Specialist venture capital, one vertical at a time
Dallas, Texas ·
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Est. 2026
I.
The firm
We invest from seed to Series B through 44 specialist verticals, each with its own team and two funds, run from six offices. We started with the hardware nobody sees, under AI and industry, and now back founders from AI and biotech to defense, fintech and housing. Then we work on the hardest step: a first buyer, and for hardware, a test site and a warranty buyers can trust.
III. Texas Proving Ground
A field test.A first buyer.A warranty.
Other funds give founders money and advice. We are building standard pilot sites across Texas, buyers who want to test, and insurer-backed warranties buyers can trust. Programs in formation.
IV. Three ways in
Choose your path.
Build
Founders in any of our 44 verticals: seed to Series B capital, a first buyer and, for hardware, a field test and a warranty.
IIBuy and host
Utilities, plants, farms, labs, well sites and mines: test new hardware on terms you set, with no obligation to buy.
IIIInvest
Two funds for each of our 44 verticals, plus cross-vertical vehicles, all in formation. A public overview, and a request-access path to confidential materials for qualified investors.
VI. How we’re different
Money, advice, and then some.
Every program exists to get a founder’s hardware from prototype to purchase order.
Texas Proving Ground
Standard pilot agreements with Texas host sites, so a company signs a short schedule instead of negotiating from scratch.
DiscoverBuyers at the table
Some of our investors may be companies that buy this hardware. With a founder’s consent, they hear when a company seeks a pilot.
DiscoverInsurer-backed warranties
A facility with an insurer to back performance warranties to buyers.
DiscoverDark Ice Foundry
New companies built from proven, unused technology at national labs, universities and corporate R&D.
DiscoverFounders share our carry
A pool that shares part of our carried interest with founders, paid only if and when we earn it.
DiscoverVII. Who we are
New, specialist, Dallas-based.
Dark Ice Ventures is a new venture capital firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake City and San Francisco. It was co-founded by Alexandra Pohl, its Chief Executive Officer, and William Pohl III, its Chief Operating Officer. It is part of Dark Ice Global, alongside Dark Ice Capital, the platform’s private capital arm, and Dark Ice Management, which runs shared operations. Every sector we invest in is a vertical with its own team and two funds; all of our funds are in formation.
We are a new firm, so we have no track record as a firm. Our co-founder William Pohl III began managing investment funds in 2005, running funds for Trustpoint Financial Corp., Tetra Homes Inc. and Majorwave Corp.
Dark ice
Dallas, Texas
VIII. Begin
Building in one of our verticals?
Tell us what you are building. We answer on fit within five business days.
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For founders