/Investor DB

1955 Capital

Venture capital

San Francisco · Pre-Seed–Series A · 6 people tracked

Also known as 1955 CAPITAL LLC

Find your way into 1955 Capital

Each arrow is one introduction. Sign up to fill in the first one.

1,009 people can intro you to Andrew

Ask Hugo Lam to introduce you to Andrew Chung

You →Hugo · together at Personalis, Inc. →Andrew

186 people can intro you to Yumin

Ask Jamie Chen to introduce you to Yumin Liu

You →Jamie · together at Recurrent Energy →Yumin

174 people can intro you to Vijit

Ask Sam Okafor to introduce you to Vijit Sabnis

You →Sam · together at Deep Valley Labs →Vijit

Sign up to find every way you can get introduced to 1955 Capital

  • Your email: who you already know at 1955 Capital, and who your contacts know
  • 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: people you know who worked, studied or invested with the 1955 Capital team
  • Your LinkedIn: the connections who can make the intro for you

We rank every route by how warm it is, so you raise on warm intros instead of cold emails.

✨ Fox Verdict
Sign up to see your fit

Investment thesis

1955 Capital focuses on the translational gap between scientific discovery and company building, investing at the earliest stages before markets are obvious. The firm backs breakthroughs in biology, materials, and computation, arguing that most capital arrives too late and traditional institutions are ill-equipped to commercialize foundational science. Its operator-led approach involves working closely with founders and scientists to shape technology, build teams, and accelerate the path from lab to scale. Focus areas include energy and infrastructure, biology and human health, food and resources, and computation and intelligence. The firm reports top-quartile performance and partnerships with leading global investors.

Source: firm website, verified Sep 29, 2026.

Stage
Pre-Seed–Series A
Check
$5M – $10M
HQ
San Francisco, CA, US
Leads rounds
Follows
Instruments
Equity
Founded
2016
Private fund assets
$373.1M
VC funds
8
Tracked investments
16
Unicorns
2
IPOs
1
Acquisitions
1

Team · 6 people

from the firm's website

What they invest in

from 8 of 16 portfolio companies

Biotech ×5Healthtech ×4Medical Devices ×4AI & Machine Learning ×3AgTech ×2Digital Health ×2New Materials ×2Robotics ×2

HQs:United States×8Japan×1

Investments · 16 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2021 · 12019 · 12018 · 12017 · 12016 · 22015 · 17 dated

Ginkgo Bioworksginkgo.bioin𝕏NYSE: DNANov 2017

Ginkgo Bioworks builds autonomous labs that accelerate bioengineering for applications in pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial biotechnology.

AgTechAI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechHealthtechRoboticsBoston, US

Jason Kelly(Co-founder and CEO)inReshma Shetty(Co-founder; President, Chief Operations Officer)inBarry Canton(Co-founder)inAustin Che(Co-founder)inTom Knight(Founder; Ginkgo Fellow)inPeter Boynton(Director)

Co-investors11.2 CapitalAllen Institute for AI (AI2) IncubatorAzure Capital PartnersB3 HoldingBlue Owl CapitalCannage Capital+58 more

Acuamark Dxacuamarkdx.comin

AcuamarkDx is a molecular diagnostics company developing early cancer detection technology using proprietary qPCR and machine learning-driven assays for cancer screening and recurrence monitoring.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesNew York, US

Bernard Peperstraete(Co-Founder and CEO)in

Ampaireampaire.comin𝕏Jul 2018

Ampaire develops hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aircraft, with the AmpDrive technology deployed across multiple aircraft types to reduce fuel consumption, maintenance costs, and noise emissions.

CleantechClimate TechEnergyHardwareSpace TechLos Angeles, US

Kevin Noertker(Executive Officer, Director)inCory Combs(Executive Officer, Director)inRyan Bilton(Executive Officer, Director)

Co-investorsAutodesk FoundationDiamondStream PartnersHemisphere Ventures LLCSand Hill AngelsTechstarsClimate Capital+3 more

Craifcraif.cominOct 2021

Craif develops biomarker analysis and AI-driven diagnostic solutions to enable early disease detection and personalized treatment through non-invasive testing of body fluids.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesTokyo, JP

Ryuichi Onose(Executive Officer, Director)inYuki Ichikawa(Director)Mika Yui(Director)

Co-investorsGlobal BrainSaisei VenturesAozora Corporate InvestmentDreamers VC

Crop Enhancementcrop-enhancement.comSep 2016 · $8.5M

Crop Enhancement develops CropCoat, a nontoxic crop treatment that leaves no residue on the harvested crop, aimed at agricultural growers.

AgTechNew Materials

Co-investorsBandgap VenturesPhoenix Venture PartnersSpruce Capital PartnersXeraya Capital

Gridtentialgridtential.comSeries B · Jan 2016 · $11M

Combining cost & safety of lead-acid and performance & lifetime of Li-ion

Santa Clara, US

Christiaan W Beekhuis(Executive Officer, Director)

BoardDan Miller(Director)Roger Strauch(Director)inMichele Klein(Director)Ray Kubis(Director)

Co-investorsAugust CapitalThe Roda Group

Nature's Fyndnaturesfynd.comSeries A · Feb 2019 · $33M

The Fynder Group develops a biotechnology platform using extremophile fungi to produce specialty ingredients, biopharmaceutical drugs, and bio-based materials for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and textile applications.

BiotechFoodTechNew MaterialsChicago, US

Matthew Strongin(Founder)in

Co-investorsBreakthrough Energy VenturesDanone Manifesto VentureLauder PartnersSoftBank Vision Fund

Noahmednoahmed.comin𝕏

Noah Medical develops robotic and software solutions for diagnostic bronchoscopy procedures, designed to enable earlier lung cancer diagnosis with improved accuracy.

HealthtechMedical DevicesRoboticsSilicon Valley, US

Jian Zhang(Founder & CEO)Enrique RomoinFrank Grilloin

Co-investorsChina Growth CapitalLYFE CapitalProsperity7 VenturesShangBay Capital LLC

Omnivoreomnivore.vc

"Financial first" impact investor supporting Indian smallholder farmers and rural communities.

Co-investorsCheck24 VenturesSorenson Impact FoundationYara Growth Ventures

Postmatespostmates.comJun 2015Acquired

<UNKNOWN>

San Francisco, US

Bastian Lehman(Founder & CEO)Sam Street(Founder)inSean Plaice(Director)inBastian Lehmann(Executive Officer, Director)

BoardLee Fixel(Director)Scott Banister(Director)in

Co-investorsAngelPadBrighter CapitalCraft VenturesCrosslink CapitalEntrée CapitalExpansion Venture Capital+60 more

Vital Biosciences Inc.vitalbio.comin

VitalBio develops the VitalOne, a diagnostic device that delivers comprehensive lab-grade blood test results in minutes from a small blood sample, using robotics, biochemistry, computer vision, and microfluidics.

BiotechDigital HealthMedical Devices

Vasu Nadella(Founder)in

Co-investorsNext VenturesInovia CapitalLachy GroomMarc BenioffNorthpond VenturesSam Altman+7 more

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Novel MaterialsSustainable BioproductsSustainable manufacturingSustainable transportationWaste-to-Value Chemicals

Exits · 2

1 IPOs · 1 acquisitions · showing 1

Ginkgo BioworksNYSE: DNA

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has 1955 Capital made?
1955 Capital has 16 tracked investments, 2 of which have exited.
What stage does 1955 Capital invest at?
1955 Capital invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is 1955 Capital's typical check size?
1955 Capital typically writes checks of $5M – $10M.
What sectors does 1955 Capital focus on?
1955 Capital focuses on AgTech, AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Climate Tech, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Energy, FoodTech, Healthtech, Medical Devices, New Materials, Robotics.
Where is 1955 Capital located?
1955 Capital is headquartered in San Francisco, US.
Does 1955 Capital lead rounds?
1955 Capital typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Who does 1955 Capital co-invest with?
1955 Capital most often shares deals with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, FJ Labs, Global Brain, among 29 tracked co-investors.

Co-investors · 18

Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm that partners with founders to build technology companies.

$4.4M – $214M
Khosla Ventures

Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs bold, early-stage, technology-driven companies across deep tech and other sectors, providing hands-on 'venture assistance' to help founders build category-defining businesses.

$5K – $50M
Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Breakthrough Energy, founded by Bill Gates, backs innovators developing affordable, reliable, and clean energy technologies, investing across manufacturing, electricity, agriculture, transportation, and buildings.

$500K – $50M
Founders Fund

Founders Fund is a venture capital firm that backs technology companies building transformative products.

Both backed · 1
$500K – $5M
Lightspeed Venture Partners

Lightspeed Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm that backs founders from Seed through Series F and beyond, emphasizing deep, immersive partnerships with the companies it invests in.

Both backed · 1
$1.7M – $87M
Uncork Capital

Uncork Capital is a seed-stage venture firm that backs early founders, with a focus on AI-native companies driving scale and industry change.

Both backed · 1
$3M – $5M
August Capital

August Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in a small number of companies, providing hands-on support to entrepreneurs building their businesses.

Both backed · 1
$1M – $15M
OrbiMed

OrbiMed is a healthcare-focused investment firm providing tailored financing solutions and global resources to build world-class healthcare companies across biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, diagnostics, and healthcare services.

Both backed · 1
$1M – $75M
HCVC

HCVC is a venture capital firm that backs founders working to industrialize scientific and technological progress across deep tech, robotics, and hard science domains.

$100K – $1M
Bling Capital

Bling Capital is a seed-stage venture firm that helps entrepreneurs find and scale product-market fit, backed by a Product Council of 100+ product leaders.

$1M – $5M
AME Cloud Ventures

AME Cloud Ventures is a venture fund led by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!, that invests in technology-heavy companies building infrastructure and value chains around data.

$1M – $10M
Golden Ventures

Golden Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm that backs early-stage technology companies, with a portfolio concentrated in Canada.

$500K – $2.5M
▶6 more co-investors

Version One VenturesJohnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDCFlagship PioneeringWaverley CapitalVantagePoint Capital PartnersQiming Venture Partners USA

Firms observed investing alongside 1955 Capital, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with 1955 Capital's recorded portfolio.

Similar investors

Featured in lists