Where does Jason Pontin work?

Jason Pontin is General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective) and Board director at Tatio and Board director at Kanvas Bio and Board director at Proxima Bio.

What does Jason Pontin invest in?

Jason Pontin invests in AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Climate Tech.

What check size does Jason Pontin write?

Jason Pontin typically writes checks of $5M – $25M.

What boards does Jason Pontin sit on?

Jason Pontin holds tracked board seats at Kanvas Bio, Proxima Bio, Relation Therapeutics Inc., Tatio, Totus Medicines, ZwitterCo.

Where did Jason Pontin go to school?

Jason Pontin studied at University of Oxford (BA, MA (Oxon)); Harrow School.

Jason Pontin

Investor

General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective) · Board director at Tatio · Board director at Kanvas Bio · Board director at Proxima Bio

Palo Alto, California

Writes $5M – $25M checks · typically $15M

Find your path to Jason

324 people in our graph share verified history with Jason — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Dominic JacquessonunlockedJason: together at Callosum (2026)

×5Jason: together at Flagship Pioneering

Jason: together at Strateos

Jason: together at Totus Medicines

About

Jason Pontin is a General Partner at DCVC focused on early-stage computational biology and chemistry startups, having joined in 2021 after serving as Senior Partner at Flagship Pioneering. He cofounded Totus Medicines and previously ran media companies, serving as Editor in Chief and Publisher of MIT Technology Review from 2004 to 2017.

Contact· published on Jason's own website

j•••@dcvc.comreveal

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningBiotechClimate Tech

Beyond investing

Founded: Pontin founded The Acumen Journal, a magazine about the life sciences. Pontin cofounded MIT Solve in 2015, the institute's open innovation platform. Pontin cofounded Totus Medicines in 2019 with CEO Neil Dhawan.
Education: Studied at Harrow School Studied at Keble College, Oxford
Communities: Pontin delivered a 2013 TED Talk in Long Beach, California titled 'Can Technology solve our big problems?'
Family: Pontin was born in London to a British father, Anthony Charles Pontin, a businessman, and a South African mother, Elaine Howells, an actress.
More: Pontin writes for Wired in the publication's 'IDEAS' channel.

Mentioned above: the Harrow School mafia →

From Jason's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Board director at Tatio

Intro paths

→

In turn, Jason can intro founders to Tatio's investors below.

Tatio's investors · 1

DCVC (Data Collective)Palo Alto · $5M – $25M checks · since 2022

Board director at Kanvas Bio

Intro paths

→

In turn, Jason can intro founders to Kanvas Bio's investors below.

Kanvas Bio's investors · 9

Bascom VenturesBoston Boutique Venture PartnersPalo Alto DCVC (Data Collective)Palo Alto · $5M – $25M checks · since 2023 FemHealth VenturesShort Hills Germin8 VenturesChicago Kicker VenturesMenlo Park · $100K – $1M checks Pangaea Ventures Us Inc.Vancouver · $500K – $1.5M checks Red Bear VenturesIthaca · $200K – $1.3M checks Triple Impact CapitalSan Francisco · $250K – $600K checks · since 2023

Co-founders at Kanvas Bio

Matthew ChengExecutive Officer, Director

Hao ShiExecutive Officer, Director

Iwijn De VlaminckExecutive Officer, Director

Board director at Proxima Bio

Intro paths

→

In turn, Jason can intro founders to Proxima Bio's investors below.

Proxima Bio's investors · 1

DCVC (Data Collective)Palo Alto · $5M – $25M checks · since 2026

Experience

DCVCGeneral Partnercurrent2023 — presentPalo Alto, California, United States
DCVCPartner2021 — 2023
CallosumBoard Observercurrent2026 — presentLondon Area, United Kingdom
University of CambridgeGlobal Advisory Board, Cambridge Innovation Hubcurrent2026 — presentCambridge
ProximaBoard Membercurrent2026 — presentNew York, United States
Dayhoff LabsBoard Membercurrent2025 — presentLondon Area, United Kingdom
Kanvas BiosciencesFounding Board Chaircurrent2023 — presentPrinceton, NJ
Relation TherapeuticsBoard Membercurrent2022 — presentLondon, England, United Kingdom
Totus MedicinesFounding Board Member, Cofounder, and Initial Investor (through Social Impact Capital)current2019 — presentGreater Boston Area
WIREDContributing Writercurrent2018 — present
Evonetix LtdBoard Member2021 — 2026Cambridge
RecycleyeBoard Member2023 — 2026Greater London
ZwitterCoBoard Chair2022 — 2026Boston, MA
Aquafortus TechnologiesBoard Member2023 — 2026Auckland, New Zealand
DVLP MedicinesBoard Chair2022 — 2025Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Equilibr.io IncBoard Chair2021 — 2025Palo Alto, California, United States
StrateosBoard Chair2021 — 2024Menlo Park, California, United States
Adlai Nortye Biopharma Co., Ltd.Scientific Advisory Board Member2020 — 2023Boston
Menten AIBoard Observer and Seed Investor (through Social Impact Capital)2020 — 2022Greater Boston
Flagship PioneeringSenior Advisor2019 — 2020Greater Boston Area
Flagship PioneeringSenior Partner2018 — 2019Cambridge, MA
ValoStrategic Advisor2019 — 2020

Skills & more

Board LevelBoard AdministrationBoard GovernanceDigital Media44EditorialPublishingPublicationsMagazines93Public Speaking28Journalism37EditingNew Media30

+8 more

Content ManagementBloggingOnline PublishingContent StrategyPhotographyWeb ContentSocial MediaNewspapers

Languages Latin, French, a little modern and ancient Greek.

From Jason's professional profile.

Deals · 3

Proxima BioBoard seat

via DCVC (Data Collective) · filed Jun 2026 · $91.5M raise

TatioBoard seat

via DCVC (Data Collective) · filed Nov 2022 · $2.5M raise

ZwitterCoBoard seat

via DCVC (Data Collective) · filed May 2022 · $33.4M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Board seats

Kanvas BioRelation Therapeutics Inc.Totus Medicines

Investor

AclarityAquafortusCallosumKanvas BiosciencesRelation TherapeuticsTotus MedicinesVantAI, Inc.

Sources: SEC Form D filings · curated public sources · the firm's website.

Colleagues at DCVC (Data Collective)

Alan Cohen

General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Ali Tamaseb

General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Allyson Kaufman

Investor Relations Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Anna Fokina

Investment Director DCVC Bio at DCVC (Data Collective)

Cara Yesko

Associate at DCVC (Data Collective)

Chris Boshuizen

Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Christopher Meldrum

Entrepreneur In Residence, DCVC Bio at DCVC Bio

Clay Hutmacher

Operating Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Network6

Alan CohenScout

General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Ali TamasebScout

General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Anna FokinaScout

Investment Director DCVC Bio at DCVC (Data Collective)

Chris BoshuizenScout

Partner at DCVC (Data Collective)

Christine AylwardScout

Founder & Managing Partner at Magnetic Ventures

Eric Shiozaki, PhDScout

Partner at Revelation Partners

Investors connected to Jason in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jason Pontin?: Jason Pontin is a General Partner at DCVC focused on early-stage computational biology and chemistry startups, having joined in 2021 after serving as Senior Partner at Flagship Pioneering. He cofounded Totus Medicines and previously ran media companies, serving as Editor in Chief and Publisher of MIT Technology Review from 2004 to 2017.
Where does Jason Pontin work?: Jason Pontin is General Partner at DCVC (Data Collective) and Board director at Tatio and Board director at Kanvas Bio and Board director at Proxima Bio.
What does Jason Pontin invest in?: Jason Pontin invests in AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Climate Tech.
What check size does Jason Pontin write?: Jason Pontin typically writes checks of $5M – $25M.
What boards does Jason Pontin sit on?: Jason Pontin holds tracked board seats at Kanvas Bio, Proxima Bio, Relation Therapeutics Inc., Tatio, Totus Medicines, ZwitterCo.
What companies has Jason Pontin invested in?: Investments tracked here include Aclarity, Aquafortus, Callosum, Kanvas Biosciences, Relation Therapeutics, Totus Medicines, VantAI, Inc., ZwitterCo.
Where did Jason Pontin go to school?: Jason Pontin studied at University of Oxford (BA, MA (Oxon)); Harrow School.