Two Small Fish Ventures

Two Small Fish Ventures operates as an early-stage deep technology venture capital firm, strategically investing in the evolving landscape of computing and its applications. The firm prioritizes backing nascent products, platforms, and protocols designed to significantly alter large-scale behaviors, leveraging the diminishing cost of intelligence as a core driver. Their investment approach emphasizes creating defensibility through robust technological moats and powerful data-driven network effects across various sectors including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and robotics.

The firm launched in 2015, co-founded by Allen and Eva Lau, whose extensive experience scaling Wattpad to over 100 million users informed their initial investment thesis centered on the power of network effects. This foundational insight into exponential value creation and defensibility at scale guided their early successes. As the technological paradigm shifted, the firm evolved its focus to deep tech, applying its partners' engineering and startup leadership backgrounds to identify and support complex, hard-to-build innovations.

Two Small Fish Ventures targets founders developing transformative deep tech solutions globally, aiming to help them translate their innovations into market-ready products and successful businesses. The firm's vision is to identify and empower companies that achieve widespread adoption, fundamentally change user behavior, democratize access to new capabilities, and unlock substantial, previously unattainable value within the global technology ecosystem.

Two Small Fish Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in deep tech investments, focusing on the next frontier of computing and its applications. Their mission is to back visionary founders early in their journey and support them until they become industry-disrupting leaders. The firm’s investment philosophy is thesis-driven and founder-friendly, leveraging the partners’ backgrounds as engineers, entrepreneurs, and operators to identify and nurture groundbreaking technologies. Key sectors include semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and other advanced computing technologies. Two Small Fish Ventures plays a significant role in the startup ecosystem by providing not only capital but also operational expertise and strategic guidance, helping startups scale and achieve extraordinary success[1][2][4].

Founded in 2014 originally as an angel investment group in Toronto, Two Small Fish Ventures evolved into a full venture capital firm with a focus on early-stage deep tech startups. The founding partners bring extensive experience from successful entrepreneurial and technical backgrounds, including pioneering AI storytelling and scaling global tech companies. Their evolution reflects a commitment to recycling their knowledge and capital to empower the next generation of founders. The firm has launched multiple funds, including a $24 million fund in 2022 targeting approximately 20 early-stage investments primarily in Canada[2][3].

Core Differentiators

• Unique Investment Model: Early-stage focus on deep tech with a thesis-driven approach.
• Founders’ Experience: Partners are former engineers, entrepreneurs, and operators who provide hands-on support.
• Network Strength: Strong connections in the tech ecosystem, especially in Canada.
• Track Record: Proven success in backing startups that have scaled globally and achieved major exits (e.g., Wattpad).
• Operating Support: Active involvement in fundraising, product strategy, and team scaling advice[1][2].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Two Small Fish Ventures rides the wave of rapid innovation in computing technologies, particularly AI and semiconductors, at a time when these sectors are transforming industries globally. The timing is critical as deep tech startups require specialized knowledge and patient capital to navigate complex development cycles. By focusing on early-stage investments, the firm helps bridge the gap between breakthrough research and commercial success, influencing the broader ecosystem by fostering innovation hubs in Canada and beyond[1][2][3].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Two Small Fish Ventures is poised to continue expanding its influence by supporting startups that push the boundaries of computing technology. Trends such as AI democratization, advanced semiconductor design, and new computing paradigms will shape their investment journey. Their founder-centric approach and deep technical expertise position them well to identify and scale the next generation of tech giants, reinforcing their role as a catalyst in the global deep tech ecosystem[1][2][3].