Fundamental Ventures
Remove
The
Constraints.

First check into founders removing constraints that hold back human progress.

Systems Unlock
Stoke Space
Eliminating the constraint
Rocket reusability — the binding cost on humanity's access to orbit. Every part reusable. Every flight.
Systems Unlock
Hermeus
Eliminating the constraint
Speed — the binding constraint on how humans connect across continents. Hypersonic flight shrinks the world.
New Frontier
Ginkgo Bioworks
Eliminating the constraint
The programmability of living systems — opening cell engineering to every industry at the speed of software.
Human Condition
ZBiotics
Eliminating the constraint
Acetaldehyde — the toxic byproduct of alcohol the body can't clear fast enough. Engineered probiotics break it down before it ever reaches the bloodstream.
Productivity
Somewear Labs
Eliminating the constraint
Communications in contested environments — the binding constraint on teams operating beyond the reach of infrastructure. Somewear keeps them connected and in command.
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Where the future is being built
The Companies
Companies that identified a chokepoint — and are removing it.
Stoke Space
Systems Unlock
Stoke Space
Fully reusable rockets making orbital access as routine as commercial aviation.
ZBiotics
Human Condition
ZBiotics
Engineered probiotic that breaks down acetaldehyde — the compound responsible for feeling rough after drinking.
Exowatt
Systems Unlock
Exowatt
Solar-thermal storage converting sunlight into 24/7 dispatchable power — built for AI data centers the grid can't reach in time.
Hermeus
Systems Unlock
Hermeus
Mach 5 aircraft cutting intercontinental travel to under two hours.
Ginkgo Bioworks
New Frontier
Ginkgo Bioworks
The platform for programming biology — making organism design as accessible as software development.
Payabli
Productivity
Payabli
Payments infrastructure for vertical SaaS and vertical AI — embed financial services in days, not months.
Rigetti Computing
New Frontier
Rigetti Computing
Full-stack quantum computing systems for problems classical computers cannot solve.
Adonis
Productivity
Adonis
AI revenue cycle platform that recovers what healthcare providers lose to claim denials, payer delays, and billing friction.
Recall.ai
Productivity
Recall.ai
Universal API for meeting bots — extracting structured data from every video call platform.
Greenlite
Productivity
Greenlite
AI that compresses construction permitting from months to weeks — catching compliance issues before they reach the reviewer's desk.
Somewear Labs
Productivity
Somewear Labs
Resilient edge communications for defense and field operations — satellite and mesh connectivity that works when infrastructure doesn't.
View full portfolio
Systems Unlock
Stoke Space
Fully reusable rockets making orbital access as routine as c…
→
Human Condition
ZBiotics
Engineered probiotic that breaks down acetaldehyde — the com…
→
Systems Unlock
Exowatt
Solar-thermal storage converting sunlight into 24/7 dispatch…
→
Systems Unlock
Hermeus
Mach 5 aircraft cutting intercontinental travel to under two…
→
New Frontier
Ginkgo Bioworks
The platform for programming biology — making organism desig…
→
Productivity
Payabli
Payments infrastructure for vertical SaaS and vertical AI — …
→
New Frontier
Rigetti Computing
Full-stack quantum computing systems for problems classical …
→ View full portfolio
Investment Thesis
Identify.
Back.
Remove.

The thesis is simple: find the constraints holding back human progress, back the founders attacking them at the root, and help remove them.

The name cuts both ways: we back founders removing fundamental constraints, and founders who know that company building comes down to fundamentals — doing the basics exceptionally well. Domain depth, support, and execution pattern recognition are the tools. Constraint removal is always the outcome.

What I look for
Founders who change things don't work around the constraint.
They remove it.

I look for founders attacking a chokepoint that's holding back an entire system. That takes different shapes: hard tech and deep science breaking through physical and biological limits; network and workflow innovations that quietly rewire how entire industries operate; and new science that opens territory that simply wasn't accessible before.

What ties it together: founders who've proven mastery somewhere — on the mat, in the lab, in code, on stage, in the field. Anyone who knows what it costs to be genuinely excellent at something hard. The constraint isn't just a market opportunity. It's a test of character and the ability to execute against the fundamentals. The ones who show up are the ones who've already passed it.

— Charlie Pinto, Founder & General Partner
Charlie Pinto
Founder & General Partner
Charlie
Pinto
Fundamental Ventures · First Check & Seed

Operating Partner at Bling Capital. Former NCAA Division I wrestler. YC-backed founder. Operator who has taken products from near-zero to nine figures in revenue. Every chapter sharpened the same instinct: find the actual bottleneck, not the symptom — and execute the fundamentals to unlock the constraint.

60+ investments spanning computation and data, physical and engineering, biological and chemical, capital and commerce, analytics and software, health and longevity, and consumer experience — from first check through IPO.

LinkedIn Bling Capital Writing