This is the moment the fund starts running on agents.
Launch a venture capital fund through VC Lab Cohort 23 and spend your time on what actually matters: talking to founders and getting into the best deals. Agents do everything else. Venture capital spent the last two years learning what AI could do for a fund. In Cohort 23, it's how the fund runs. The pipeline updates, the LP follow-ups, the newsletter, the filings and the back office move to agents inside Decile Hub.
The Era of the Agentic Fund
We're excited to announce VC Lab Cohort 23, the accelerator program built for the era of the agentic fund. More than 1,000 venture funds have launched through VC Lab across 22 cohorts. Across those cohorts we hear the same complaint again and again. Running the fund eats the week, and investing gets whatever's left.
Most of a fund manager's week goes to chasing pipeline updates, rewriting the same LP email for the fifth time, pulling together a newsletter nobody wants to write, and keeping the back office from slipping. In Cohort 23, agents take that work. What comes back to you is time for the parts of this job that actually move a fund: talking to founders, getting into the best deals, and building conviction in a market you know better than anyone.
Cohort 22 made launching a fund easier than ever. Cohort 23 goes after what comes next, the day-to-day work of running one, and the program is rebuilt around agents doing that work.
The data from our funds points the same way.
First, managers are already running lean. 65% of funds that launch through VC Lab launch solo, and that share has held across the last three cohorts. One decision-maker running an entire firm only works when the operational load comes off their desk.
Second, fund setup has condensed to a single day. Start Fund brought fund formation down to one day, and agents handle entity formation, compliance documentation and operational setup while the manager works on the first close.
Third, LP bases are getting broader. Funds of every size are raising from institutional anchors and individual investors alike, and more LPs per fund means more updates, more follow-ups and more paperwork per dollar raised. That's exactly the work agents are good at.
Fourth, AI is where emerging managers are placing their bets. AI and agentic systems funds made up 19.3% of all emerging funds in 2025, the largest single sector. The managers backing agentic startups should be running agentic funds themselves.
Fifth, the people launching funds keep changing. In 2025 the split between managers with and without prior VC experience reached 50/50 for the first time, and GPs under 40 grew 2.6x. Many of them are former founders and operators who already run their own work on modern tools.
So we're calling Cohort 23 "The Era of the Agentic Fund." Your agents run the fund. You lead it.
What's New in Cohort 23
Cohort 23 is organized around the work a GP should stop doing by hand. Here's what changes, workflow by workflow.
Agents That Run Your Fundraise
Fundraising is where most first-time managers lose the most hours. Cohort 23 managers get agents inside Decile Hub that diagnose your fundraising funnel, show where LPs are stalling, and draft the follow-up while the conversation is still warm. The LP discovery engine searches by LP type, geography and check size, and Click to Close takes a committed LP from interest to signed documents with compliance checks built in.
You still make every ask. You just stop rewriting the same email.
Agents That Keep Your Pipeline Current
Deals come in from everywhere: email, warm intros, demo days, LinkedIn. Agents import them into your pipeline, keep the records current, and turn a pitch deck into a first-pass deal memo that scores the company against your thesis and builds the argument against it. You start every partner conversation with the homework done.
Agents That Run the Back Office
Compliance filings, capital calls, K-1 prep and LP reporting used to need a fund admin firm, a back-office hire, or a co-GP willing to own the paperwork. In Cohort 23, agents inside Decile Hub handle that work through Decile Partners agentic fund administration, and flag issues before they turn into problems.
Agents That Write the Updates
The quarterly LP update, the monthly newsletter and the portfolio note you meant to send three weeks ago all start as agent drafts. Agents build them from what's already in your Hub, and you edit and send. Your LPs hear from you on schedule, which is most of what good stewardship looks like between capital calls.
A Curriculum for Investing in Agentic Startups
Agents are changing the companies you invest in, too. Agentic startups are reaching revenue with smaller teams and less capital, which changes check sizes, burn assumptions, and the questions worth asking in diligence. Cohort 23 sessions cover how to underwrite a company where agents do much of the work, and what that means for your portfolio construction and reserves.
One Path From Start Fund to Decile Access
Cohort 23 connects the full journey. Launch a live, institutional-quality fund in a day with Start Fund, build your firm through the program, and top managers who close a 506(c) fund can list on Decile Access, our curated marketplace where accredited LPs discover and commit to vetted VC Lab funds.
The Catalytic Investment Program
A select number of top-performing Start Fund managers in Cohort 23 will receive a first check from Decile Group through the Catalytic Investment Program. Recipients also get a dedicated marketing article, social promotion across our channels, and featured placement in our webinar events.
Emerging Institute for Fund II and Beyond
Managers working on Fund II, III or IV can go through the Emerging Institute, our institutional LP readiness program with a 100 NPS track record. The same agents come with you, set up for a firm with more LPs, more portfolio companies and more reporting.
Why Now
The tools caught up. Two years ago, AI in a fund meant a chatbot bolted onto a CRM. Today agents inside Decile Hub draft, file and follow up while the manager signs off. One person can now do the operational work that used to take a team of three.
More LPs means more communication. Whether a fund raises from a few institutional anchors, a wide base of individual investors, or both, every LP expects regular updates and timely follow-ups. Agents are how a small team keeps all of them informed without drowning.
Your founders are already building this way. A growing share of the startups raising from emerging managers are agent-first companies. Running your fund the same way gives you a sharper read on their operations and their numbers.
Your background is the edge. Half of all emerging managers in 2025 had no prior VC experience. Founders, operators, scientists and regional connectors are launching funds on the strength of their networks and their conviction. Agents carry the operational load that used to be their biggest barrier to entry.
See It Live on September 30
We're introducing Cohort 23 live on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 8:00 AM PT. We'll walk through what's new, map the path from Start Fund to Decile Access, and take your questions live. The session is an introduction to VC Lab and an open conversation about how agents are changing venture: what an agentic fund looks like, what agentic startups do to check sizes and diligence, and what both mean for a small firm over the next few years. It isn't a product demo. The agents inside Decile Hub get their own walkthroughs at Hub events later this year. If you're thinking about applying, it's the fastest way to learn what makes a strong application.
Apply to Cohort 23
Join Cohort 23 and launch a fund that runs on agents from day one. VC Lab is free for emerging managers and has helped launch over 60% of new venture firms in recent years through training, tools, capital and technology.
Whether you're a domain expert launching your first solo fund, an angel formalizing your thesis into a fund, or an established manager scaling through the Emerging Institute, Cohort 23 gives you the curriculum, the agents, the peer community and the operational support to build a top-decile firm.
Timeline
- Early Application Deadline: Monday, November 9, 2026
- Program Start: Thursday, January 14, 2027
- Estimated Finish: Early May 2027
How to Apply
- Submit an application. Early applicants get priority consideration and early access to AI tools inside Decile Hub.
- Let's chat. Meet our admissions team for a focused 15-minute conversation about your background, your thesis and your fund strategy.
- Get accepted. Secure one of the limited spots in the leading program for launching a venture capital fund.
- Embrace the Mensarius Oath. Commit to ethical investing and integrity.
We're looking for managers who want to spend their week on investing. Founders, operators, scientists, regional connectors and domain experts who know their market deeply and are ready to let agents handle the rest.