us through multiple follow-on rounds and supported us from the start. Plus, they’ve helped us recruit top talent and been a sounding board for our entire team. Ajay’s entrepreneurial background combined with Curtis financial and venture prowess is a good combination to have on your side and most importantly they are very approachable and always willing to roll up their sleeves and work with you on the problem, and open to feedback and collaboration, this is rare to find and very valuable."
Prem Kiran
“ZaiNar chose ifMagic over competing investors because they were more founder friendly, had technical chops to understand and add value to what we do, and great industry and domain expertise. They have been great to work with, and with their collaborative approach, we are able to fully leverage both senior partners. I recommend them to any entrepreneur that has the opportunity to work with them.”
Daniel Jacker
5. Say Hello!
Let’s connect!