Former head of YC’s Continuity Fund Ali Rowghani launches new seed firm

Ali Rowghani, a former Y Combinator managing director and former Twitter executive, is launching a venture firm called Maxq.

Maxq is targeting $250 million for its debut fund, Maxq Fund I, according to an SEC filing. The firm will focus on seed-stage investments, Axios reported on Wednesday. Rowghani’s former YC colleagues Mia Mabanta, Simon Lu, and JJ Fliegelman will all be involved, according to Axios.

Rowghani was formerly the head of YC’s Continuity Fund, a vehicle that fulfilled YC’s pro rata rights and invested in select late-stage rounds for YC companies. The fund was launched in 2015. YC shut the fund down in 2023 and laid off its staff.

Prior to YC, Rowghani had stints as Twitter’s CFO and COO. Prior to that, he was the CFO at Pixar.

TechCrunch reached out to Maxq for more information.