Vivo Capital

What Vivo Capital does

Vivo Capital is a global, healthcare-exclusive investment firm founded in 1996 in Palo Alto by Dr. Frank Kung and Dr. Edgar Engleman (originally as BDF Fund, then BioAsia Investments). The firm operates a multi-strategy platform covering venture capital, growth equity, buyout, and public equities — anchored by three core fund families: the Vivo Innovation Fund (early-stage venture), Vivo Capital Fund VIII (growth and buyout), and the Vivo Opportunity Fund (public equities in small/mid-cap biotech). Capital is raised through private placements to institutional limited partners (pension funds, endowments, family offices, sovereign wealth funds); the firm earns revenue through industry-standard management fees (1.5–2% of committed capital) and carried interest on exits, with fee terms not publicly disclosed.

Vivo's core investment proposition is its "Ecosystem Strategy": a network of 460+ portfolio companies, operating executives, and advisors across the healthcare value chain, used to source proprietary deals, facilitate cross-border partnerships (notably U.S.–China), and support clinical/commercial scale-up of portfolio companies. The firm has backed companies whose assets have produced 78+ regulatory approvals and 120+ IPO/M&A exits, including several billion-dollar-plus acquisitions by major pharmaceutical acquirers (GSK, AstraZeneca, Roche, BMS, Novartis, Merck, Lilly, Sanofi, Neurocrine). Geographically, Vivo maintains six offices spanning Palo Alto, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Taipei; it expanded into European buyouts in February 2026 with the acquisition of Dutscher Group from LBO France.

The firm is privately held, headquartered at 192 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, and manages approximately $6.1 billion in active AUM as of Q4 2025 ($5.3B regulatory AUM). Headcount stands at 70–75+ professionals. Leadership consists of co-founders Frank Kung and Edgar Engleman alongside Managing Partners Gaurav Aggarwal, Mahendra Shah, Michael Chang, Shan Fu (also Co-CEO/CEO Asia Pacific), and others; the firm lost Managing Partner Jack B. Nielsen in June 2025. The platform is complemented by an asset-first biotech accelerator program in China and a joint venture (Visirna Therapeutics, with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals) for Greater China commercialization of RNAi medicines.

Name

Vivo Capital

Legal name

Vivo Capital

Website

https://vivocapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Vivo Capital is a global, healthcare-exclusive investment firm managing approximately $6.1 billion across venture, growth/buyout, and public equities fund families (Vivo Innovation Fund, Vivo Capital Fund VIII, Vivo Opportunity Fund). It serves institutional LPs and backs 460+ healthcare companies across the U.S. and Asia via its Ecosystem Strategy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSANACAB

Healthcare & Life Sciences Growth Equity

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Growth Equity Firms

SECONDARYFSANAAAD

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists)

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Venture Capital Firms

Keywords

• Healthcare venture capital
• Healthcare private equity
• Biotech investment
• Life sciences funding
• Medical device investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management: Vivo Capital generates revenue through management fees and carried interest (performance fees) from managing its family of investment funds across venture, growth equity, buyout, and public equities strategies. The firm manages approximately $5.3 billion in regulatory assets under management.
2. Investment Returns: Returns generated from successful portfolio company exits through IPOs and M&A transactions. The firm has facilitated 120 IPOs and M&As across its portfolio companies, with exits including acquisitions by major pharmaceutical firms.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Vivo Capital is a global healthcare-focused investment firm that manages dedicated funds across venture capital, private equity, and public equity strategies. Founded in 1996, the firm invests exclusively in healthcare and life sciences companies spanning biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health, with approximately $5.8–$6.1 billion in assets under management.

Product overview

Vivo Capital is a global healthcare investment firm operating a multi-strategy investment platform covering venture capital, private equity, and public equity strategies. The firm offers three distinct fund products: the Vivo Innovation Fund (venture capital targeting early-stage healthcare companies), Vivo Capital Fund VIII (private equity for growth and buyout opportunities), and the Vivo Opportunity Fund (public equity investing in small and mid-cap life sciences companies). The firm also employs an Ecosystem Strategy that creates value through portfolio company networks and international partnerships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vivo Innovation Fund: Venture capital fund focusing on investing in venture stage companies with potential to develop game changing healthcare technologies or products.
• Vivo Capital Fund VIII
• Vivo Opportunity Fund

Products and services

• Vivo Innovation Fund
• Vivo Capital Fund VIII
• Vivo Opportunity Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• 120+ IPOs and M&As facilitated
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Dutscher GroupcoreOthers · 3 February 2026Vivo Capital acquired Dutscher Group from LBO France in its first buyout investment in Europe. Dutscher is a European leader in laboratory consumables and equipment distribution with over €400 million revenue in 2025 and 1,100+ employees.
• Arrowhead PharmaceuticalscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2022Vivo Capital and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals launched Visirna Therapeutics as a joint venture to expand the reach of innovative medicines in Greater China, combining Arrowhead's RNA interference technology with Vivo's regional expertise.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Longitude Capital: Healthcare-dedicated venture and growth equity firm with US and China presence. Directly comparable to Vivo's venture/growth strategy and US-Asia cross-border healthcare thesis.
• RA Capital Management: Healthcare-focused crossover fund investing across public and private biotech. Directly comparable to Vivo's Opportunity Fund strategy and biotech-venture activity, with co-investment overlap on multiple named rounds (Kinaset, Diamyd, OnKure).
• SV Health Investors: Healthcare-dedicated venture and growth equity firm with US/UK presence. Comparable multi-strategy healthcare platform competing for similar biotech and medtech growth investments.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Healthcare/technology venture firm backing early-stage biotech and life sciences companies. Comparable as a deep-science biotech lead investor competing for similar preclinical and clinical-stage opportunities.
• OrbiMed: Healthcare-dedicated investment firm managing across venture, growth, and public equity strategies globally. Closest direct peer to Vivo given shared healthcare-only mandate, multi-strategy platform, and similar AUM scale.
• Atlas Venture: Early-stage biotech venture firm building companies from inception. Comparable to Vivo's Innovation Fund strategy targeting venture-stage healthcare with game-changing science.
• Polaris Partners: Healthcare-active multi-stage investor with dedicated biotech franchise. Comparable to Vivo for healthcare venture/growth investing and clinical-stage co-lead positions.
• Novo Ventures: Healthcare-focused venture and growth arm of Novo Holdings investing globally in life sciences. Comparable multi-stage healthcare strategy with strong European/US footprint and similar mega-exit track record.
• New Enterprise Associates (NEA): Large healthcare-active venture firm with multi-stage biotech investing. Comparable as a healthcare-heavy VC competitor for lead/co-lead positions in US biotech Series B/D rounds (e.g., Oricell, Kinaset).
• Bain Capital Life Sciences: Healthcare-specialized arm of Bain Capital investing across venture, growth, and control buyouts in life sciences. Comparable multi-strategy healthcare platform with similar AUM scale and a buyout capability (e.g., Dutscher-style control deals).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vivo-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments282 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Vivo Capital