Fundraising Fox
Black Opal Ventures
Venture capitalActively deployingNew York · Seed–Late Stage · 18 people tracked
Also known as BLACK OPAL VENTURES, LLC
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Investment thesis
Black Opal Ventures invests in companies applying advanced, 'CIA-caliber' technology to tackle the world's biggest problems. The firm focuses on four areas: healthtech, tech bio, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Founded by two longtime friends who met at MIT, the firm combines deep expertise in venture capital, semiconductors, and healthcare transformation. It emphasizes supporting founders building a 'brilliant tomorrow' and operates with values of collaboration, drive, trust, and authenticity.
Source: firm website, verified Oct 27, 2026.
Team · 18 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories
Co-founder and Managing Director (MBA) of Black Opal Ventures, whose investments include Hyro, Outpace, TigerGraph and, prior to BOV, Cerebras Systems and Twist Bioscience.
Physician (MB BChir, MPH) serving as a Venture Partner at Black Opal Ventures.
CFA charterholder serving as a Venture Partner at Black Opal Ventures.
Venture Partner (MBA) at Black Opal Ventures.
Venture Partner (PhD) at Black Opal Ventures.
Serves as Chief of Staff and Venture Analyst at Black Opal Ventures.
CFA charterholder serving as Head of Investments at Black Opal Ventures.
Venture Associate at Black Opal Ventures.
Industry Advisor (PhD) at Black Opal Ventures.
Bill Bullock manages ATEL's direct and indirect sales team and originates new lease acquisitions. He previously held business development roles at Key Equipment Finance, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, and Mellon US Leasing, and holds a finance degree from San Diego State University.
Seema Parmar is an independent consultant who previously worked at McKinsey and Cleveland Clinic. Her career has focused on designing and scaling solutions aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing disparities, with particular attention to equity in healthcare systems.
What they invest in
from 17 of 27 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×8Healthtech ×8Deep Tech ×7Digital Health ×5Enterprise Software ×5Biotech ×3Medical Devices ×3Semiconductors ×3
HQs:United States×12United Kingdom×1Italy×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 8 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×23 founders×24+ founders×4
Where their founders studiedfrom 16 founders with education data
Cornell ×2Politecnico di Milano ×2
What their founders studiedfrom 15 founders with field-of-study data
Computer Science ×10Engineering ×4Business & Management ×3
Where their founders worked beforefrom 16 founders with career history
AMD ×5SeaMicro ×4Riverstone Networks ×2
Investments · 27 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 32025 · 42024 · 22023 · 22022 · 112 dated
Cerebras designs and manufactures wafer-scale AI processors and systems for data centers, enabling high-speed AI training and inference workloads.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechHardwareSemiconductorsSunnyvale, US
Andrew Feldman(Founder)inGary Lauterbach(Founder)inMichael James(Founder)inSean Lie(Founder)inJean-Philippe Fricker(Founder)in
Co-investors2080 VenturesAlpha Wave GlobalArtisanal VenturesAurum Venture PartnersAzure Ventures GroupB Capital+49 more
Twist Bioscience develops a silicon-based synthetic DNA manufacturing platform that produces high-quality DNA, genes, and NGS reagents for customers in medicine, agriculture, and industrial chemicals.
BiotechDeep TechSemiconductorsSouth San Francisco, US
William Charles Banyai(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Bill James Peck(Executive Officer, Promoter)Emily Leproust(Founder)inEmily Leproust, PhD(CEO and Co-Founder of Twist)Patrick Finn(President and Chief Operating Officer)inAdam Laponis(Chief Financial Officer)in
Co-investors+ND Capital3E Bioventures CapitalARCH Venture PartnersAsset Management CompanyATEL VenturesBay City Capital+10 more
Eridu develops networking infrastructure optimized for artificial intelligence workloads.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeep TechHardwareSaratoga, US
Drew Perkins(Founder)inBrian Kinard(Executive Officer)in
BoardJagdeep Singh(Director)Dipender Saluja(Director)Wen Hsieh(Director)inChristian Gallagher(Director)
Co-investorsBosch VenturesCatapult VenturesMatter Venture PartnersOUP (Osage University Partners)Socratic PartnersTDK Ventures+13 more
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Ansa provides an enzymatic DNA synthesis platform that directly synthesizes complex sequences up to 900 bp and delivers constructs up to 50 kb without assembly-based methods.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtechEmeryville, US
Dan Lin-Arlow(Founder)inSebastian Palluk(Founder)inDaniel Hillel Lin-Arlow(Executive Officer, Director)Jason T. Gammack(Executive Officer, Director)inDaniel Lin-Arlow(Founder)Jared Ellefson(Founder)
Co-investorsCarbon SiliconCerberus VenturesDauntless VenturesFifty YearsJude GomilaMetaplanet+14 more
AuthMind develops an AI-powered identity security platform that identifies and prevents identity access risks across on-premises and cloud applications, targeting enterprise organizations.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareBethesda, US
Shlomi Yanai(Co-Founder and CEO)inAnkur Panchbudhe(Co-Founder and CTO)inShlomo Yanay(Executive Officer, Director)Ankur Purushottam Parchbudhe(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJacob Seid(Director)
Co-investorsBallistic VenturesCheyenne VenturesTeam Builder VenturesBlu Venture InvestorsK2 Access Fund
Chamber provides care coordination software for healthcare systems operating under value-based care models, with a specific focus on improving cardiovascular outcomes through better data alignment and team coordination.
Digital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtech
George Aloth(Co-Founder & CEO)Jeffrey De Flavio(Founder)Sameer Sheth(Co-Founder, President & CMO)
Co-investorsAlleyCorpAmerican Family VenturesCity LightFrist Cressey VenturesGeneral CatalystOptum Ventures+2 more
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Thesis is an AI research lab that automates AI research and development through autonomous experimentation.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Sergio Charles(CEO)inLuigi Charles(Founder)in
Co-investorsGlobivestRebel FundY CombinatorCRV (Charles River Ventures)Link VenturesLiquid Ventures+4 more
Empatica offers an FDA-cleared health monitoring platform combining medical wearables and digital biomarkers to collect continuous, clinical-quality health data from daily life.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthHealthtechMedical DevicesCambridge, US
Rosalind Picard(Founder)inMatteo Lai(Executive Officer, Director)inSimone Tognetti(Director)inLen Picard(Executive Officer, Director)inMario Scuderi(Director)
Co-investorsCDP Venture CapitalRA CapitalSanofi VenturesInnogest Capital
Healthier Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in technology-enabled healthcare companies seeking to reduce costs and improve care delivery.
Digital HealthFintechHealthtech
Amir Dan Rubin(CEO and Founding Managing Partner)in
Co-investorsModi VenturesDefine VenturesMacquarie CapitalMaverick VenturesNorwest Venture PartnersOncology Ventures+2 more
Plug-and-play conversational AI platform enabling voice and chat interactions with information across digital channels.
Israel Krush(Founder)inRom Cohen(Founder)inUri Valevski(Founder)
Co-investorsDefine VenturesDorm RoomEntrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)Hanaco Venture CapitalHealthier CapitalK20 Fund+9 more
ISAAC provides an active, non-invasive structural protection system based on a patented Active Mass Damper installed on building roofs to improve seismic safety and vibration control with real-time monitoring.
Construction TechIoTPropTech
Co-investorsAxon Partners GroupNovaCapitalAirAngelsB CapitalFlare Capital PartnersIndustry Ventures+3 more
Isaac Health provides virtual, interdisciplinary care for people experiencing memory and thinking changes, staffed by board-certified neurologists, geriatric specialists, neuropsychologists, speech-language pathologists, and care navigators.
Digital HealthHealthtechLongevity
Julius Bruch(Founder & CEO)inJoel Salinas(Founder)in
Co-investorsAurum Venture PartnersB Capital GroupB4 CapitalFlare Capital PartnersMeridian Street CapitalVU Venture Partners+4 more
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Political donor advising platform that directed over $37 million and 300,000 donations to 750+ candidates in 2024.
Brian Derrick(Founder)in
Co-investorsGaingelsHigher Ground LabsMcKesson VenturesRackhouse Venture Capital
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Optellum builds an AI-powered platform for early lung cancer diagnosis, helping thoracic care teams and health systems discover, track, and assess the malignancy risk of lung nodule patients.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical Devices
Co-investorsIntuitive VenturesIQ CapitalMercia VenturesOutsized Ventures
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Outpace Bio develops engineered protein technologies and cell therapies to treat solid tumors, focusing on protein design and T cell engineering to improve cancer treatment efficacy and safety.
BiotechDeep TechMedical DevicesSeattle, US
Marc Lajoie(Founder)inScott Boyken(Founder)inStanley Riddell(Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor)Aaron Foster(Executive Officer)inCharity Scripture(Executive Officer)inEric Soller(Executive Officer)in
Co-investorsArtis VenturesRA CapitalAbstract VenturesATEL VenturesAtinum Investment Co. Ltd.Civilization Ventures Management, Llc+9 more
Paragraf develops graphene-based electronic devices, including molecular sensors (electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors) for biosensing and chemical sensing, and Hall effect sensors for current, position, and magnetic field measurement at cryogenic temperatures.
Deep TechNew MaterialsSemiconductorsCambridgeshire, GB
Simon Thomas(Chief Executive Officer of the issuer.)in
Co-investorsAmadeus Capital PartnersCambridge Angels groupEMV CapitalIn-Q-TelIQ CapitalMartlet Capital+5 more
Thesis Care provides clinical support services to healthcare organizations using technology to enable high-value work at scale, helping improve patient outcomes and experience.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtech
Niren Gandra, MD(CEO, Co-Founder)Aditya Pandyaram(CPO, Co-Founder)inNiren Gandra(CEO, Co-Founder)in
Co-investorsCRV (Charles River Ventures)Oak HC/FT
TigerGraph provides a graph analytics platform designed to reveal relationships and connections across data that traditional analytics tools miss, supporting deep multi-hop queries.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareMilpitas, US
Yu Xu(Founder)inLi Chen(Founder)Like Gao(Founder)Mingxi Wu(Founder)Ruoming Jin(Founder)
Co-investors11.2 CapitalCelesta CapitalDCVC (Data Collective)Eastlink Capital PartnersMundi VenturesQiming Venture Partners+5 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
BlazeChamberConceivabeFlyteHealthGV20IntellihealthOutpaceParasailSequans
Exits · 2
2 IPOsCerebras SystemsNASDAQ: CBRSTwist BioscienceNASDAQ: TWST
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
TigerGraph · tigergraph.com · Mar 3, 2026
Cerebras Systems · cerebras.ai · Feb 6, 2026
Chamber Cardio · biospace.com · Feb 5, 2026
Darwin · ycombinator.com · Nov 11, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Black Opal Ventures made?
- Black Opal Ventures has 27 tracked investments, 2 of which have exited, including 8 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Black Opal Ventures invest at?
- Black Opal Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Late Stage stages.
- What sectors does Black Opal Ventures focus on?
- Black Opal Ventures focuses on Biotech, Cybersecurity, Deep Tech, Digital Health, Enterprise Software, Healthtech, Medical Devices, SaaS.
- Where is Black Opal Ventures located?
- Black Opal Ventures is headquartered in New York, US.
- Who does Black Opal Ventures co-invest with?
- Black Opal Ventures most often shares deals with Gaingels, In-Q-Tel, IQ Capital, among 87 tracked co-investors.
From the blog
visit blog ↗Black Opal Ventures recently hosted its inaugural Global Growth Event featuring healthcare and deep tech startups, and released its 2025 Impact Report showing a portfolio of 27 companies focused on solving challenges in healthcare, security, and resilient infrastructure through frontier technologies. AI summary
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamMedical Alley Starts: Ask Me Anything with Tara Bishop, Founder, Black Opal Ventures
Medical Alley · Tara Bishop
Images
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