• Ali Partovi’s Neo scouts and mentors top young technologists, fueling billion-dollar startups like Anysphere and Bluesky.
  • The Neo Scholars program and accelerator focus on talent, not just ideas, with a rigorous, personalised selection process.
  • Neo’s funds deliver strong returns, validating its patient, talent-first investment strategy.

In a Silicon Valley landscape dominated by celebrity founders, Ali Partovi’s influence is quietly reshaping the future of tech entrepreneurship.

The Iranian-born Harvard alum, whose early ventures include LinkExchange and iLike, and who co-founded Code.org, has long been a signal investor in giants like Facebook and Airbnb.

Now, his eight-year-old venture firm Neo is delivering on its promise to discover and nurture tomorrow’s tech superstars.

Neo’s approach is unique: rather than backing specific trends or established teams, Partovi and his partners focus on identifying exceptional individuals-often while they’re still in college.

Through the Neo Scholars program, 30 students each year receive a $20,000 grant to take a gap semester and pursue ambitious projects, with no equity taken. Neo also runs an accelerator for early-stage startups, funding and mentoring 20 companies annually.

This strategy is producing impressive results. Neo was the first institutional backer of Bluesky, the decentralised social network now valued at $700 million, and Kalshi, a fast-growing prediction market.

Perhaps most notably, Neo’s early support helped MIT student Michael Truell launch Anysphere, whose AI-powered coding tool Cursor is now flirting with a $10 billion valuation.

Other Neo alumni have founded Cognition ($4 billion valuation), Pika Labs ($700 million), and Chai Discovery, which raised $30 million from OpenAI and Thrive Capital.

Partovi’s selection process is rigorous, emphasising technical ability, entrepreneurial drive, the courage to challenge norms, and a magnetic quality that attracts top talent.

“If [this individual] started something, how likely would their smartest friends be to join them?” he asks.

Neo’s funds are already showing strong returns, with the first fund tripling or quadrupling in value and the second more than doubling thanks to Anysphere.

As competition grows, Neo remains selective, prioritising quality over scale-even as applications double each year.

Partovi’s advice to founders is simple: focus on building products people love, not just making money. “Money is the result, not the goal,” he says.

Edited by Annette George