Stealth Research

The studio model, benchmarked.

Original research on the operating economics of building companies from infrastructure outward. We publish what we've learned because the industry needs more receipts and fewer victory laps.

Free to read · Quarterly cadence · No paywalls

Featured · June 2026 · First Edition

The State of the Venture Studio Economy.

The annual data report on the studio model — its history, current scale, IRR vs traditional VC, and what happens next as the model goes distributed.

Volume I · 2026
01
"The State of the Venture Studio Economy. A first-edition data report on the model that just stopped being boutique."
STEALTH RESEARCH · JUNE 2026
Just released

The State of the Venture Studio Economy 2026, Vol. I

724+ active studios worldwide. $14.2B deployed in 2024. 3.5× IRR premium over traditional seed. The category exits "boutique" and enters "infrastructure." Sourced from GSSN, PitchBook, NVCA, Crunchbase, and CB Insights. Open access. Cite freely.

724+
Studios worldwide
3.5×
IRR premium vs seed
$14.2B
Deployed in 2024
24 pp
Volume I length
Companion essay · June 2026

The Manifesto. "The Studio Is the Founder."

Where the data ends, the thesis begins. Our founder essay establishing The Distributed Studio as the model the next decade will be built around.

Manifesto · Vol. I
The studio
is the founder.
A manifesto for the model we've been building in plain sight — and a name for what it has finally become.
By ALI SINA · FOUNDER, STEALTH
Founder essay

The Studio Is the Founder.

Companion to the Annual Report. ~1,400 words. The thesis behind The Distributed Studio: how Stealth got to 700+ portfolio companies without breaking the traditional studio's attention ceiling — by changing the shape of the institution itself.

1,400
Words
7 min
Read time
700+
Stealth portfolio
2018
Founded
Research library

Everything we've published.

Eleven public-facing publications. All free to read. CC BY 4.0 licensed where applicable — cite freely with attribution.

Vol. I · 2026 Annual Report

The State of the Venture Studio Economy 2026

724+ studios. $14.2B deployed. 3.5× IRR premium over traditional seed. The first-edition annual data report on the studio model, sourced from GSSN, PitchBook, NVCA, Crunchbase, and CB Insights.

June 2026 · 24 ppDownload →
Manifesto · Vol. I Founder Essay

The Studio Is the Founder.

A 1,400-word founder essay establishing The Distributed Studio as the model the next decade will be built around. Companion to the Annual Report.

June 2026 · 7 min readRead →
Playbook · Vol. I Operational Manual

The Distributed Studio Playbook

30-page operational manual for building a distributed studio. Deep dives on the 4 pillars (Workspace, Codified OS, Credential Layer, Writing Culture), 18–36 month implementation roadmap, failure modes, cost structure, year-by-year milestones.

June 2026 · 30 ppDownload →
Working Paper 01 Working Paper

Distributed Studio Operating Architecture

The four functional capabilities a venture studio needs to operate at distributed scale: workspace, codified OS, credential layer, writing culture. Working paper — open for peer feedback through December 2026.

June 2026 · 6 pp · Draft v0.9Read →
DSI · Methodology Vol I Benchmark Index · Methodology

The Distributed Studio Index — Methodology

The methodology paper for the quarterly Distributed Studio Index. Six metrics, computation formulas, weighting scheme, peer-review process. First DSI data publication: Q4 2026.

June 2026 · 6 ppDownload →
CVS Quarterly · Issue 01 Quarterly Brief

The Corporate Venture Studio Quarterly

Methodology + scope brief for the quarterly CVS publication. Tracks new corporate venture studio formation across F500 R&D arms, family offices, and sovereign innovation programs. Companion to the Annual Report's CVS section.

June 2026 · 4 ppRead →
Joint · Vol I Joint Methodology Paper

One Score, Two Sides of the Same Labor Market

Joint paper authored across Forkaia® Research and STEALTH Research. The shared credential layer: how the same 300–850 Score serves student credentialing on the Forkaia® side and distributed-contributor evaluation on the STEALTH side.

June 2026 · 5 ppRead →
Annual Letter · Vol II Founder Letter

This is the letter I did not plan to write this year.

The mid-2026 update. Successor to Annual Letter Vol I (January 2026). Describes the moment STEALTH stopped being a studio and became an institution — the Annual Report, Manifesto, and DSI all dropped together in June.

June 2026 · 6 ppRead →
Capability · v2 Institutional Statement

STEALTH Capability Statement v2

The institutional capability statement for grantmakers, LPs, corporate partners, and government counterparties. Updated June 2026 with distributed-studio category language, 700+ portfolio claim, post-Annual-Report data.

June 2026 · 6 ppDownload →
STEALTH Notes · 01 Newsletter Essay

Six hundred companies later.

Issue 01 of STEALTH Notes — the conversational version of the Manifesto + Annual Report. How STEALTH accidentally stopped running a workshop studio and started running something with no name until we put one on it.

June 2026 · 8 min readRead →
STEALTH Notes · 02 Newsletter Essay

The IRR math, and why the 3.5× premium isn't what you think.

Issue 02 of STEALTH Notes. The longer answer to the selection-effects question. STEALTH's actual internal performance metrics, honestly disclosed. ~1,600 words.

June 2026 · 10 min readRead →
Vol. II · Coming Annual Report

The State of the Venture Studio Economy 2027

The second-edition annual report. Same methodology, new data, expanded sections including the DSI inaugural-year summary, expanded CVS Quarterly synthesis, and the first Vol I outcomes refresh.

June 2027 · ComingNotify me →
DSI · Q4 2026 Benchmark Data

DSI Q4 2026 — First Quarterly Data

The first quarterly data publication following the June 2026 methodology paper. Cross-studio benchmark across 6 metrics. Participants invited from ~10 distributed studios globally.

Oct 2026 · ComingNotify me →

Looking for the institutional sales materials?   CVS Sales Deck on /services  ·  Capital architecture on /fund  ·  Founder essays on /journal

Publishing series

Four publication tracks. Distinct purposes.

Stealth Research publishes across four distinct tracks. Each has its own cadence, depth, and intended audience. All are free to read.

Quarterly · 60–120 pp

The Studio Benchmark

Original benchmark reports analyzing the dataset across a defined question. The flagship track — long-form, citation-heavy, written for institutional consumption.

Monthly · 20–40 pp

Thesis Notes

Shorter operating arguments and sector briefs. Less data-heavy, more about the practical mechanics of how the studio model works in specific situations.

Annual · 100+ pp

State of the Industry

The flagship annual report on the venture studio model globally. Published January. Cited by major publications and used as the industry's anchor benchmark.

Ad hoc · Working drafts

Working Papers

In-progress research published as drafts for community feedback before final publication. Open to peer review and critique from the venture studio community.

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