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The Engine

VC
Cambridge, MAWebsite

The Engine is a Pre-Seed, Seed venture capital firm based in Cambridge, MA investing in Other. The firm typically writes $250K–$2.0M checks and has 17 portfolio companies in our records.

Check size
$250K–$2.0M
Portfolio
17 companies on record
Partners
4 listed
AUM
$1B
Stage
Pre-Seed, Seed
Sectors
Other
HQ
Cambridge, MA

Last verified: 2026-03-11

How to approach: warm intro preferred
Stage

Pre-Seed, Seed

Check Size

$250K – $2.0M

AUM

$1.0B

Portfolio

17+ companies

Team

4 partners

Investor activity
Investments in last 12 months: 0

Investment Thesis

Focuses on 'Tough Tech' startups solving the world's biggest problems, including climate, energy, and manufacturing innovation.

How The Engine invests

The Engine is a vc firm based in Cambridge, MA. The firm invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed stages, with a focus on Other.

The Engine typically writes checks of $250K–$2.0M per investment, backed by approximately $1B in assets under management.

The Engine has backed 17 companies in our records, including Form Energy, Via Separations, MacroCycle.

Partners & Team

KO

Katherine Otway

CMO

RS

Rhett Smith

Vice President Operations

AM

Alexa Monti

Vice President of Business Development

KR

Katie Rae

CEO & Managing Partner

ClimateTech
Hard Tech
Infrastructure

Industry Focus

Invests In

Other

Portfolio Companies (17)

Other

FO

Form Energy

Energy Storage
VI

Via Separations

Industrial Sustainability
MA

MacroCycle

AX

Axoft

HY

Hyfé

HY

HyperLight

CO

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

BI

Biobot

AT

Atlantic Quantum

CE

Cellbricks Therapeutics

How to pitch The Engine
  • Raising at Pre-Seed, Seed? You're squarely in their sweet spot.
  • Lead with your fit in Other — the sectors they actively back.
  • Size your ask to their typical $250K – $2.0M check.
  • warm intro preferred
  • Address your outreach to a specific partner, such as Katherine Otway, CMO.
  • A warm introduction beats a cold email. Get matched and request an intro.

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