Spero Ventures
Venture capitalBurlingame · Seed–Series A · 6 people tracked
Also known as SPERO · SPERO MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC
Investment thesis
Spero Ventures views a company's mission as a strategic advantage and accelerant, believing it gives talent, customers, and investors a compelling reason to choose the product. The firm looks to reach conviction in a business before investing, and once it does, it champions the founders and their teams by backing them with both capital and time. The emphasis is on partnering closely with mission-oriented teams rather than on a specific sector or stage focus stated on this page.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.
Team · 6 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 32 of 42 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×14Cleantech ×7SaaS ×6Energy ×5Healthtech ×5Climate Tech ×4Digital Health ×4HR Tech ×4
HQs:United States×26Mexico×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 15 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×62 founders×53 founders×34+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 12 founders with education data
Cornell University ×2Massachusetts Institute of Technology ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 13 founders with career history
Goldman Sachs ×2National Energy Partners ×2Zymergen ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 42 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 22025 · 12024 · 22023 · 22022 · 42021 · 22020 · 12019 · 12018 · 22011 · 118 dated
Berkeley, US
Dengjun Lu(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJohannes Schumm(Director)Paolo Micalizzi(Director)
Board seatMarc Tarpenning· per SEC Form D · $5.1M raise · filed Mar 2020
San Francisco, US
Sarah McDevitt(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatShripriya Mahesh· per SEC Form D · $5.9M raise · filed May 2019
Co-investorsFlyover CapitalAlpaca VC
Corvus Robotics builds autonomous drones that perform warehouse inventory scanning and material handling automation for large enterprises across North America.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningIoTLogistics & Supply ChainRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Jackie Wu(Founder/CEO)inKabir Mohammed(Director)inMohammed Kabir(Director)
BoardArthur Chow(Director)in
Board seatShripriya Mahesh· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsY CombinatorCathexis Venturesf7 VenturesGoAhead VenturesOne Way VenturesS2G Investments+1 more
Gencove provides direct-to-consumer genetic sequencing and polygenic risk scoring for health insights.
BiotechDigital HealthHealthtechNew York, US
Tomaz Berisa(Executive Officer, Director)Joseph Pickrell(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatSara EshelmanShripriya Mahesh· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBread And Butter Ventures, LlcBalaji SrinivasanRefactor CapitalThird Kind Venture CapitalVersion One Ventures
South San Francisco, US
Michael Florea(Executive Officer, Director)Pratomo Alimsijah(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatSara Eshelman· per SEC Form D · $7.4M raise · filed Mar 2026
Oakland, US
Don Hutchison(Director)Bill Woodcock(Director)Paul Hainsworth(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatShripriya Mahesh· per SEC Form D · $50M raise · filed Mar 2018
Co-investorsAugust Capital
San Francisco, US
Shelby Clark(Director)Andre Haddad(Executive Officer, Director)Anne Dorman(Executive Officer)
BoardDeepak Kamra(Director)inHoward Hartenbaum(Director)inJoe Kraus(Director)
Board seatShripriya Mahesh· per SEC Form D · $35.2M raise · filed Mar 2022
Co-investorsAugust CapitalCanaan Partners
New York, US
Ryan Schulke(Director)Ari Kassman(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatShripriya Mahesh· per SEC Form D · $2M raise · filed Jul 2018
Singularity Energy provides tools for measuring grid emissions and supporting decision-making around decarbonization.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyCambridge, US
Wenbo Shi(Executive Officer, Director)in
Board seatMarc Tarpenning· per SEC Form D · $4.5M raise · filed Jan 2022
Co-investorsEnergy Impact PartnersThird Sphere
AgTechLakewood, US
Tim Brackbill(Director)Eric Adamson(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatMarc Tarpenning· per SEC Form D · $20M raise · filed Nov 2021
Wattch provides a software and hardware platform for monitoring, intelligence, and control of renewable energy assets such as solar and storage, including a Hybrid SCADA system, digital twin analytics, and AI-optimized dispatch.
AI & Machine LearningCleantechEnergyIoTSaaSSmyrna, US
Jared Duncan(Founder)inRobert Alexander Nussey(Executive Officer, Director)
Board seatMarc Tarpenning· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsVoLo Earth Ventures
Alex Sandoval(Founder)Nicolas Hernan Degiorgis(Founder)
Co-investorsBDev VenturesVoyager Partners
Aralez Bio uses an enzyme-based (biocatalysis) platform to produce noncanonical amino acids and protected amino acid building blocks for peptide therapeutic discovery and manufacturing teams.
BiotechCleantechNew MaterialsBerkeley, US
Co-investorsAstiaFifty YearsFREEFLOWGood Growth CapitalISVJuniper+1 more
Base Operations provides a platform for corporate security teams to proactively identify and analyze threats using street-level intelligence and data-driven insights.
CybersecurityData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaSWashington, US
Co-investorsTechstars
Canopy develops an IoT-based wearable safety platform for healthcare organizations to protect workers from safety risks and workplace violence.
Enterprise SoftwareHealthtechIoTPalo Alto, US
Shan Sinha(Co-founder & CEO)inVinay Pulim(Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer)inHemanth Meenakshisundaram(Co-founder & Chief Scientist)in
Co-investors25MadisonACME CapitalFounder CollectiveNextView Ventures
Clarity provides air quality monitoring covering ambient pollutants such as particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide.
Climate TechHardwareIoT
Co-investorsBlue Bear VenturesKickstart VenturesSoundproof VenturesHumba VenturesLMNT VenturesRegeneration.VC
Confirm is an AI-powered performance management platform that uses Organizational Network Analysis to map collaboration patterns and provide objective data for fairer employee reviews.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaSSan Francisco, US
Joshua Merrill(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)Josh Merrill(Founder)inJeremy Lerner
Co-investorsResolute VenturesScribble VenturesWestern Technology InvestmentAccomplice
Eli is an AI-native energy program implementer that automates the steps between funding and installation, handling eligibility, qualification, verification, payments, and compliance for energy incentive and rebate programs (such as Mass Save).
AI & Machine LearningEnergyFintech
Co-investorsCity LightR/GA VenturesUP Partners
Empowerly provides college admissions counseling and application support services to help students gain admission to top universities.
EdTechBay Area, US
Hanmei Wu(Founder)Changxiao Xie(Co-founder)
Co-investorsAzure Capital PartnersBrighter CapitalConductive VenturesScrum VenturesTransLink CapitalFJ Labs+2 more
Euclid is a venture capital firm focused on Vertical AI, providing research-driven insights and investing in companies building vertical AI software.
AI & Machine LearningPalo Alto, US
Nic Poulos(Founder)inMichael Dearing(Director)William Smith(Executive Officer, Director)Patrick Chung(Director)
Co-investorsDeep AcreCommonweal VenturesDesigner FundToba CapitalVenrock
Euclid Power provides software and technical services that help renewable energy teams organize project documents, convert them into structured verified data, and manage projects across their lifecycle.
CleantechEnergySaaSNew York City, US
Jacob Sandry(Cofounder)Brian DeMaio(Founder)inRyan Guay(Founder)in
Co-investorsBridges Fund Management Ltd.Coalition OperatorsCommonweal VenturesDesigner FundNextView VenturesToba Capital+1 more
Guide builds Aria, an AI agent that automates interview scheduling and recruiting coordination work for talent acquisition teams.
AI & Machine LearningHR TechSaaS
Co-investorsScribble Ventures
Huckleberry offers a baby tracker app and sleep support that combines pediatric sleep experts with AI to build custom sleep plans for families.
AI & Machine LearningConsumerDigital Health
Seng Oon Toh(Founder)
Co-investorsCity LightTamarisc VenturesVela PartnersThe Fund
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-investorsBlack Opal VenturesDorm RoomEntrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA)Hanaco Venture CapitalHealthier CapitalK20 Fund+5 more
Juno offers a child disability insurance product sold as an employee benefit, providing working parents up to $500,000 in flexible cash payments and one-on-one navigator support if a child under 26 develops a severe illness or disability.
FintechHR TechInsurTech
Co-investorsFloating PointImmeasurableNVP CapitalNewark Venture Partners
Co-investorsCapria VenturesRadicle GrowthCultivian Sandbox Ventures
Mast combines forest restoration with biomass burial to remove carbon and restore wildfire-affected landscapes.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningCircular EconomyCleantechClimate TechFintechImpact & Social GoodSeattle, US
Grant Canary(Founder)in
Co-investorsAsymmetry VenturesDcode CapitalGENIUS NYKeiki CapitalPulse FundTechstars+7 more
Mobius Materials operates a certified marketplace enabling contract manufacturers and OEMs to buy and sell excess electronic components directly, addressing annual waste of $15B in discarded components despite ongoing demand.
Advanced ManufacturingB2B MarketplacesCircular EconomyHardwareNew MaterialsRoboticsSan Francisco, US
Margaret Upshur(Founder)in
Co-investorsLighthouse Network Ventures LlcOutsidersUndeterred CapitalY CombinatorREFASHIOND Ventures
Oova offers a clinical-grade at-home hormone test that pairs with an AI-powered app to measure LH, estrogen (E3G), and progesterone (PdG) levels from urine, scanned via a smartphone camera.
AI & Machine LearningDigital HealthFemTech
Amy Divaraniya(Founder & CEO)Aparna (Amy) Divaraniya, PhD(Founder)in
Co-investorsConnecticut InnovationsKluz VenturesSamsung NextBBG VenturesHelm
Persist AI provides AI-driven formulation development services for pharmaceutical compounds, combining robotic lab automation with machine learning models to accelerate drug formulation optimization and reduce time-to-market.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesRoboticsSacramento, US
Karthik Raman(Founder)inChristopher Shelner(Founder)in
Co-investors2048 VenturesGlobal BrainGood AI CapitalJovonoY CombinatorInnospark Ventures+1 more
Pickaxe is a no-code platform for building, deploying, and managing AI agents, with built-in billing, access controls, usage caps, and analytics.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomySaaS
Nathaniel Mahowald(Founder)in
Co-investorsSwift Ventures
Remark builds digital clienteling and commerce tools for prestige luxury brands ("Maisons"), offering tailored product recommendations, curated styled edits, and on-brand client interaction handling.
AI & Machine LearningE-commerceRetail Tech
Co-investorsInspired CapitalShine CapitalStripeSugar CapitalVisible Ventures
Sora Schools provides an engaging, personalized learning experience built by educators, designers, and engineers.
EdTech
Co-investorsContraryHoneystone VenturesUnion Square Ventures (USV)Inspired CapitalNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Peak State Ventures+3 more
Sora is a labor compliance platform that digitizes and manages employee records for companies in Mexico, using AI agents to advise on labor decisions, generate documents based on the Federal Labor Law (LFT), and provide legally valid electronic signatures with facial biometrics.
AI & Machine LearningHR TechLegalTech
Co-investorsAct One VenturesInspired Capital
Sora Ventures acquires and operates publicly traded companies across Asia-Pacific, implementing Bitcoin treasury strategies and web3 infrastructure.
Crypto & Web3
Co-investorsSerafundInspired Capital
Sora Fuel produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and diesel using a proprietary closed-loop direct air capture and conversion process that draws carbon from air rather than biomass or industrial feedstocks.
CleantechClimate TechEnergyCambridge, US
Curtis BerlinguetteinGareth Ross(Executive Officer, Director)inCurtis Belinguete(Director)
BoardPatrick Sarver(Director)inMarc Tarpenning(Director)inMichael Kearney(Director)in
Co-investorsInnovation UBCInspired CapitalLeitmotifThe Engine VenturesWireframe Ventures
TalkShop.live is a live shopping platform where users watch live video streams and buy featured products directly during the broadcast, using its patented shoppable embedded point-of-sale technology.
E-commerceMedia & EntertainmentRetail Tech
Bryan Moore(Founder)inTina Moore(Founder)in
Co-investorsFlucas VenturesFourth RealmProgress Ventures
TELO Trucks builds the MT1, an all-electric compact pickup that combines pickup-truck utility with EV range and advanced safety technology in a subcompact footprint.
CleantechHardwareMobility & Transportation
Co-investorsE12 Venture Capital, LlcGoAhead VenturesTO VC
Tiny Health offers at-home gut and vaginal microbiome test kits with age-specific, evidence-based reports that recommend diet, supplement, and lifestyle changes.
Digital HealthHealthtechWellness & Fitness
Cheryl Sew Hoy(Founder)in
Co-investorsB Capital GroupB4 CapitalCartan CapitalModi VenturesNext Coast VenturesNorth South Ventures+6 more
Vistapath develops technology solutions to modernize pathology lab operations, helping pathology laboratories improve quality, efficiency, and consistency in critical lab processes.
AI & Machine LearningHealthtechMedical DevicesCambridge, US
Timothy Spong(CEO & Founder)Ben Burley(COO & Founder)inBurley Benjamin(Executive Officer, Director)Spong Timothy(Executive Officer, Director)Jacob Guggenheim(CTO)in
Co-investorsCota CapitalFirst Star VenturesMoxxie VenturesNextGen Venture PartnersScribble VenturesValuestream Ventures
Personal website of Andrew Parker, a General Partner at Spero Ventures who previously spent 16 years in venture capital at Spark Capital and Union Square Ventures.
Personal website of Marc Tarpenning, an engineer and co-founder of NuvoMedia and Tesla, who now works as a Venture Partner at Spero Ventures investing in early-stage startups.
Deep Tech
BoardMarc Tarpenning(Venture Partner (Spero Ventures); Co-founder (NuvoMedia, Tesla))
Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesEli · citybiz.co · Aug 18, 2026
Sora · the-decoder.com · Aug 17, 2026
Clarity · finsmes.com · Aug 14, 2026
Pickaxe · cbsnews.com · Jul 21, 2026
Tiny Health · zeebiz.com · Jul 16, 2026
Corvus Robotics · robotics.press · Apr 22, 2026
Sora Fuel · siliconsnark.com · Apr 9, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Spero Ventures made?
- Spero Ventures has 29 tracked investments, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Spero Ventures invest at?
- Spero Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Spero Ventures's typical check size?
- Spero Ventures typically writes checks of $2M – $4M.
- What sectors does Spero Ventures focus on?
- Spero Ventures focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, AgTech, Circular Economy, Cleantech, Climate Tech, Digital Health, Energy, FoodTech, Future of Work, Healthtech, Impact & Social Good, Longevity, Mobility & Transportation, Sector Agnostic, Wellness & Fitness.
- Where is Spero Ventures located?
- Spero Ventures is headquartered in Burlingame, US.
- Does Spero Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, Spero Ventures leads investment rounds.
- Who does Spero Ventures co-invest with?
- Spero Ventures most often shares deals with Scribble Ventures, Y Combinator, GoAhead Ventures, among 94 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamSpero Ventures, General Partner: Shripriya Mahesh’s Leadership Backstory
The Leadership Backstory · Shripriya Mahesh
#newtovc Interview Series with Andrew Parker of Spero Ventures
nextNYC · Andrew Parker
Conversation with Shripriya Mahesh, VC and Founding Partner at Spero Ventures.
Irina Gokh · Shripriya Mahesh
Conversation with Marc Tarpenning, the co-founder of Tesla and Venture Partner at Spero Ventures
Irina Gokh · Marc Tarpenning
Inside the mind of Shripriya Mahesh, Founding Partner, Spero Ventures
The Neon Show · Shripriya Mahesh
498th 1Mby1M Roundtable August 13, 2020: With Shripriya Mahesh, Spero Ventures
1Mby1M Roundtables · Shripriya Mahesh
Co-investors · 53
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▶41 more co-investors
Lightspeed Venture PartnersBessemer Venture PartnersIndex VenturesUncork CapitalBenchmarkFirst Round CapitalMenlo VenturesBoxGroupKrakenGreat Oaks Venture CapitalSOSVOffline VenturesBling CapitalObvious VenturesIA Ventures8VCRed Swan VenturesHomebrewGSV AccelerationFootworkNext Play VenturesQualcomm VenturesVine VenturesJackson Square VenturesK9 VenturesOwl VenturesAmasiaChicago VenturesNotation CapitalRubicon Venture CapitalWormhole CapitalRoot Ventures Manager, LlcLearn CapitalVista Venture PartnersGrotech VenturesGPO FundLooking Glass CapitalRackhouse Venture CapitalVantagePoint Capital PartnersBrand New MatterCyberlaunch
Firms observed investing alongside Spero Ventures, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Spero Ventures's recorded portfolio.
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