Olaf Sakkers bets on supporting emerging venture capital fund managers

Entering the venture capital sector is currently a formidable task, particularly for those managing their first fund. According to PitchBook data, firms raising their fourth fund or later secured 88.2% of U.S. VC fundraising capital in the first three quarters of 2026, whereas first-time funds captured only 4.5%. With just 81 first-time funds closing in the initial nine months of 2026, the year is on track to be the most difficult for new managers in at least a decade, as estimated by PitchBook.

Olaf Sakkers has spent five years demonstrating that such challenges are not insurmountable. After founding RedBlue Capital in 2021 and closing an initial fund with approximately $5 million in capital commitments in 2023, he has now completed a first close on a second fund, which he expects will total at least $50 million.

Raised in South Africa, Sakkers studied anthropology at Princeton, focusing on health policy and global health, while writing his thesis on HIV in his home country. Upon moving to Israel following graduation, he was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, where he says he held a desk job liaising with the U.S. military and developed an interest in autonomous vehicles.

A personal introduction led him to Michael Granoff, founder of the venture firm Maniv Mobility and an early investor in the electric-vehicle startup Better Place. Sakkers says that Granoff, who had capital to deploy, hired him immediately. Since neither had previous experience as venture investors, they built a fund “almost by accident,” learning as they progressed. Sakkers states he managed the daily investment process, supporting Israeli founders who were applying cybersecurity expertise to the automotive sector before expanding into the U.S. and other markets.

By 2021, Sakkers says he was an equal partner in Maniv’s economics, but he sought something more formal and scalable, leading him to start his own firm. Currently, RedBlue invests in what he describes as the “real economy,” encompassing sectors such as robotics, energy, manufacturing and logistics.

Achieving this milestone has required significant endurance and salesmanship. Sakkers notes that institutional limited partners, such as pension funds and endowments, have been the most difficult to convince. This is partly because his investment checks are small compared to theirs, but also because their risk models are designed to “avoid getting a zero,” causing them to prefer established brands.

Sakkers explains that this situation is similar to founders who become seen as “inevitable” after establishing a previous company. Meanwhile, first-time founders often struggle against the “gravity of perception,” where a dominant brand can influence how people perceive a newer, smaller entity.

His strategy has been to let results speak, though he acknowledges it takes time. “It’s a long-term game of building trust, demonstrating performance over time,” Sakkers says.

The initial fund served as a proof of concept, supported by long-term contacts such as family offices. The second fund is supported by both family offices and institutions.

RedBlue provides small checks ranging from $50,000 to $100,000, usually joining deals led by other investors rather than leading them. This allows the firm to participate in more deals and act as “the last investor that they take” on by offering practical assistance, including introductions to customers and lead investors like Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. In Sakkers’ view, founders expect little from VCs, so RedBlue aims to overdeliver on support.

By his account, the performance is strong. Among 28 investments, he says 15 have been marked up, and he cites a net internal rate of return of “significantly above 50%.” There has been only one exit, an acqui-hire, meaning most gains from the small fund remain unrealized and on paper.

Public records verify parts of Sakkers’ account. HappyRobot, an early RedBlue investment, raised a $150 million Series C at a $1.2 billion valuation in August. Westmag, a maker of motors for robots and drones backed by Sakkers at pre-seed alongside Nat Friedman, emerged in June with an $11 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Flai, an AI startup for car dealerships, followed a 2025 seed round with a $27 million Series A. Additionally, Humble Robotics, a driverless-truck startup in whose $24 million seed round RedBlue participated, announced a $51 million Series A led by Obvious Ventures earlier this month.

Sakkers contends that discipline provides his competitive edge. RedBlue publishes thesis essays, such as one regarding robotics, and operates using a custom database he built with Claude Code to track meeting notes, relationships and introductions.

This system allows him and his sole full-time principal, based in New York, to work asynchronously. He says AI agents are “useless if they just have to guess,” so all information is recorded. He contrasts this with Benchmark’s more artisanal model, which he says is appropriate for a firm with a track record he currently lacks. He remains unconcerned about long exit timelines for physical-world companies, noting that even a $50 million to $100 million fund can succeed.