Merlin Ventures
Merlin Ventures partners with ambitious founders building the next generation of AI-native cybersecurity companies.
In the firm's own words, from its website.
8 additional team members, 2 additional co-investors and affiliates, 1 verified contact (1 firm phone)
Every relationship, signal and contact on this record, with the source on each.
Includes 3 days of DFX Intelligence. Then $199/month unless canceled.
What matters now
- 1 companynew in 12 months
1 new company in the last 12 months. Latest round QIZ Security seed ($17M round, led) on 9 Jul 2026.
A firm writing cheques this quarter is one a founder can pitch now.
- 1 roundled by Seth Spergel
Seth Spergel leads the most rounds on record: 1 round, latest QIZ Security seed (9 Jul 2026).
The partner who leads is the one to reach; the rest of the team follows a lead partner's call.
People to know
View all people- Managing PartnerWhy: Managing partner: runs the firmNo route on file yet
- Managing Director EMEAWhy: Managing directorNo route on file yet
- Director of PartnershipsWhy: Named with investment responsibilityNo route on file yet
Relationship network
20 connected entities1 observed roundrounds 2026
From financing rounds and every investor named in them, Form ADV and Form D filings, the firm's funds and team, and disclosed LP commitments in the venture capital graph. A round's amount is the size of the round, not money that moved between two investors.
Some relationships on this record are counted rather than named here. They open with the full profile.
Click any name or line for the rounds and sources behind it. Line weight is rounds together; dashed lines are inferred.
- Sponsor
- Company
- Fund or vehicle
- Person
›How strength and recency are read
Co-investors are read from the rounds: three or more shared rounds is a strong observed relationship, two a repeat co-investor, one a single round. Funds and people are structural. Nothing is scored that a reader cannot check.
Darker lines were active in the last 24 months or are current; lighter lines are older or undated.
How am I connected?
Name your firm, a company or a person, and DFX finds the published routes to Merlin Ventures: a shared portfolio company or board, a prior employer, a co-investor, a shared LP or service provider. Every step is a filed or published record with its source; none is a guess about who knows whom.
See how you connect to Merlin Ventures
Includes 3 days of DFX Intelligence. Then $199/month unless canceled.
Investing
1 company on record, 1 new in 12 months
Investments on record
What these amounts mean“This investor” is the amount disclosed for this investor alone; it is unknown unless a source said it. The round size is the whole round.Acquired, Public, Exited and Active are what the firm’s own portfolio card says, read on the date shown when you hover the chip; they are not deal dates. A company with no chip is one whose card states no outcome: DFX does not assume it is active.| Company | Round | Role | Partner | Round size | This investor | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QIZ Security | Seed · Seed | lead | Seth Spergel (confirmed) | $17.0M | unknown | Jul 9, 2026 | Fact Press release |
Stated thesis versus observed behaviour
- Sectors
- ai, enterprise software, space, cybersecurity
- Stages
- not stated or not yet read
- Geography
- colorado, denver, israel, new york, usa
- Check size
- not stated; DFX does not estimate checks from round sizes
- Self-described
- venture capital
Team
11 current, 0 departed
Decision makers
- Seth Spergel · Managing PartnerWhy this person: Managing partner: runs the firm; Named with investment responsibility; Led 1 round on record
- David Bloom · Managing Director EMEAWhy this person: Managing director; Named with investment responsibility
Ranked by the role the firm or its filing states, a route on file and deals led. Every reason is read from the record, never inferred. Routes are published by the person or the firm (their bio, the team page or a filing) and are revealed on a plan; data bought from a provider is never shown, and a route printed at a firm the person has since left is held back.
Investment team
How the team is orderedPartners who lead rounds first (rounds led, then deals attributed, then seniority), then the rest of the investment team, then investor relations, finance and operations. A person named by two sources under two spellings is shown once.- Managing Partner · led 1 round on record
- Managing Director EMEA
- Director of Partnerships
Contacts
1 firm phone on record, each with its source. Values open with the complete profile.
Funds and LPs
3 vehicles, 0 LPs disclosed
Funds and vehicles
What these amounts meanGAV is the gross asset value the adviser reported on Form ADV for the vehicle, never the fund’s committed size and never dry powder. Form D sold is the amount sold as of the latest filing, never a final close.| Vehicle | Type | Vintage | Lifecycle | Reported GAV | Owners | Form D sold | Latest Form D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin Ventures Fund I, L.P. | Fund | 2024 form d first sale | Newly closed | $77.8M Sep 12, 2026 | 60 | $37.2M of $75.0M | Nov 29, 2024 |
| Merlin Torq I, L.P. | Fund | unknown | Unknown | $58.1M Sep 12, 2026 | 67 | unknown | unknown |
| Merlin Native I LLC | Fund | unknown | Unknown | $1.5M Sep 12, 2026 | 2 | unknown | unknown |
Limited partners
Known LPs and allocators
What these amounts and dates areEach commitment is counted once across the pension tape and the allocator graph. A commitment date prints only when the source printed one; otherwise the row carries the report date. A foundation’s 990-PF line is a holding at fair value, never a commitment. Rows without a fund on the venture graph are commitments to this manager.Relationships across DFX
5 co-investors
Co-investors
- 2026-07-091 shared deal · one time · this firm led 1
- 2026-07-091 shared deal · one time · this firm led 1
- 2026-07-091 shared deal · one time · they led 1 · this firm led 1
Evidence and history
4 dated events, 31 observations from 3 sources
Timeline
- Sep 12, 2026Merlin Ventures Fund I, L.P. first reported on Form ADV by Merlin Ventures, GAV $77,782,183
- Sep 12, 2026Merlin Torq I, L.P. first reported on Form ADV by Merlin Ventures, GAV $58,150,000
- Sep 12, 2026Merlin Native I LLC first reported on Form ADV by Merlin Ventures, GAV $1,460,358
- Feb 10, 2025Merlin Ventures appears on the SEC adviser roster (ERA, venture capital fund adviser exemption)
Identity and regulatory footprint
Address, phone, Form ADV filing and ownersForm ADV filed Mar 30, 2026 · 3 private fundsShowHide
- Headquarters
- Mclean, VAadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Office address
- unknownadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Business phone
- unknownadviserinfo.sec.gov
- Website
- merlin.vc
- SEC adviser type
- Exempt reporting adviseradviserinfo.sec.gov
- SEC exemption claimed
- Venture capital fund adviseradviserinfo.sec.govItem 2.B(1): advises solely venture capital funds
- Latest Form ADV
- Mar 30, 2026
- Private funds reported
- 3 (3 venture capital funds)adviserinfo.sec.gov
- Private fund gross assets, adviser total
- $137Madviserinfo.sec.govreported GAV of the funds, the adviser's own number; not fund size, not dry powder
Classification history
Classification history
Every classification this record has carried2 on recordShowHide
- Sep 13, 2026Institutional venture firm (confirmed, 95%)Venture manager, reported GAV $137M across 3 vehicles
- Sep 12, 2026Institutional venture firm (confirmed, 70%)Venture manager with no reported fund assets yet (scale unknown)
Evidence
Every observation behind this profile, with its source, date and class
| Fact | Value | Effective | Class | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Why admitted | VC exemption, VC funds reported | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| SEC exemption claimed | Venture capital fund adviser | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| SEC adviser type | Exempt reporting adviser | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Latest Form ADV filing | 2026-03-30 | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Adv pdf loaded | adv-pdf-1 | Sep 12, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| SEC status | ERA - Active | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| SEC status effective | 2025-02-10 | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Business phone | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV | |
| Contact page url | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Contact page url | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Description | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Description | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Headquarters | Mclean, VA | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Office address | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV | |
| Self-described type | Venture capital | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | |
| Self-described type | Venture capital | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | |
| Legal form | Limited Liability Company | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Portfolio page | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Portfolio page | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Private funds reported | 3 | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Private fund gross assets (reported) | $137M | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Stated geography | Colorado, denver, israel, new york, usa “geography words on the home page” | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | |
| Stated geography | Colorado, denver, israel, new york, usa “geography words on the home page” | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | |
| Stated sectors | AI, enterprise software, space, cybersecurity “sector words on the home page” | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | |
| Stated sectors | AI, enterprise software, space, cybersecurity “sector words on the home page” | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | |
| Team page | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Team page | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Venture funds reported | 3 | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV |
| Website | Mar 30, 2026 | Fact | Form ADV | |
| Site title | Oct 1, 2026 | Fact | ||
| Site title | Sep 16, 2026 | Fact |
How this is scored
Scores, classification basis and filing advisersInstitutional venture firm, confirmedShowHide
Venture manager, reported GAV $137M across 3 vehicles
- importance
- gav: 0.35 · funds: 0.25 · people: 0.12 · investments: 0 · co investors: 0.28
- active deployment
- investments 12m: 0.13 · fund raising 18m: 0 · people joined 12m: 0 · vintage within 3y: 1 · latest investment at: 2026-07-09
- emerging manager
- fund count: 3 · reported gav: $137M · first adv filing: 2025-02-10 · years since first filing: 1.6
Fits, record history and connections
scored matches for this investor, every identity change, every edge
Fits
- score 33.3confidence 90%Why: stage fit; activity; emerging
- score 33.3confidence 90%Why: stage fit; activity; emerging
- score 33.3confidence 90%Why: stage fit; activity; emerging
+3 more scored matches
Includes 3 days of DFX Intelligence. Then $199/month unless canceled.
Scored by DFX match engines from the record's observed portfolio, stage, geography and recent activity. A fit is a reason to look, not a mandate; the blockers say what the model could not confirm. Names and the evidence sentences show with the names on this page.
Record history
- Adviser's first ADV filing2025-02-10source on record
The ledger records every merge, rename and reclassification this record went through and the dated filings observed on it, so the identity on this page can be traced to the records it was built from. The ledger's own sentences name other records, so they show with the names.