What DCVC Bio does

DCVC Bio is the life-sciences franchise of DCVC (Data Collective), a deep-tech venture capital firm, established in 2018 and co-founded by Managing Partners Dr. John Hamer, Dr. Kiersten Stead, Matthew Ocko, and Zachary Bogue. The firm invests in early-stage life-sciences companies applying AI, computational biology, and engineering biology across three verticals: human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology. Its underlying investment approach combines large-data models and scientific-domain expertise in genetics, chemistry, molecular biology, industrial fermentation, and AI to evaluate networks of genes and proteins and identify breakthrough opportunities in medicines, materials, and farming methods.

The firm's offering is a fund-plus-portfolio platform rather than a discrete software product. It manages three dedicated DCVC Bio funds — with DCVC Bio III closing at $400 million in September 2024 — and backs a portfolio that includes AbCellera (antibody discovery, Nasdaq: ABCL), Creyon Bio (ML-designed oligonucleotide therapeutics, partnered with Eli Lilly), Umoja Biopharma (in vivo CAR-T for cancer), Relation Therapeutics (graph machine-learning drug discovery, partnered with Novartis, GSK, and Deerfield), Kanvas Biosciences (microbiome therapeutics), Nilo Therapeutics (neuro-immunology), Newleos Therapeutics (CNS drugs), Latus Bio (AAV gene therapy), Elo Life (molecular farming for food), MycoWorks (mycelium-based leather), Sabanto (autonomous agriculture), and AgZen (AI-driven pesticide and fertilizer optimization). Revenue is generated through standard VC fund economics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on fund returns — negotiated bilaterally with institutional limited partners and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market combines proactive scientific-founder sourcing with content-led thought leadership, including the annual Deep Tech Opportunities Report and topical series covering TechBio, Computational Bio & Chem, and Next-Gen Agriculture.

Name

DCVC Bio

Legal name

DCVC Management Co, LLC

Website

https://dcvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DCVC Bio is the life-sciences franchise of DCVC, a deep-tech venture capital firm investing early-stage across human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology. Founded in 2018, it manages three funds — its most recent at $400 million — and backs companies applying AI and computational biology to medicines, materials, and farming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategic / Balance-Sheet CVC (On-balance-sheet investing) (FSANAHAA)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Life sciences investing
• Deep tech investment
• Biotech venture capital
• Computational biology investment

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture capital fund management: DCVC Bio manages dedicated life-sciences funds (three funds to date, with DCVC Bio III closing at $400 million) and earns revenue through standard VC fund economics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on fund returns. DCVC franchise overall manages over $4 billion in assets across 13 funds.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Core offering

DCVC Bio manages dedicated life sciences venture capital funds that invest early-stage capital in deep-tech companies applying AI, computational biology, and engineering biology to human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology. The franchise comprises three funds (most recent, DCVC Bio III, closed at $400 million on 30 September 2024) and earns revenue through standard VC fund economics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on fund returns. Beyond capital, DCVC Bio provides portfolio companies with scientific and operational support drawn from its team of PhD scientists and experienced operators.

Product overview

DCVC Bio is the life sciences franchise of deep tech venture capital firm DCVC, established in 2018 to invest in human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology using frontier technologies such as AI, computation, and engineering biology. Rather than a single software product, DCVC Bio's offering is a fund-plus-portfolio platform: it manages three dedicated DCVC Bio funds (with DCVC Bio III closing at $400 million in September 2024) and backs a portfolio of breakthrough life sciences companies. Highlighted portfolio companies include AbCellera (antibody discovery), Creyon Bio (oligonucleotide design), Umoja Biopharma (in vivo CAR-T for cancer), Elo Life (molecular farming for food), MycoWorks (mycelium leather), Sabanto (autonomous agriculture), Relation Therapeutics (graph machine learning for drug discovery), Kanvas Biosciences (microbiome therapeutics), Nilo Therapeutics (neuro-immunology), Newleos Therapeutics (CNS drugs), Latus Bio (AAV gene therapy), and AgZen (AI/computer-vision spray optimization). The investment team's expertise spans genetics, chemistry, molecular biology, agriculture, industrial fermentation, and AI, and they combine scientific acumen with decades of operational management experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DCVC Bio: Deep tech life sciences franchise of DCVC investing in computational biology and life sciences across human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology.

Products and services

• DCVC Bio Investment Funds DCVC Bio manages three dedicated life sciences venture capital funds that deploy early-stage capital into deep-tech companies applying AI, computational biology, and engineering biology to human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology; limited partners commit capital to the funds and receive exposure to the portfolio. The third fund (DCVC Bio III) closed at $400 million on 30 September 2024.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: Deep-tech and science-focused venture firm with a life-sciences franchise investing in AI-driven biotech, neuro-immunology, and frontier biology. Direct peer: co-invested with DCVC Bio on Nilo Therapeutics and pursues a comparable 'scientists not MBAs' sourcing model.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Pioneer in early-stage, science-driven life-sciences venture capital with deep exposure to computational biology, gene therapy, and platform biotechs. Direct peer in thesis and stage of investment, with comparable institutional LP base.
• Khosla Ventures: Multi-stage deep-tech investor with a large life-sciences and biotech franchise spanning therapeutics, agriculture, and synthetic biology. Direct peer in cross-sector deep-tech thesis and ability to lead large early-stage rounds.
• Flagship Pioneering: Institutional originator of biotech platforms and investor in deep science (e.g., Moderna origin). Direct peer in life-sciences venture, with comparable scope across human health and sustainability.
• The Column Group: Life-sciences-only venture firm investing in early-stage biotech and platform therapeutics. Direct peer in fund mandate and co-invested with DCVC Bio on Nilo Therapeutics.
• 8VC: Operationally driven deep-tech venture firm investing across bio, logistics, and frontier technology. Comparable peer that co-invested with DCVC Bio on Latus Bio's Series A.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio): Generalist mega-VC with a dedicated bio/health fund investing in AI-driven drug discovery, therapeutics, and digital health. Comparable in AI-meets-life-sciences thesis but operates at much broader scale and across more verticals.
• Founders Fund: Deep-tech generalist VC backing frontier science and technology companies. Comparable in deep-tech orientation and overlapping portfolio interests, though less focused on life sciences than DCVC Bio.

Emerging players

• Section32: Venture fund focused on health-tech and computational biology at the intersection of technology and medicine. Comparable thesis on AI-driven biology, though smaller and more recent than DCVC Bio.

Others

• AstraZeneca / Eli Lilly (as strategic pharma LPs and partners): Large pharma partners of DCVC Bio portfolio companies (e.g., Creyon Bio with Eli Lilly) and increasingly active corporate VCs in AI-bio. Not direct fund-level peers, but adjacent ecosystem participants whose deal flow and validation shape DCVC Bio's outcomes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DCVCBio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dcvcbio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments69 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DCVC Bio