The yes your next round depends on.
I work the outside of deep tech companies - customers, capital, and the executives who bring both. Backed 35 physical AI companies that have raised over $1 billion.
Write me · bogdan@optim.vcYou’ll recognize the situation
Deep tech founders run on a clock. Two years of runway, proof due in six months, and the next round priced on things that don’t exist yet.
The calls I get:
- The demo worked, the pilot ran, and the PO is six months late.
- Your champion is an engineer with no budget. The VP who owns the budget has never heard your name.
- The raise starts in two quarters and the story is one proof point short.
- The executive you need has been saying maybe since spring.
- Investors praise the technology and pass anyway.
I close that gap from the outside
I identify the person whose yes changes your trajectory - the VP who owns the budget, the lead investor, the executive who keeps saying maybe. I work out what they need.
Then I take the meeting myself.
That part is the difference. Advisors make introductions and step back. I run the room: the first customer meeting, the investor conversation, the recruiting pitch. You get the contract, the term sheet, the signed offer - and the relationships stay with you when I leave.
Three ways to work together
Target Map + First Meetings
Named budget holders at the accounts that matter, the path to each one, and the first meetings run by me.
For companies whose deals sit three levels below the budget.
Fractional Chief Business Officer
I run the commercial motion - customers, partners, key hires - and recruit my replacement. You keep a working engine and the executive who runs it.
For companies that need the function running before the permanent hire exists.
Raise Readiness
What investors are underwriting this quarter, the realistic leads for your round, and a story that survives the partner meeting.
For companies raising in the next two to three quarters.
How engagements run
The record
| Investments in applied & physical AI | 35 |
| Raised by those companies, collectively | $1B+ |
| Financings worked hands-on | 20 |
| Cap tables reached through my introductions, past 12 months | 10 · 3 as leads |
| Portfolio companies that hired me back for operator work | 6 |
| Optim Circle: founders, operators & investors in physical AI | 179 |
| Years in industrial automation before venture | 7 |
The co-investors alongside those 35 companies include Khosla Ventures, Playground Global, General Catalyst, NEA, Sequoia, and Y Combinator. Placements across the portfolio include a CTO, a founding engineer, and a key advisor.
Optim Circle spans builders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Tesla, Waymo, and Nuro, and investors across 60 funds including Playground Global, Intel Capital, Energy Impact Partners, and BMW iVentures. Clients get that network as amplification - along with The OPTIM Update, my podcast and newsletter on physical AI.
Before venture: seven years in industrial automation at Emerson Electric, commissioning control systems and plant startups for Genentech, Broadcom, and other manufacturers. The engineering years are why technical founders and I speak the same language.
What founders say
“Bogdan helped us significantly during our seed fundraise, including introducing us to our lead investor, and remains a valuable sounding board for major decisions. He’s one of the few people who have materially influenced the trajectory of our company.”Gary Chen · Founder & CEO, Raise Robotics
“Bogdan was among our first angel investors and has been a trusted advisor ever since - guiding us through the spin-out process, investor strategy, and fundraising. He’s remained one of the investors I trust most as we’ve grown.”Jared O’Leary · Founder & CEO, SirenOpt
“Bogdan provided ongoing strategic guidance across fundraising, go-to-market, and broader company direction. His advice on engaging U.S. investors was particularly valuable as we scaled internationally.”Pavlo Pikulin · Founder & CEO, Deus Robotics
More founder perspectives at optim.vc/testimonials
Who I am
I emigrated from Romania at 18 and spent seven years as an industrial and systems engineer before venture - the kind of work where the plant either starts up or it doesn’t. An MBA at Berkeley Haas moved me to the capital side: first a $400M corporate fund, then early-stage, then out on my own.
Today I invest through Optim, host The OPTIM Update, and run the Optim Circle community from San Francisco. The investing, the podcast, and the community are how I hear what the capital market wants as proof this quarter - usually before it becomes advice.
If the next round depends on proof that doesn’t exist yet
Write me: bogdan@optim.vc
Two lines on the company and where it’s stuck is enough.