The venture firm is scaling a connected model that brings together founders, investors, corporate partners, operators, and growth resources across markets and stages.

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 19, 2026 / Since its founding in 2023, LvlUp Ventures has backed more than 1,000 companies across 15 funds and programs, with Aaron Golbin LvlUp Ventures Co-Founder and General Partner, helping drive the firm’s growth alongside an Innovation Alliance of more than 750 corporate and investment partners. The firm’s wider ecosystem also includes more than 2,500 core and extended team members working across industries, geographies, and stages of company growth.

The expansion reflects LvlUp’s broader approach to venture capital, which combines investment with access to operating support, fundraising resources, strategic partnerships, corporate relationships, and connections across the portfolio.

Rather than limiting its investment activity to a single stage or sector, LvlUp evaluates opportunities across industries and markets when it believes its network and infrastructure can help create meaningful growth opportunities.

Building a More Connected Venture Ecosystem

One of the central ideas behind LvlUp Ventures is that portfolio companies should not operate as isolated investments.

The firm has built systems intended to help founders connect with investors, potential customers, corporate partners, advisers, and other companies within the wider LvlUp network. Those relationships can create opportunities around fundraising, business development, distribution, strategic partnerships, market entry, and long-term growth.

That model becomes increasingly important as the portfolio expands. With more than 1,000 companies now connected to the LvlUp ecosystem, the firm is placing greater emphasis on identifying useful relationships across companies and making its broader network easier for founders to access.

Managing Partner Aaron Golbin has helped shape that strategy around the belief that venture firms can create greater value when they remain closely involved after an investment or program begins.

LvlUp’s approach is designed to give founders access to a wider support structure without assuming that every company needs the same resources at the same time.

Corporate and Investment Partnerships Create New Pathways

LvlUp’s Innovation Alliance has grown to more than 750 corporate and investment partners, giving portfolio companies access to relationships that may support pilots, customer introductions, strategic partnerships, follow-on capital, grants, distribution opportunities, and potential M&A discussions.

The network includes relationships across venture capital, corporate innovation, technology, consumer markets, finance, and other industries.

For early-stage companies, those connections can help address one of the most difficult parts of growth: reaching the right people inside larger organisations. A startup may have a strong product or technology but still struggle to identify the appropriate decision-maker, investor, or strategic partner.

LvlUp is building its corporate network around creating more structured pathways into those conversations while also helping founders prepare for them.

NextUp Programs Continue to Grow

The firm’s NextUp programs are another major component of its founder-support model.

LvlUp reviews more than 10,000 applicants annually for NextUp and selects a small percentage of companies to participate in its portfolio programs. The approach is designed to be hands-on and tailored to each startup rather than built around a single standard curriculum.

Founders can participate in vertical-specific and function-specific groups covering areas including fundraising, go-to-market strategy, operations, growth, and company development. The programs also include direct access to members of the LvlUp team, investor sessions, portfolio connections, and strategic guidance.

LvlUp operates programs for companies at different points in their development, including startups preparing for launch and businesses that have already entered the market and are working toward their next stage of growth.

This structure allows the firm to support companies facing very different challenges while maintaining a common focus on practical execution and access to resources.

Scaling Without Narrowing the Investment Thesis

As LvlUp has expanded, the firm has maintained an opportunistic investment thesis rather than moving toward a narrow sector mandate.

The strategy allows the firm to evaluate companies across technology, consumer markets, healthcare, financial technology, enterprise software, government technology, and other categories when it believes there is a strong founder, a compelling opportunity, and a clear way for the LvlUp ecosystem to contribute.

That flexibility is supported by the size of the firm’s extended team and partner network, which gives LvlUp access to experience across multiple industries and markets.

The firm has also developed a global footprint, working with companies across the United States and international markets while using its U.S. presence to support founders interested in entering or expanding within the American market.

Creating Long-Term Value for Founders

LvlUp Ventures’ growth reflects a broader shift in how some venture firms are defining their role.

Capital remains central to venture investing, but founders increasingly need access to customers, experienced operators, follow-on investors, corporate partners, market knowledge, and practical guidance as they build.

LvlUp is developing its platform around bringing those pieces together within one connected ecosystem.

As the firm continues to expand its portfolio, programs, and partner network, its focus remains on creating more opportunities for founders to access the relationships and resources that can help move their companies forward.

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About LvlUp Ventures

LvlUp Ventures is a global venture capital firm founded in 2023 that invests in and supports startups across stages, industries, and geographies. The firm has backed more than 1,000 companies across 15 funds and programs and operates a global ecosystem of founders, investors, operators, corporate partners, and industry specialists.

LvlUp’s platform includes an Innovation Alliance of more than 750 corporate and investment partners, a core and extended team of more than 2,500 members, and founder programs focused on fundraising, go-to-market strategy, growth, operations, corporate partnerships, and long-term company development.

Through its investments, programs, and broader ecosystem, LvlUp Ventures aims to provide founders with capital, expertise, infrastructure, and strategic relationships designed to support company growth.

Contact:

Email: Info@lvlup.vc
Website: https://www.lvlup.vc/

SOURCE: LvlUp Ventures

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