Specialist venture capital, one vertical at a time
Fort Lauderdale, Florida ·
Scroll
Est. 2026
I.
The firm
We invest from seed to Series B through 17 specialist verticals, starting with Defense & Government Tech Fund I, then FinTech & Authentication Fund I. We started with the hardware nobody sees, under AI and industry, and are built to back founders from AI and biotech to defense, fintech and housing. Then we work on the hardest step: a first buyer, and for hardware, a test site and a warranty buyers can trust.
III. Florida Proving Ground
A field test.A first buyer.A warranty.
Other funds give founders money and advice. We are building standard pilot agreements with South Florida host sites, buyers who want to test, and insurer-backed warranties buyers can trust. Programs in formation.
IV. Three ways in
Choose your path.
Build
Founders in any of our 17 verticals: seed to Series B capital, a path to a first buyer and, for hardware, a field test and a warranty.
IIBuy and host
Utilities, plants, farms, labs, well sites and mines: test new hardware on terms you set, with no obligation to buy.
IIIInvest
Defense & Government Tech Fund I first, then FinTech & Authentication Fund I, all in formation. A public overview only; no fund is offered on this website.
VI. How we’re different
Money, advice, and then some.
Every program is designed to get a founder’s hardware from prototype to purchase order.
Florida Proving Ground
Built on standard pilot agreements with South Florida host sites, so a company signs a short schedule instead of negotiating from scratch.
DiscoverBuyers at the table
Some of our investors may be companies that buy this hardware. With a founder’s consent, they will hear when a company seeks a pilot.
DiscoverInsurer-backed warranties
A facility we are arranging with an insurer to back performance warranties to buyers.
DiscoverFounders share our carry
A pool, designed into each fund, that shares part of our carried interest with founders, paid only if and when we earn it.
DiscoverPaid for results
Our funds are designed so our share of profits rises only as investors’ returns rise.
DiscoverVII. Who we are
New, specialist, Fort Lauderdale-based.
Dark Ice Ventures is a new venture capital firm headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with an office in Laurel, MD and offices opening in Raleigh, Oklahoma City and Phoenix in 2027. It is led by Alexandra Pohl, Co-Founder and CEO, and William Pohl III, Co-Founder and COO. It is part of Dark Ice Global, alongside Dark Ice Capital, a private equity firm, and Dark Ice Management, which runs shared operations. Every sector we invest in is a vertical with two funds; all of our funds are in formation, starting with Defense & Government Tech Fund I, followed by FinTech & Authentication Fund I.
We are a new firm, so we have no track record.
Dark ice
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
VIII. Begin
Building in one of our verticals?
Tell us what you are building. We answer on fit within five business days.
Next chapter
For founders