Lightning Round IX
Lightning Round is 1752vc's signature pitch competition. Applications for Lightning Round IX are now closed. Five finalists pitch live on Thursday, October 8, and one leaves with a shot at $100k direct investment from 1752vc.
Lightning Round IX Early-Stage Tech Selection for 1752vc's Accelerate
Lightning Round IX is a focused, high-speed selection event to identify early-stage tech startups for 1752vc's Accelerate, our execution-first accelerator with $100k direct investment. The format is simple: crisp pitches, operator-grade questions, and decisive outcomes. We're prioritizing founders with technical depth, rapid iteration, and early traction signals.
What winning founders gain:
$100k investment at acceptance into 1752vc's Accelerate
Access to our investor and mentor network, media amplification, and distribution pathways
A rigorous operating cadence to accelerate product-market fit, growth, and fundraising
Feedback on product, pitch and go-to-market from investors who are not being polite
A spotlight in our investor and LP newsletter and across our social channels
Access to the $1M perks package
What we look for:
Technical edge in software, AI, or frontier tech
Early proof via pilots, paying users, or retention
Relentless execution and clear, data-backed focus
This is the gateway into 1752vc's Accelerate.
Finalists
Five finalists pitch live on Zoom for $100K and a fast track into 1752vc's Accelerate: Wizium AI, Tener.ai, Adomo, AskIt, and Neural Wave.
Wizium AI (Andrew Botnev): Agentic operating system that runs commerce for sellers, from sourcing to marketplace ops.
Tener.ai (Nick Nagatkin): AI recruiter that hires on references and behavioral signals, end to end in 10 days.
Adomo (Sharmin Ali): Security platform for enterprise AI agents.
AskIt (Lotan Magal): Simulates human decisions to predict consumer behavior before you spend.
Neural Wave (Chayan Bhattacharyay): Automates the doctor's clinical workflow inside the EHR.
What the night looks like
We open with the investor panel. Each judge on what they are actively writing checks into right now, what they keep passing on, and why.
Then the final. Five startups pitch live over Zoom, take real questions from the panel, and a decision gets made.
You are not pitching into a void. You are pitching to a live investor panel, and the room is watching.
Meet the judges
Keith Yoder - Director of Business Development and Sr. Associate at Innovent Capital Group, where he works with companies from early-stage to Series A.
Avag Simonyan is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Triple S Ventures. Based in Los Angeles, he has led Triple S investments in AI, biotech, health tech, and quantum startups, including BlueQubit, SimCare AI, and Sparxell.
Vinnie Shahzad - VP of Startup Banking at Silicon Valley Bank, an angel investor, and co-founder and Executive Director of the Bruin Angels Investor Network, UCLA's angel group.
Sponsors & Partners
Huge thank you to our sponsors and partners: Ramp, Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, and Innovent Capital.
We're grateful to partner with companies that understand what it takes to build and scale category-defining businesses.
About 1752vc
1752vc is an early-stage venture capital firm and accelerator based in Southern California. 1752 backs founders at the inflection point - helping them achieve escape velocity.
About 1752vc's Accelerate
1752vc's Accelerate is a rolling‑application accelerator built for startups at the inflection point - where founder‑led growth is tipping into repeatable, scalable systems. When selected, we invest $100k and immediately engage on the handful of levers that compound momentum: tight GTM, operational cadence, and fundraising discipline.