Black Opal Ventures
Venture capitalActively deployingNew York · Seed–Late Stage · 28 people tracked
Also known as Black Opal Ventures Specialty · BLACK OPAL VENTURES, LLC
Investment thesis
Black Opal Ventures was founded by two MIT-trained partners who combined decades of experience in venture capital, deep technology, and healthcare. Eileen Tanghal brings over 20 years of venture experience investing in deep-tech and semiconductor startups, while Tara Bishop brings a career as a physician, executive, and healthcare investor advancing value-based care. The firm reflects their shared ambition to build a business grounded in collaboration, trust, and authenticity, applying their complementary expertise across technology and healthcare innovation.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 28 people
from the firm's website & curated & public directories_edited.png)
.png)
What they invest in
from 12 of 25 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×7Deep Tech ×5Enterprise Software ×4Healthtech ×4Digital Health ×3Semiconductors ×3Cloud Computing ×2Hardware ×2
HQs:United States×8Italy×1
Investments · 25 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12025 · 32023 · 22022 · 17 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 TechHardwareSemiconductors
Andrew Feldman(Co-founder & CEO)inGary LauterbachMichael JamesSean Lie(Founder)inJean-Philippe Fricker
Co-investors2080 VenturesAurum Venture PartnersB CapitalCongruent VenturesDisruptive VenturesEclipse Ventures+10 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
Emily Marine Leproust(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)William Charles Banyai(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Bill James Peck(Executive Officer, Promoter)Emily Leproust(Founder)in
BoardKeith Crandell(Director)Paul Conley(Director)in
Co-investors+ND Capital3E Bioventures CapitalARCH Venture PartnersAsset Management CompanyBay City CapitalDentsu Ventures+7 more
Eridu develops networking infrastructure optimized for artificial intelligence workloads.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeep TechHardwareSaratoga, US
Drew Perkins(CEO and founder)inChristian Gallagher(Director)Jagdeep Singh(Director)Omar Hassen(Director)Dipender Saluja(Director)Brian Kinard(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsBosch VenturesCatapult VenturesMatter Venture PartnersSocratic PartnersZelda VenturesFriends Family Capital+12 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)Ankur Panchbudhe(Co-Founder and CTO)Shlomo Yanay(Executive Officer, Director)Ankur Purushottam Parchbudhe(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJacob Seid(Director)
Co-investorsBallistic VenturesCheyenne VenturesBlu Venture InvestorsK2 Access Fund
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 and Director of the Affective Computing Group at the MIT Media Lab and Faculty Chair, MIT Mind+Hand+Heart Wellbeing Initiative)Matteo Lai(Executive Officer, Director)inSimone Tognetti(Director)Len Picard(Executive Officer, Director)Mario Scuderi(Director)
Co-investorsCDP Venture CapitalRA CapitalSanofi Ventures
Co-investors25MadisonSpringTide VenturesThe Venture Collective
Plug-and-play conversational AI platform enabling voice and chat interactions with information across digital channels.
Israel Krush(Founder & CEO)Rom Cohen(Founder)in
Co-investorsDorm RoomEntrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)Hanaco Venture CapitalHealthier CapitalK20 FundMindset Venture+7 more
HealthtechNew Canaan, US
Louis Aronne(Director)Sloan Saunders(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)David Bass(Executive Officer)Shelly Lanning(Director)
BoardJason Dinges(Director)Stefan Reyniak(Director)
Co-investorsSilicon BadiaHearst Ventures
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
Co-investorsAurum Venture PartnersB Capital GroupB4 CapitalFlare Capital PartnersMeridian Street CapitalVU Venture Partners+4 more
Political donor advising platform that directed over $37 million and 300,000 donations to 750+ candidates in 2024.
Brian Derrick(Founder)in
Co-investorsHigher Ground LabsMcKesson VenturesRackhouse Venture Capital
Co-investorsIntuitive VenturesIQ Capital
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
Simon Thomas(Chief Executive Officer of the issuer.)
Co-investorsAmadeus Capital PartnersCambridge Angels groupEMV CapitalIn-Q-TelIQ CapitalMartlet Capital+4 more
Thesis is an AI research lab that automates AI research and development through autonomous experimentation.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareSan Francisco, US
Sergio Charles(Co-Founder & CEO)inLuigi Charles(Founder)in
Co-investorsY CombinatorCRV (Charles River Ventures)Oak HC/FT
Thesis builds technology to help healthcare organizations perform high-value clinical support work at scale, aiming to improve patient outcomes and the patient experience.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthEnterprise SoftwareHealthtech
Niren Gandra(CEO, Co-Founder)Aditya Pandyaram(CPO, Co-Founder)
Co-investorsOak HC/FTCRV (Charles River Ventures)
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
Co-investors11.2 CapitalCelesta CapitalCelesta CapitalDCVC (Data Collective)Eastlink Capital PartnersMundi Ventures+5 more
Exits · 2
IPOs and acquisitions across the tracked portfolioCerebras SystemsNASDAQ: CBRSTwist BioscienceNASDAQ: TWST
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companies
Cerebras Systems · blockonomi.com · Jul 17, 2026
Oath · trysignalbase.com · Jun 16, 2026
Thesis · undergraduateresearch.princeton.edu · Apr 17, 2026
Thesis Care · healthcareittoday.com · Apr 13, 2026
TigerGraph · tigergraph.com · Mar 3, 2026
Hyro · tech.cornell.edu · Dec 19, 2025
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Black Opal Ventures made?
- Black Opal Ventures has 17 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO.
- 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, 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 Amadeus Capital Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), Foundation Capital, among 62 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
Similar investors
.jpeg){kind=logo}
B Capital is a global investment firm backing early to late-stage technology innovators across technology, healthcare, and energy & resilience sectors.
DCVC (Data Collective) is a deep tech venture capital firm that backs entrepreneurs using computational approaches to solve large-scale real-world problems across many industries.
Eight Roads Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs and partners with technology and healthcare companies.
GV (Google Ventures) is a venture capital firm that has invested in artificial intelligence and machine learning since its early days, building a global portfolio of more than 100 AI companies across infrastructure, life sciences, and applications.
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies focused on technology, mobile, and clean energy sectors, including biotechnology applications. The firm provides capital and strategic support to entrepreneurs developing breakthrough technologies across multiple markets.