SOSV

What SOSV does

SOSV is a venture capital firm founded in 1995 by Sean O'Sullivan that operates as the world's most active deep tech pre-seed investor, managing $1.5 billion in assets under management as of 2026 across 800+ portfolio companies in 58 countries. The firm invests at pre-seed (up to $550K per company via SAFE) and follows on through Series B, deploying approximately 60 pre-seed investments and 150 follow-on investments annually. SOSV is headquartered in Princeton, NJ with operating accelerator locations in New York (SOSV NY, formerly IndieBio NY — life sciences/biotech), San Francisco (SOSV SF, formerly IndieBio SF — all deep tech), and Newark (HAX — hardware/deep tech), plus a forthcoming HAX Plasma Forge at Princeton's SRI campus targeting late-2026 opening. Across these locations SOSV operates 85,000 square feet of equipped laboratory and office infrastructure including BSL1/BSL2 biosafety labs, chemistry and food prototyping labs, mechatronics and electrical engineering workshops with CNC machines, SEM with EDS, XRF, LC-MS, and GC-TOF MS instruments, supported by 9 General Partners and ~80 staff including PhD-level Chief Science Officers and design/manufacturing specialists in Pune, Shenzhen, and Tokyo providing 24/7 global coverage.

Revenue is generated primarily through management fees on $1.5B AUM and carried interest on successful portfolio exits; the firm also captures significant government grant funding (over $75M historically from Empire State Development and NJEDA) for infrastructure buildout. The core product surface includes three accelerator programs (HAX, SOSV NY, SOSV SF), the annual Deep Tech 100 list, VC-Founder Matchups (virtual events generating 14,800+ curated investor-founder meetings since 2022 across 15 events), the Genesis Consortium ($250K co-investment vehicle for qualifying startups), the annual SOSV Deep Tech Summit (formerly Climate Tech Summit, expanding to cover climate, health, and physical AI in November 2026), and the proprietary matchmaking platform that powers the Matchups. Notable LPs include Credit Suisse, Irish Strategic Investment Fund, Pfizer Ventures, and Honda, with Fund V distributed 43% North America, 27% Europe, 23% Asia & Oceania, and 3% Middle East. SOSV's core customer segments are science-based deep tech founders (pre-seed capital plus operational residency) and institutional/strategic investors seeking exposure to frontier technology deal flow through fund positions and co-investment rights.

Name

SOSV

Legal name

SOSV Investments LLC

Website

https://sosv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

SOSV is a venture capital firm investing pre-seed in deep tech startups for human and planetary health. It operates HAX, SOSV NY, and SOSV SF accelerator programs with 85,000 sq ft of lab infrastructure, manages $1.5B AUM, and supports 800+ portfolio companies across 58 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Pre-Seed Deep Tech Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD), Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Pre-seed investment
• Deep tech startups
• Hardware accelerator programs
• Biotech incubator services

Headquarters

HQ city

Princeton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Fund Management: SOSV operates as a multi-stage venture capital firm with assets under management of $1.5 billion as of 2026. Their most recent core fund is the $306M SOSV V. Revenue is generated through management fees and carried interest (carry) from successful portfolio exits. SOSV also contributes 10% of firm profits (SOSV carry) to charity.
2. Pre-seed and Follow-on Investments: SOSV makes approximately 60 pre-seed investments of up to $550K per year and joins early stage follow-on rounds through at least Series B. 60% of SOSV's $306 million Fund V is allocated to follow-on investments. Portfolio companies raise hundreds of follow-on rounds each year, generating co-investment opportunities and carried interest.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SOSV is a venture capital firm that provides pre-seed investment of up to $550,000 per startup via SAFE agreements, combined with deeply resourced accelerator residency programs at locations in New York City, Newark, and San Francisco. Founders receive access to 85,000 square feet of equipped labs, on-staff scientists and engineers, daily work alongside General Partners, and introductions to a global network of 2,700+ co-investors and 7,500+ investor contacts. SOSV also raises and manages multi-stage venture funds, with Fund V closed at $306 million and total AUM reaching $1.5 billion as of 2026.

Product overview

SOSV is the world's most active deep tech venture capital firm offering pre-seed investment with deeply resourced development programs at three US locations. The core offering consists of three accelerator programs: HAX (hardware/deep tech in Newark with 35,000 sq ft of labs and prototyping facilities), SOSV NY (life sciences/biotech in NYC with 25,000 sq ft including BSL1/BSL2 biosafety labs and food prototyping), and SOSV SF (all deep tech in San Francisco near Silicon Valley capital networks). Each program provides up to $550K pre-seed investment with 6-month residency, staff expertise, and access to 85,000 sq ft of combined lab/office space. Supporting offerings include the annual SOSV Deep Tech 100 list, VC-Founder Matchups (virtual matchmaking events generating 14,800+ meetings since 2022), the Genesis Consortium (additional $250K co-investment), and specialized initiatives like HAX Plasma Forge (plasma technology center at Princeton SRI with $51M funding). The firm manages $1.5B AUM across 800+ portfolio companies in 58 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Genesis Consortium: Partnership between IndieBio and leading VCs and industry partners providing additional $250,000 in funding to startups meeting certain criteria
• Deep Tech 100
• VC-Founder Matchups

Products and services

• HAX Hardware accelerator program based in Newark, NJ providing founders with access to 35,000 sq ft of labs, design engineering, prototyping, and supply chain expertise for hard tech startups from concept through manufacturing.
• SOSV NY (formerly IndieBio) Life sciences and biotech accelerator in New York City with 25,000 sq ft including BSL1/BSL2 biosafety labs, chemistry labs, and food prototyping facilities, focused on cutting-edge healthcare and engineering biology startups.
• SOSV SF (formerly IndieBio) Deep tech accelerator in San Francisco's Dogpatch neighborhood with 25,000 sq ft of labs and proximity to Silicon Valley's capital density, talent networks, and follow-on investor community.
• HAX Plasma Forge Dedicated launchpad for plasma technology companies headquartered at Princeton's SRI campus in partnership with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, focused on AI, semiconductors, and clean energy applications.
• VC-Founder Matchups Virtual matchmaking platform and event series connecting startups with investors across deep tech categories, having generated over 14,800 one-on-one meetings across 15 matchups since 2022 in categories including Climate, Health, Therapeutics, Robotics, Energy, and Physical AI.
• First Check in Deep Tech (Pre-Seed Investment) SOSV's core pre-seed investment offering providing up to $550,000 per startup via SAFE, plus up to six months of residency at SOSV labs and offices with GP-led product development, regulatory, and commercial strategy support.
• Genesis Consortium Co-investment program providing an additional $250,000 in funding to qualifying life sciences startups through a partnership between SOSV and leading VCs and industry partners.
• SOSV Deep Tech Summit Annual virtual summit covering climate tech, human health, and AI for the physical world, featuring main stage programming, breakout sessions, and co-founder search events.
• SOSV Deep Tech 100 Annual curated list of the 100 most promising frontier tech companies from SOSV's 800+ portfolio, selected based on science frontiers, funding stage, and focus on human and planetary health. The 2025 list features companies with $2.0B raised and $5.0B aggregate valuation.
• SOSV Climate Tech Summit SOSV's annual climate technology summit held for five years before evolving into the broader Deep Tech Summit, featuring 100 speakers and approximately 10,000 participants annually focused on decarbonization and climate solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800+ portfolio companies with $7.3B raised and $18.2B valuation as of start of 2026
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk (Therapeutics Matchup)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026Major pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Novo Nordisk are registered investors in the July 2026 VC-Founder Therapeutics Matchup, alongside ARCH Venture Partners, DCVC Bio, BlackRock, NFX, and other top-tier VCs. The matchup is expected to connect 250+ startups with 250+ investors for 1:1 meetings.
• SRI InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026HAX Plasma Forge will be headquartered at SRI's historic Princeton campus (201 Washington Road), formerly RCA Laboratories. SRI brings expertise in turning frontier science into commercial products. HAX Plasma Forge is co-located with SRI to access their innovation infrastructure and legacy of breakthrough technologies including color television, LCD displays, and early semiconductor innovations.
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2025Technical collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) for the HAX Plasma Forge initiative. PPPL provides world-leading expertise in plasma physics research and development, plasma metrology, and advanced plasma modeling. Direct collaboration with PPPL scientists will be available to participating startups. Additional in-kind support from PPPL is part of the $51M funding package.
• New York AngelsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025New York Angels appointed Peter Bodenheimer as Executive Director, a former SOSV Partner who led the Food-X Accelerator. The partnership facilitates connections between early-stage founders and the New York startup ecosystem.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the largest and most influential startup accelerator globally, running cohort-based programs with seed investment. Comparable to SOSV in operating an accelerator model that combines capital with intensive operational support, though YC focuses more on software/SaaS rather than deep tech.
• Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a sector-focused venture capital firm investing in deep tech companies at the convergence of science and technology, including AI, biology, and advanced materials. Direct competitor for deep tech deals with similar stage focus and scientist-founder target market.
• Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm with significant deep tech focus across biotech, climate, and frontier technology sectors. Strong overlap with SOSV in funding science-based, capital-intensive startups from early stages through growth.
• DCVC (Data Collective): DCVC is a deep tech venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs applying computer science and engineering to solve big problems in science and industry. Comparable deep tech mandate and seed-stage investment approach as SOSV, with co-investments in companies like Unspun.
• ARCH Venture Partners: ARCH Venture Partners invests in early-stage biotechnology, physical sciences, and information technology companies. Closely comparable to SOSV's life sciences focus through SOSV NY and the Therapeutics Matchup platform.
• Techstars: Techstars is a global accelerator network running multiple programs with seed investment and mentorship. Comparable to SOSV in operating a distributed accelerator model with intensive cohort-based support, though broader sector focus than SOSV's deep tech specialization.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Plug and Play is a global startup accelerator and investor with industry-specific programs in health, fintech, insurtech, and other verticals. Comparable model of themed accelerator cohorts with corporate partner integration.
• Antler: Antler is a global early-stage venture capital firm running cohort-based programs with pre-seed investment across multiple continents. Comparable to SOSV's HAX/SOSV NY/SOSV SF model with international reach and deep founder engagement.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio: Andreessen Horowitz operates as a broad, multi-stage venture capital firm with growing focus areas including biotech (a16z Bio) and deep tech. Larger and broader incumbent that has expanded into categories SOSV dominates, increasing competitive pressure at the seed/pre-seed end.
• Bessemer Venture Partners: Bessemer Venture Partners is a longstanding multi-stage venture capital firm with growing interest in healthcare and deep tech. Broader portfolio approach than SOSV but participates in similar later-stage deep tech rounds as a co-investor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SOSV
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLFP90YAdRPFzTZBPrUuar7691O3DS6ID_
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sosv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments3060 records

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

Frequently asked questions about SOSV