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The Venture Codex

Bienville Capital

521 Fifth Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY, 10175, United States

Overview

Bienville is an investment advisory and asset management business managing capital on behalf of family offices and top performing institutional investors. We invest across public and private markets, crypto and venture capital, and through our partnership with Fractal we launch around 25 SaaS companies per year.

Total investments
35
Lead investments
8
Investments · 12mo
7
Active investors
7

Sector focus

  • Emerging Markets
  • Financial Services
  • FinTech
  • Real Estate
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Investment portfolio

  • GovWell

    Participated · Series A · May 2026

    GovWell provides an AI-first platform for local governments that includes an AI-powered Community Assistant, an intelligent application portal that prevents submission errors, and AI AutoCheck technology that reviews permit applications for compliance in seconds. The platform manages the full operational lifecycle—inspections, fee collection, notice generation, reporting, and more—from a single system. GovWell serves over 130 municipalities and counties across 34 states, powering processes for agencies serving millions of residents, and reports steep quarter-over-quarter revenue growth. Eighty percent of its sales are direct replacements of legacy vendors, with a median sales cycle of three months; customers report processing time reductions of up to 95% and the company says it has never churned a live customer. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in New York City, more than half of GovWell's team has a background in public service. The company plans to expand beyond permitting and licensing to cover additional government functions across the full stack of operations.

  • Develo

    Participated · Series A · May 2026

    Develo has built a pediatric-specific, AI-native operating system that integrates clinical workflows, billing and family engagement into a single platform designed around modern interoperability (native FHIR). Its product embeds AI-driven features such as medical scribes, automatic pediatric fee capture, intelligent reporting and workflow automation directly into core operations. The company emphasizes family-centered care models and aims to replace fragmented legacy EMR toolchains common in pediatric practices. Founded in 2022 by pediatrician Aaron Sin and CTO Han Ke, Develo supports hundreds of pediatric providers in more than two dozen states. After raising $14 million in its latest financing, the company plans to accelerate product development and expand customer support as it scales its platform across the U.S.

  • Current Software

    Led · Seed · Apr 2026

    Current Software provides a holistic utility billing and customer information platform designed for small- and mid-sized water utilities. The platform emphasizes rapid implementations (typically 6–10 weeks), an intuitive interface, field mobility, and an integrated customer portal. Since its seed close in October 2025, Current has deployed with 80 utilities across 16 states, demonstrating early traction. The company targets the ~45,000 U.S. water utilities with fewer than 10,000 service connections that largely rely on legacy on-premise systems. Current cites industry challenges including aging infrastructure, outdated software, and lengthy migrations as drivers of demand. The firm plans to use the seed proceeds to expand its team to reach more underserved utilities and accelerate product development based on customer feedback.

  • Prefix

    Participated · Seed · Apr 2026

    Prefix provides a facility management service and AI-enabled coordination layer for multi-site restaurant and retail operators, managing responsive 24/7 repair and maintenance across HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, electrical and other trades. The platform plugs into existing CMMS systems to translate between large brands and independent local contractors, offering real-time work order visibility, on-site check-ins, invoicing, preventative maintenance scheduling, and automated warranty management. Since launch Prefix supports nearly 2,000 locations across 50 customers, including brands like Chipotle, Raising Cane’s, Famous Footwear and L’Occitane, and has grown to a 50-person team. It reported $2.5 million in ARR after two years, representing 500% year-over-year growth, and says it has delivered up to 3x efficiency gains and 15%+ cost savings for customers. The company plans to use new funding to further build its AI infrastructure, expand sales and marketing, and scale operations to thousands more locations.

  • CloudForge

    Participated · Equity · Feb 2026

    CloudForge has built an AI-driven operating system for the North American metals supply chain that combines a proprietary database of more than 165,000 verified metal companies with integrated sales, CRM, and procurement workflow tools. The software lets metal service centers, fabricators, and machine shops discover new buyers, re-engage existing accounts, and quickly identify qualified suppliers, turning fragmented spreadsheet-based processes into a streamlined digital workflow. Early adopters are already seeing tangible results: Tri-State Steel closed a new customer contract within the first week on the platform, and Metals & Alloys cited the tool as such a competitive advantage that they are reluctant to share it. CloudForge emphasizes that it is not a marketplace; instead, it embeds data and execution capabilities in a single SaaS offering. With fresh capital, the company plans to accelerate product development, deepen its AI features, and expand engineering and customer-success headcount to meet growing demand. The firm has recently emerged from stealth and, following its $3.95 million raise, is now focused on nationwide customer acquisition and platform scaling.

Team

  • Billy Stimpson

    CEO & Co-Founder

    LinkedIn
  • Cullen Thompson

    CIO & Co-Founder

    LinkedIn
  • Ralph Reynolds

    Chairman & Co-Founder

    LinkedIn
  • Pete Koziol

    Director of Research, Head Portfolio Manager