We are seeking our next partner to join Armory Square Ventures.

For the last several years, our firm has operated as a tight-knit partnership, bolstered by a rich ecosystem of specialized advisors. Adding another full-time partner is not a decision we undertake lightly; it reflects a strategic imperative to meet the evolving needs of the market and our growing portfolio. We are casting a wide net as we search for an individual with a proven track record in both operating and investing. This partner must possess the credibility and reputation to source and close LPs, drive high-quality deal flow, and leverage an established network distinct from our own, allowing us to meaningfully broaden our firm’s aperture.

While extensive technology and investing experience is a must, cultural fit remains paramount. We are looking for a leader who embodies Armory’s core values: grit, humility, curiosity, a team-first ethos, and a deep-seated passion for betting on underdogs building transformative companies in overlooked industries and regions. Our new partner will work closely alongside Somak, Neenah, Michael, and Anthony as a member of our investment committee.

As ever, this search is driven by our conviction in where the truly exceptional venture returns will be generated in this cycle. While horizontal foundation models may capture immense aggregate market value, we believe the most asymmetric returns will come from specialized vertical applications. In these markets, defensibility is not built on model architecture alone, but rather from commercial execution. Leveraging powerful new technologies into enduring business models requires navigating risk-averse procurement, integrating into fragmented legacy systems, and establishing distribution where others see friction.

We are seeking a partner with the operating judgment and commercial rigor to help our founders build these revenue engines from the ground up.

This new partner will join the fold amid an exceptionally active period for our firm. Thus far in 2026, we have had the privilege of partnering with seven exceptional founding teams: Besty, Champion, Nebex, Shelfmark, TireTutor, Variabl, and PromptPath. These startups span various industries, but virtually all share a defining characteristic: they are building AI to automate mission-critical workflows in traditional sectors.

In venture, as in markets, success rarely comes from simply adopting the latest technology; it comes from understanding the friction it creates and executing through it. We look forward to identifying the right new partner to help these companies, and the rest of our portfolio, execute through the noise.

Interested candidates should reach out directly to Anita Mwashi at anita@armorysv.com.

Events

• On November 10, the INSPYRE Innovation Hub in Syracuse hosted Capital Evolution, a Fireside Chat featuring bestselling author Elizabeth MacBride in conversation with ASV Managing Partner Somak Chattopadhyay. Thank you to CenterState CEO for cohosting and KeyBank for sponsoring.

• Ahead of our 2027 CEO Summit, we are organizing an intimate working session hosted by seasoned C-level operators who have managed public companies and operationalized AI across diverse lines of business. The agenda will focus directly on the kinds of commercial bottlenecks AI startups must navigate, from optimizing spend to reengineering sales motions for an AI-native world. For founders in our network who have not yet taken our AI survey, we encourage you to spend five minutes doing so here; your insights will directly shape these tactical discussions.

Company Updates

• On the heels of a phenomenal quarter, Besty kicked off its Fall 2026 tour with stops in cities like Atlanta, Nashville, Orlando, Madrid, Lyon, and Dubai.

• At the annual Diwali at Times Square gala at Tribeca 360 in New York City, Nebex Founder/CEO Tejpaul Bhatia was named "Man of the Year" in recognition of his entrepreneurial leadership and innovation.

• In a recent letter to the community, Heretto CEO Patrick Bosek announced the launch of Heretto Open Projects (HOP). In addition to building AI capabilities directly into the core platform, HOP is designed to seed an open-source ecosystem that empowers developers to build custom, tailored AI solutions on top of Heretto’s bedrock Content Operations system.

• Variabl introduced Variabl MCP, a new feature powered by their internal AI, Vai, that allows companies to connect Variabl directly to their own AI environments (like Claude or OpenAI). Using the open MCP standard, this integration lets teams investigate their sales compensation setups—such as plan configurations, governance reviews, and calculation data—and analyze those results alongside broader company data, like CRM pipeline or revenue figures, directly within their own internal AI workflows.

Jobs

• Champion is hiring a Business Development Representative.

• Compyl is hiring across several roles in Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success.

• Heretto is hiring a Customer Issues Developer and a Senior DevOps Engineer, both hybrid roles based in its Kraków office.

• Motive is hiring across sales and implementation.

• Thoughtly is hiring across GTM, engineering, and product roles, all based in its NYC office.

• TireTutor is hiring an Account Executive, a Customer Success Manager, and a Director of Product Marketing.

• Qumis is hiring for senior and founding roles spanning sales, growth, and engineering.

About ASV

Armory Square Ventures (ASV) is a venture capital firm based in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, with offices in NYC and Indianapolis. The firm was an early investor in ACV Auctions (NASDAQ:ACVA), Bentobox (acquired by Fiserv), and numerous other high-growth B2B Software companies.

We lead seed and early-stage rounds in B2B SaaS, marketplace, and vertical AI companies and play an active role recruiting talent, customers, and follow-on capital to help our companies scale.

We like to say we are an optimism engine for secondary cities and a community catalyst for regions outside Silicon Valley. As a firm, we are also enriched and nourished by individuals from a range of backgrounds, who are all passionate about uplifting and inspiring growth in cities across the Northeast and Midwest.

• Stage: Seed & Series A

• Location: Management based in New York State and/or other emerging cities across the US

• Check Size: $500k - $3M in the first round with plenty of reserves for follow-on capital

• Business Profile & Model: Software, mobile, or technology-enabled services (emphasis on B2B) with repeatable, recurring, or transaction-based revenue models

• Market: Addressable markets of at least $1B+

• Team: Full-time technical/product leader and sales/marketing leader

• Traction & Unit Economics: Prototype of product deployed with a small sample size of customers; capital efficient

We’re hard at work scouting new investments. If you or someone you know has startup questions, reach out to Anthony (email below). We are actively investing out of our third fund and look forward to sharing more on it as it continues to take shape.

Best wishes in the meantime.

The Armory Square Ventures Team

Get in Touch

Have an opportunity to discuss or want to talk startups?

• Anthony Santaro - anthony@armorysv.com