# Rising Tide Partners

> Rising Tide Partners (RTP) is a network-native, early-stage venture fund based in San Diego, California. Founded and led by Managing Partner Neal Bloom, RTP invests earliest where its access runs deepest — connecting exceptional founders with the people, customers, and capital that change company trajectories. Its thesis: access is the unfair advantage.

RTP invests in hardtech, defense, AI infrastructure, maritime, autonomy, advanced manufacturing, med device & diagnostics, ag & food, and gaming & consumer. It leads or co-leads pre-seed and seed rounds, concentrating into winners. The fund is built on a 13-year track record of investing through Interlock Capital and personal angel deals, and is backed by an operator-LP network of 500+ founders, operators, and domain experts.

RTP also runs RTP Communities — a membership network of founders, investors, and operators in San Diego — produces a four-show podcast network under the Rising Tide Partners banner, and publishes the annual San Diego Hardtech 50.

## Core Pages
- [Home](https://risingtidepartners.co/index.html): The fund thesis, the nine-company flagship fleet, and the Access Engine that connects them.
- [Portfolio](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-portfolio-fleet.html): The nine RTP companies in full, plus the complete register of prior investments through Interlock Capital and angel deals.
- [Communities](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-communities-fleet.html): RTP Communities — founder dinners, build days, hikes, and investor office hours across six industry tracks. Founding membership is $250/year.
- [About](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-about-fleet.html): The fund's access thesis and Neal Bloom's 25-year throughline from aerospace engineer to fund manager.
- [The San Diego Hardtech 50](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-hardtech50-fleet.html): RTP's annual survey of the fifty hardtech companies defining San Diego's technology frontier.

## RTP Companies
- [Natilus](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-natilus.html): Blended-wing-body aircraft — KONA (freight) and HORIZON EVO (passenger) (Hardtech / Aerospace).
- [Seasats](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-seasats.html): Solar-powered autonomous surface vessels (Maritime / Defense).
- [Omnitron](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-omnitron.html): The first 3D-designed micromachine — 3D MEMS sensors and actuators (Sensors / Semiconductors).
- [Xzom](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-xzom.html): Exosome-based early disease detection (ACE platform), starting with pancreatic cancer (Med Device / Diagnostics).
- [BlueNalu](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-bluenalu.html): Cell-cultivated seafood, beginning with bluefin tuna toro (Ag & Food / Biotech).
- [Firestorm](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-firestorm.html): Expeditionary additive manufacturing — the xCell containerized platform that 3D-prints drones at the point of need (Defense / Manufacturing).
- [Eventship](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-eventship.html): Events and community platform (Software).
- [Cabana](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-cabana-pools.html): Tech-enabled pool service — cleaning, maintenance, and repair with after-visit reporting (Consumer / Home Services).
- [Bear Club Games](https://risingtidepartners.co/rtp-plate-bear-club-games.html): Video game studio modernizing competitive genres in one dynamic world (Gaming / Consumer).

## Field Recordings (Podcast Network)
RTP produces a four-show podcast network under the Rising Tide Partners banner, currently delivered through a unified feed.
- [Tacos & Tech](https://risingtidepartners.co/index.html#recordings): Flagship weekly interview show — long-form conversations with the founders, funders, and operators building hardtech in San Diego. Hosted by Neal Bloom since 2018.
- [This Week in SD Tech](https://risingtidepartners.co/index.html#recordings): Weekly five-minute local news brief — raises, launches, hires, and exits across San Diego.
- [AI Builders Roundtable](https://risingtidepartners.co/index.html#recordings): Monthly roundtable with people shipping AI in production. Demos, debates, decisions in the open.
- [On The Radar](https://risingtidepartners.co/index.html#recordings): Weekly two-minute brief — what's on Neal Bloom's mind this week.

Subscribe on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tacos-and-tech-podcast/id1374814595), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0PdtE1ygmW1Ttx21pVTcxb), [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@risingtidepartners), [Substack](https://risingtidepartners.substack.com), or via [RSS](https://risingtidepartners.substack.com/feed/podcast).

## More
- [Substack](https://risingtidepartners.substack.com): Neal Bloom's writing on hardtech and the San Diego ecosystem, including the Hardtech 50.
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/risingtidepartners)
- [X / Twitter](https://x.com/RisingTidePtr)