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Midas List 2026 · 100 investors · Forbes

The power law is a deal and a zip code.

41
investors backed an AI & Data company this year.
12
investors are in the Musk orbit (SpaceX & xAI).
58
in California. Most within a 30-mile arc.

By notable deal

By location · 100 investors

58 California 19 Other US 8 Europe 5 Other 10 China

Source: Forbes Midas List 2026; author’s analysis.  Note: interpretation and views are the author’s own.

The age floor

No one on this list is under 30.

Venture is sold as a young person's game. The Midas List says otherwise.

Midas rewards realized exits most. Those take a decade to mature.

Access runs on trust. Trust is not granted, it is earned over time.

You can't win a deal you weren't allowed into. One of the youngest VCs started his fund at 25, and still took ten years to get in.

The house wins

Seats on the list follow the firm.

The biggest houses place the most investors. A few individuals broke through without one.

Top firms by seats

AI Fintech SaaS/Data Defense Security

Outside the houses

Ramtin Naimi
Abstract Ventures · No college · Founded fund at 25 · $1.8B AUM · Notable: xAI
Sarah Guo
Conviction · Solo GP · Ex-Greylock · Notable: Sierra (enterprise AI)
Ali Partovi
Neo · Engineer-turned-angel · Harvard CS · Notable: Cursor