Arjun Sethi is a technology and venture investor best known as a co-founder and general partner at Tribe Capital, a San Francisco-based venture firm he helped launch in 2018 alongside Jonathan Hsu and Scott Nolan. Before Tribe Capital, Sethi was a partner at Social Capital, the firm founded by Chamath Palihapitiya, where he focused on growth-stage technology investments. Earlier in his career, he was a founder himself – most notably co-founding MessageMe, a messaging application that was acquired by Yahoo in 2013.
Sethi's approach to investing centers on quantitative analysis of product-market fit signals, a methodology he carried from Social Capital and formalized at Tribe Capital. The firm publishes research on what it calls "PMF scores" – data-driven metrics designed to measure whether a company has genuine product traction before deploying capital. This analytical framing distinguishes Tribe Capital from more traditional relationship-driven venture funds. In the crypto and Web3 space, Sethi and Tribe Capital participated in several high-profile investment rounds during the 2020–2022 cycle.
His angel investing activity, tracked separately from Tribe Capital's fund, spans a smaller number of direct positions. Public information about the specific composition of his personal angel portfolio is limited, and the six portfolio companies attributed to him in this context may reflect early-stage bets made alongside or independent of Tribe Capital's formal vehicles.
Notable investments
- FTX – Tribe Capital led or participated in funding rounds for the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange. FTX's bankruptcy in November 2022 represented one of the most significant losses in venture history, and Tribe Capital was among the institutional investors who lost capital. Sethi has not publicly disclosed the exact loss figure for Tribe Capital's FTX exposure.
- Brex – the corporate card and financial services company for startups, which Tribe Capital backed at growth stage.
- Carta – equity management software, another Tribe Capital portfolio company that reached unicorn status.
- Other Web3 and crypto-adjacent positions – Tribe Capital participated in several crypto infrastructure and DeFi-adjacent deals during 2021–2022. Specific project names and terms have not been fully disclosed publicly.
Team
Tribe Capital was founded by three former Social Capital partners. Arjun Sethi leads deals in consumer, crypto, and enterprise software. Jonathan Hsu, previously head of data science at Social Capital, drives the firm's quantitative investment framework. Scott Nolan focuses on deep technology and defense-adjacent companies. The trio has grown the firm's team in San Francisco, though total headcount and AUM figures have not been consistently disclosed. Reported AUM has ranged from $1 billion to over $2 billion across multiple funds, though no audited figure is available publicly.
Recent activity
Following the FTX collapse in late 2022, Tribe Capital – and Sethi specifically – faced scrutiny over due diligence practices. The firm continued deploying capital through 2023 and 2024, with a reported shift toward artificial intelligence infrastructure deals alongside continued crypto exposure. Sethi has spoken at industry events about the intersection of AI and decentralized systems as a long-term thesis. His personal angel activity during 2024–2025 is not well-documented in public filings or press.
Geographic focus is primarily the United States, with selective exposure to crypto-native projects regardless of jurisdiction. Tribe Capital has shown interest in both equity and token-based structures, though the firm's legal approach to token investments evolved significantly after regulatory pressure on the sector post-2022.
Public information about Arjun Sethi's specific six-company angel portfolio tracked here is limited. Investors researching his activity directly should consult his Crunchbase profile and Tribe Capital's official site for the most current disclosures. His FTX involvement is documented across press coverage including The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times reporting on the 2022 exchange collapse.