What Chemistry does

Chemistry is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in October 2024 by three managing partners: Kristina Shen (formerly General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz and Partner at Bessemer), Mark Goldberg (formerly Partner at Index Ventures and an early business hire at Dropbox), and Ethan Kurzweil (formerly Managing Partner at Bessemer for 16 years). The firm operates with a lean team of approximately 10 people spanning investment, operations, and marketing functions. It launched with a $350 million debut fund and invests in AI and B2B software startups from seed through Series B, with a stated thesis of backing founders who combine technical expertise with commercial instincts.

The portfolio spans AI agents and customer experience (Decagon at $4.5B valuation, Serval, Didero), healthcare technology (Assort Health at $1.2B unicorn, Yuzu Health, Fathom Therapeutics), developer tools and AI infrastructure (Datacurve, Nova Intelligence), creative AI (ComfyUI at $500M), and productivity (Granola at $125M Series C, Noon). In addition, the three managing partners' personal track records include early investments in Twilio, Plaid, Twitch, HashiCorp, Intercom, LaunchDarkly, and PagerDuty. Chemistry co-invests regularly with tier-one firms including Coatue, Menlo Ventures, General Catalyst, Craft Ventures, Sutter Hill, Accel, and First Round Capital.

Chemistry's revenue model follows the standard VC structure: approximately 2% annual management fees on its $350M fund (implying ~$7M of fee revenue) plus 20% carried interest on exits above an 8% hurdle. As of mid-2026, no portfolio exits are disclosed, so carried interest is unrealized despite unicorn-level marks at Assort Health and Decagon. The firm distributes capital through direct investments, often leading or co-leading rounds, and reaches founders via portfolio referrals, personal networks of the partners, and community initiatives such as the Elements speaker series and NeurIPS activations.

Name

Chemistry

Legal name

Chemistry Ventures Management LLC

Website

https://chemistry.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Chemistry is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2024 with a $350M debut fund. Founded by former partners from Bessemer, a16z, and Index, it leads Seed through Series B investments in AI and B2B software startups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early-Stage Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Early stage venture capital
• Seed series A investing
• AI software investments
• Founder backed funding
• Startup equity financing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Chemistry generates returns through carried interest on successful portfolio company exits (IPOs, acquisitions) and management fees on funds under management. As a VC firm founded by former partners from Bessemer, a16z, and Index, they deploy capital from their $350M fund into early-stage companies with the expectation of significant returns through equity appreciation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Chemistry is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests Seed through Series B funding rounds in AI, B2B software, healthcare, and developer-tooling startups, deploying capital from a $350M debut fund. The firm provides portfolio companies with capital, board participation, strategic introductions, hiring support, and follow-on funding, while institutional limited partners receive exposure to early-stage AI and software deal flow led by a team with prior experience at Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer, Index, and Dropbox. Revenue is generated through management fees on the fund and carried interest on successful exits.

Product overview

Chemistry is a venture capital firm that provides early-stage investment services to founders, backing companies from initial investment through Series B stage. The firm focuses on technical expertise and commercial instincts, with investments spanning across AI/ML, healthcare technology, developer tools, creative AI, and enterprise software sectors. Their investment approach emphasizes being 'all in from day one' with portfolio companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chemistry Debut Early-Stage Venture Fund A $350M venture capital fund that invests from first check through Series B in AI, B2B software, healthcare, and developer-tooling startups; available to qualified institutional limited partners and family offices.
• Seed and Series A Lead Investment Program Lead or co-lead equity financing at Seed and Series A stages for early-stage AI and software founders, typically investing from first check through Series B with board participation, strategic introductions, hiring support, and follow-on funding.
• Elements Series (Content and Speaker Program) An ongoing editorial and event program featuring conversations with founders and operators—past guests include Brad Lightcap (OpenAI), Ashwin Sreenivas (Decagon), and Kristen Faulkner (Olympic athlete)—used by Chemistry for brand building and ecosystem engagement.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ForbesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2024Forbes featured Chemistry prominently in October 2024 coverage titled 'Former Partners From Index, Bessemer, A16z Raise $350 Million For New VC Firm Chemistry', providing brand exposure and credibility for the new fund launch.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Index Ventures: European-origin multi-stage venture firm where Mark Goldberg was previously a Partner. Strong franchise in early-stage software and fintech investing with comparable Seed/Series A activity and portfolio support model.
• First Round Capital: Seed-stage specialist with a strong founder community and operational support model similar to Chemistry's approach. Co-investor in Chemistry's Noon round and directly comparable in Seed/Series A focus.
• Craft Ventures: Early-stage focused venture firm with SaaS and AI emphasis. Led ComfyUI's funding round with Chemistry participating and operates with comparable check sizes at Seed/Series A.
• General Catalyst: Multi-stage venture firm with significant early-stage activity across enterprise software, healthcare, and fintech. Co-led Yuzu Health's Series A alongside Chemistry and represents a comparable stage-and-thesis peer.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Top-tier multi-stage venture firm and the prior employer of two Chemistry managing partners (Kristina Shen and Ethan Kurzweil). Invests across stages including Seed/Series A in software, with comparable AI and enterprise software focus.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Large multi-stage venture firm where Kristina Shen was previously a General Partner. Active at Seed/Series A in AI, B2B software, healthcare, and fintech with a comparable founder-friendly, thesis-driven approach.
• Lightspeed Venture Partners: Multi-stage venture firm with significant Seed/Series A activity in enterprise software, AI, and consumer. Comparable in fund size band and stage focus, with similar depth in B2B software investing.
• Menlo Ventures: Multi-stage venture firm with active early-stage practice in enterprise software and AI. Led Assort Health's unicorn Series C with Chemistry participating, demonstrating a comparable early-stage focus and stage-co-investment pattern.
• Accel: Long-standing early-stage-focused venture firm known for leading Seed and Series A rounds in enterprise software and consumer. Directly comparable in stage specialization and AI/B2B software focus, and a co-investor in Chemistry's Nova Intelligence round.

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: Large, founder-led venture firm with deep early-stage AI and biotech investing. Broader portfolio and larger fund sizes than Chemistry, but directly comparable in early-stage AI conviction and willingness to lead Seed/Series A.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/chemistry_fund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/kristina-shen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments21 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Chemistry