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April Underwood

North America, California, United States, San Francisco

Description

April Underwood is a prominent figure in the venture capital landscape, serving as the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Adverb Ventures. Launched in 2022 alongside co-founder Sarah Kunst, Adverb Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in the future of work. The firm specifically targets pre-seed and seed-stage companies, aiming to be the first institutional capital for promising startups.

Adverb Ventures focuses on a range of innovative sectors within the future of work, including AI-powered tools, collaboration platforms, developer tools, and vertical SaaS solutions. This strategic focus leverages Underwood's extensive background in product and technology, having held leadership roles at major tech companies like Slack (CPO), Twitter (Director of Product), and Google. Her operational experience provides deep insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by enterprise software and productivity tools.

Adverb Ventures successfully raised a $100 million Fund I to support its investment thesis. The firm typically writes initial checks ranging from $1 million to $3 million, aligning with its strategy of providing crucial early-stage funding. This approach allows Adverb to partner with founders at the foundational stages, offering not just capital but also strategic guidance derived from the team's operational expertise. The firm's commitment to being the first institutional investor underscores its belief in identifying and nurturing disruptive technologies that reshape how people work.

Investor Profile

April Underwood has backed more than 32 startups, with 1 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 0 rounds, about 0% of its total and boasts 3 exits across its portfolio.

Investment Focus Highlights

  • Concentrates on Seed, Series A, Convertible Note rounds (top funding stages).
  • Majority of deals are located in United States, Australia, United Kingdom.
  • Strong thematic focus on Software, Health Care, SaaS.
  • Typical check size: $1M – $3M.

Stage Focus

  • Seed (50%)
  • Series A (34%)
  • Convertible Note (6%)
  • Pre Seed (3%)
  • Series D (3%)
  • Series B (3%)

Country Focus

  • United States (94%)
  • Australia (3%)
  • United Kingdom (3%)

Industry Focus

  • Software
  • Health Care
  • Saas
  • Artificial Intelligence (Ai)
  • Apps
  • Information Technology
  • Internet
  • Finance
  • Financial Services
  • Fintech
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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn who this investor regularly partners with—both firms and angels—and explore their latest activity.

Who does April Underwood frequently co-invest with?

Chang Corporation
North America, New York, United States, New York
Co-Investments: 2
#Angels
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 2
Upside Partnership
North America, California, United States, Mill Valley
Co-Investments: 3
SV Angel
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 7
Expa
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 3
Afore Capital
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 2
Andreessen Horowitz
North America, California, United States, Menlo Park
Co-Investments: 5
Precursor Ventures
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 3
Haystack
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 3
Khosla Ventures
North America, California, United States, Menlo Park
Co-Investments: 2

Which angels does April Underwood often collaborate with?

CS
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 4
TR
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 2
TW
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 2
KW
North America, California, United States, Portola Valley
Shared Deals: 2
HS
Europe, England, United Kingdom, London
Shared Deals: 2
JM
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 4
EW
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 2
SB
North America, New York, United States, New York
Shared Deals: 2
DC
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 2
SB
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 3

What are some of recent deals done by April Underwood?

Arcade

San Francisco, California, United States

Arcade is an AI product creation platform that allows users to design and sell custom products.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)E-CommerceJewelry
Series AMar 24, 2025
Amount Raised: $25,000,000
Panobi

San Francisco, California, United States

Panobi is a SaaS company currently in stealth.

SaaS
SeedAug 24, 2023
Amount Raised: $5,000,000
Ambient

San Francisco, California, United States

Ambient is a technology company focused on helping teams be more productive.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)SaaSVirtual Assistant
SeedAug 11, 2023
Equals

San Francisco, California, United States

Equals is a spreadsheet startup aiming to challenge and replace Excel with its next-generation spreadsheet.

AppsInternetMobileSocial MediaSoftware
Series ANov 9, 2022
Amount Raised: $16,000,000
Humaans

London, England, United Kingdom

Humaans is a provider of HRIS employee management software for remote and distributed teams.

B2BHuman ResourcesInternetSoftware
Series AOct 4, 2022
Amount Raised: $15,000,000
Indent

San Francisco, California, United States

Indent handles access requests for cloud apps and infrastructure.

Information TechnologySoftware
Pre SeedDec 21, 2021
Amount Raised: $5,600,000
Valora

San Francisco, California, United States

Valora is a mobile wallet that allows you to send, save, and spend crypto as easily as sending a text

BlockchainFinancial ServicesFinTechMobile PaymentsWeb3
Series AJul 21, 2021
Amount Raised: $20,000,000
Kudos

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Kudos is a retail company that offers natural disposable baby diapers with cotton liners.

BabyConsumer GoodsHealth CareRetail
SeedJun 1, 2021
Amount Raised: $2,400,000
Daily.co

Mountain View, California, United States

Daily.co offers video chat as an API.

AudioCommunication HardwareDeveloper APIsDeveloper PlatformInformation ServicesInformation TechnologySoftwareVideoVideo Chat
Series AMar 9, 2021
Amount Raised: $15,000,000
Bold

San Mateo, California, United States

Empowering exercise programs designed just for you, so you can chase the life you want at any age.

FitnessHealth CareWellness
SeedFeb 4, 2021
Amount Raised: $7,000,000