What stage does Elm Street Ventures invest at?

Elm Street Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.

What is Elm Street Ventures's typical check size?

Elm Street Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $1M.

Where is Elm Street Ventures located?

Elm Street Ventures is headquartered in New Haven, US.

Does Elm Street Ventures lead rounds?

Yes, Elm Street Ventures leads investment rounds.

Elm Street Ventures

Venture capitaloperating company · company profile

New Haven · Pre-Seed–Series A · 15 people tracked

★ Follow + Add to CRM ⤳ Find an introduction

Find your way into Elm Street Ventures

1,091 people in our graph share verified history with the Elm Street Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Ben Robbinsunlockedknows David Whittaker · together at Dartmouth College (overlapped)

×6knows the team · via Harvard University

×2knows the team · via Stony Brook University

knows the team · via Dartmouth College

knows the team · via US Navy

knows the team · via United States Naval Academy

✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

Elm Street Ventures invests at seed and early stage in companies built on great science and led by strong teams, with a focus on Yale-connected startups commercializing university research. It primarily targets companies whose technology was developed at and licensed from Yale, and also invests in the greater New Haven area, with occasional exceptions where the team has strong personal connections or can add substantial value. In evaluating deals, the firm weighs team strength — creativity, intelligence, passion, and commitment — as heavily as or more than the technology or market. Its focus areas include therapeutics, advanced industrial tools and materials, and climate interventions, aiming for great impact.

Invests inBiotech Cleantech Climate Tech Cloud Computing Deep Tech Digital Health Healthtech IoT Medical Devices New Materials SaaS United States

Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.

Stage

Pre-Seed–Series A

Check

$250K – $1M

New Haven, Connecticut, US

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2006

Last 12 months

1 investment

Tracked investments

Team · 15 people

from the firm's website

Chris McLeod· Managing Partner· Branford, Connecticut, United Statesin

A CEO, entrepreneur, and investor with broad experience spanning software and life sciences.

c•••@elmvc.comreveal

Dean Takahashi· Founder and Executive Director, Yale Carbon Containment Lab

Advisory board member; founder and executive director of the Yale Carbon Containment Lab.

Jonas Clark· Partner· United Statesin

Partner at Elm Street Ventures with extensive experience working with early-stage teams across various sectors.

j•••@elmvc.comreveal

Brian Dixon· Venture Partner

Former start-up CEO and pharma executive with experience commercializing academic technology; holds a PhD.

b•••@elmvc.comreveal

David Whittaker· Venture Partner· Potomac, Maryland, United Statesin

A retired US Navy Captain (2021) and vascular surgeon whose military roles included Chief of Vascular Surgery at Walter Reed and Chief Medical Officer for Innovation at the Defense Health Agency, later serving as CMO of dialysis-monitoring company Alio. He advises biotech entrepreneurs and consults at the intersection of life sciences and national security.

Rick Stahl· Venture Partner

A physician executive with 25 years of experience evaluating and implementing healthcare technology, devices, and services. He serves as a limited partner and Venture Partner at Elm Street Ventures, held senior executive roles at Yale New Haven Health System, and is board certified in general surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery.

r•••@elmvc.comreveal

Brian Halak· Partner, Domain Ventures

Advisory board member; partner at Domain Ventures.

David Hathaway· In Memoriam (Venrock)

Advisory board member listed in memoriam, formerly of Venrock.

Fred Frank· In Memoriam (Evolution Life Sciences Partners)

Advisory board member listed in memoriam, formerly of Evolution Life Sciences Partners.

Jimmy Lu· Managing Director, Eos BioInnovation

Advisory board member; managing director at Eos BioInnovation.

Len Baker· Managing Director, Sutter Hill Ventures

Advisory board member; managing director at Sutter Hill Ventures.

Matt Mendelsohn· Chief Investment Officer, Yale Investments Office

Advisory board member; Chief Investment Officer of the Yale Investments Office.

Matthew McCooe· CEO, Connecticut Innovations

Advisory board member; CEO of Connecticut Innovations.

Paul Anastas· Science Advisor

Director of Yale University's Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering, holding the Heinz chair in Chemistry for the Environment. Widely known as the 'Father of Green Chemistry,' he previously served as Science Advisor and Assistant Administrator for Research and Development at the US EPA.

Robert Bettigole· Managing Partner· New Haven, Connecticut, United Statesin

Founder and managing partner of Elm Street Ventures, with experience as a venture capitalist, engineer, and entrepreneur.

r•••@elmvc.comreveal

What they invest in

from 4 of 4 portfolio companies

Biotech ×2Climate Tech ×1Deep Tech ×1Digital Health ×1Fintech ×1GovTech ×1Healthtech ×1HR Tech ×1

HQs:United States×3Hong Kong×1

Investments · 4 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 1 2015 · 12 dated

Allyx Therapeutics, Inc.allyxthera.com in 𝕏✓ verified

Allyx Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies to preserve and protect synapses in people with neurodegenerative diseases.

BiotechDigital HealthHealthtechNew Haven, US

Paul Fonteyne(Co-Founder)inStephen Strittmatter(Scientific Founder)in Stephen Bloch(CEO & Co-Founder)inTimothy Siegert(COO, Co-Founder)inTim Siegert, PhD(COO & Co-Founder)Jennifer Gabler(Executive Officer)in

Co-investorsSpring Mountain Capital Connecticut Innovations WHIN

Elm Street Ventureselmvc.com

Elm Street Ventures is a seed and early-stage venture capital fund that invests in startups with a Yale University connection, typically commercializing research licensed from Yale, as well as companies in the greater New Haven area.

BiotechClimate TechDeep TechNew Haven, US

Co-investorsConnecticut Innovations Omidyar Network

Enrichenrichhk.org in 𝕏Apr 2026 · $10M

Enrich HK supports migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong through financial education, wellness programs, and community initiatives.

FintechHR TechImpact & Social GoodWellness & FitnessHong Kong, HK

Suzanne Gendron(Executive Director)inTynna Mendoza(Interim Executive Director)in

Co-investorsAVPN

SeeClickFixseeclickfix.comJun 2015

SeeClickFix 311 CRM by CivicPlus is a 311 platform that lets residents report local issues, request repairs, and send feedback or questions to their local government.

GovTechSaaSNew Haven, US

Charles Kampmann Lasater(Executive Officer, Director)Ben Berkowitz(Executive Officer, Director)Miles Lasater(Director)in

BoardMark Jacobsen(Director)

Co-investorsLaunchCapital Connecticut Innovations

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Enrich Labs challenges venture capital playbook after reaching $18M ARR without raising funding | ZAWYA

Enrich · zawya.com · Aug 17, 2026

After raising $62M, New Haven biotech Allyx Therapeutics advances experimental Alzheimer’s drug

Allyx Therapeutics, Inc. · hartfordbusiness.com · Jun 15, 2026

Enrich Biosystems Raises Over $10 Million to Advance High-Throughput Cell Analysis Platform - VC Tavern

Elm Street Ventures · vctavern.com · Apr 15, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Elm Street Ventures invest at?: Elm Street Ventures invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
What is Elm Street Ventures's typical check size?: Elm Street Ventures typically writes checks of $250K – $1M.
What sectors does Elm Street Ventures focus on?: Elm Street Ventures focuses on Biotech, Cleantech, Climate Tech, Cloud Computing, Deep Tech, Digital Health, Healthtech, IoT, Medical Devices, New Materials, SaaS.
Where is Elm Street Ventures located?: Elm Street Ventures is headquartered in New Haven, US.
Does Elm Street Ventures lead rounds?: Yes, Elm Street Ventures leads investment rounds.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Rob Bettigole (Elm Street Ventures) - Seed and Early Stage Venture Capital

Startup Grind Local · Rob Bettigole

Similar investors

Everywhere Ventures

Everywhere Ventures is an early-stage venture firm, backed by a community of founders and operators as LPs, that writes early checks (including pre-seed) into startups across many sectors and geographies.

$250K

MPG Fund

MPG Fund is an early-stage venture investor backing technology startups.

BSV Ventures

BSV Ventures runs an incubation and acceleration program and makes seed-stage investments in R&D-driven startups, with a focus on HealthTech, BioTech, and MedTech as well as deep-tech domains.

$5K – $430K

BDC Fund Investments (Fund-of-Funds)

This page is the analysis and research library of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), publishing studies, surveys and reports on issues affecting small and medium-sized businesses in Canada.

Qbic Fund

Qbic is an inter-university venture capital fund that turns technological breakthroughs from its partner universities, research institutes and hospitals into sustainable businesses.