Why now
Every general-purpose PC sold today was designed to host a human. We then asked those machines to host another mind — a 70-billion-parameter, latency-allergic, memory-hungry reasoning model — and sold the cost of that mismatch back to users as "AI features."
The window to build the first computer for that mind is open and small. NVIDIA owns the data centre. Apple owns the laptop. Nobody owns the AI workstation — the thing that sits next to a researcher, a founder, a frontier-model studio, and runs their work locally, privately, at the speed of thought. Ameka is built for that seat.
What we're doing with the $5M
- Hire 5 core engineers. Kernel, compiler, driver, AI-systems researcher, mechanical/industrial — the team we need to ship a real product, not a demo.
- Buy the Phase 1 inference cluster. Four DGX-class workstations and a Lambda H200 cluster. Powers the design and training fleet that drafts Ameka OS.
- Tape-out partnership. Engineering agreements with Tenstorrent and a foundry partner (TSMC N3 process). This is the long-pole item; the seed money de-risks the first 18 months.
- Pasadena workshop. Bench, chassis prototyping, thermal lab, fulfilment for the first 1,000 reservation units.
- 18 months of runway to first Phase 1 prototype ready for Series A.
Why us
Founded by Gary Alcock, with operational depth in distributed systems and a multi-year practice building agentic workflows on Anthropic and OpenAI models. Ameka exists because the founder has hit the limits of running 70 B-parameter models on commodity workstations every day for two years and concluded the only way forward is a new shape of computer.
We are partnered with three independent silicon advisors (under NDA) who have shipped SoCs at NVIDIA, Apple, and Tenstorrent. The Ameka OS scaffold is being drafted today by a multi-agent fleet of frontier reasoning models on the founder's bench; the corpus and architecture decisions will be open to seed investors under NDA.
The round
The instrument is a Y Combinator post-money SAFE at a $35M valuation cap with a 10% discount. The first $500K is offered MFN-uncapped (you get the better of the seed's terms and the next priced round). Lead-investor terms negotiable for cheques over $1M.
All deposits and investments are held in an Ameka-operated business account at a US-regulated bank. Reservation deposits are kept in a separate, refundable holding account and never co-mingled with operating capital. Investor capital is drawn down against a quarterly board-approved budget.
Express interest
We're not running a public Reg A+ offering — this round is Reg D 506(c) for accredited investors. Fill in the form below and we'll respond within 48 hours with the data room, the deck, and a 30-minute call invite. If you're not yet accredited, leave a note and we'll put you on the list for the community round.
Investor FAQ
What instrument are you using?
Standard Y Combinator post-money SAFE. $35M cap, 10% discount. Document is the unmodified YC template; we don't believe in negotiating boilerplate at the seed stage.
When is the round closing?
Rolling close. We're targeting a hard close on the seed within 90 days of receiving the first commitment. Founders typically batch closes monthly to keep diligence efficient.
Do you have a lead investor?
Not yet. We have soft circle from a handful of operators and would welcome a lead taking $1M–$2M. Pro-rata for follow-ons is reserved for investors over $250K.
What does dilution look like?
Standard. $5M / $35M post = 14.3% dilution. A 10% option pool is created post-close, taken from the founders' equity. We expect Series A in 18–24 months at a $150M–$250M valuation if we hit Phase 1 prototype milestones.
Can I see the deck?
Yes. Submit the form above and we'll share the deck, the engineering roadmap, the BoM for the prototype machine, and a redacted version of our silicon-partner engagement letters within 48 hours.
Why not a Reg CF community round today?
We will run one — probably on Wefunder or Republic — in Q3 2026 once the first prototype is on the bench and we can show actual hardware video to the community. We don't think it's responsible to take community capital on a slide deck alone.
How are reservation deposits protected?
Held in a separate, segregated, refundable bank account at JPMorgan Chase. Never co-mingled with operating capital. Refundable in full until 30 days before delivery; see the reservation terms and refund policy.
Legal note. Nothing on this page is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any offering will be made only to accredited investors pursuant to a Securities Act of 1933 Rule 506(c) offering under definitive subscription documents. Forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty.