DCVC

What DCVC does

DCVC is a Palo Alto-based deep tech venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Matthew Ocko and Zachary Bogue as Data Collective, rebranding to DCVC while retaining Data Collective as a registered trademark. The firm invests across approximately $4 billion in assets under management spanning 13 funds, including six flagship DCVC funds and three DCVC Bio life sciences funds (the latter established in 2018 and co-led by Dr. John Hamer and Dr. Kiersten Stead). DCVC backs founders applying AI, exa-scale computing, and deep domain expertise to high-stakes problems in climate, energy, life sciences, defense, security, space, agriculture, advanced manufacturing, and quantum computing. The firm employs roughly 45 people across Palo Alto and San Francisco and explicitly emphasizes a scientist-led partnership structure ("more published scientists than MBAs") to underwrite capital-intensive hardware and biotech bets that competitor VCs decline.

The firm's revenue model combines recurring management fees on committed capital across its fund vehicles (with the most recent vintage closing at $700M+ in flagship funds and $400M for DCVC Bio III in 2024) and lumpy, performance-based carried interest tied to portfolio exits such as the May 2026 Fervo Energy IPO (Nasdaq: FRVO) and prior exits including Rocket Lab, SentinelOne, Confluent, AbCellera, Elastic, Databricks, Planet, Zymergen, Ginkgo Bioworks, and Oklo. Distribution of capital occurs via direct LP fundraising and a co-investor syndicate that includes Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Playground Global, Activate Capital, Munich Re Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, while deal sourcing relies on partner-led founder engagement reinforced by an owned editorial platform (annual Deep Tech Opportunities Report, Climate Impact Report, quarterly newsletter, 47 archived press releases).

The 200+ company portfolio is organized across content verticals — AI/Compute/Quantum, Computational Bio & Chem, Cybersecurity/Defense, Energy & Climate, Industrial Transformation, Next-Gen Agriculture, Space, TechBio, and TechMed — and ranges from seed through Series D+. Notable positions span Fervo Energy (geothermal, IPO'd May 2026), Atom Computing and Quantum Motion (quantum), Mythic and Unconventional AI (AI compute), Agility Robotics (humanoid robotics, planning SPAC at ~$2.5B), Proxima (AI-native therapeutics), Halter (precision agriculture), ElectronX (energy derivatives), Radiant (nuclear microreactors), Slip Robotics (automated truck loading), and ZwitterCo (membrane technology), among others.

Name

DCVC

Legal name

DCVC Management Co, LLC

Website

https://dcvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DCVC is a Palo Alto-based deep tech venture capital firm managing approximately $4 billion across 13 funds, backing founders applying AI and computational science to climate, life sciences, quantum, defense, and industrial challenges. The firm employs ~45 people and has invested in 200+ companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) (FSANAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Deep Tech / R&D Commercialization CVC (FSANAHAL)

Keywords

• Deep tech venture capital
• Venture capital funds
• Life sciences investing
• Climate tech investment
• Quantum computing investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund management fees: Recurring management fees on the firm's $4B AUM, generated across 13 funds to date (including six flagship DCVC funds and three DCVC Bio funds)
2. Carried interest on fund returns: Performance-based carried interest earned when portfolio companies exit via IPO or acquisition (e.g., recent IPOs include Fervo Energy on Nasdaq: FRVO; prior exits include Rocket Lab, SentinelOne, Confluent, AbCellera, Elastic, Amplitude, Desktop Metal, Ginkgo Bioworks, Oklo, Evolv Technology, Planet, Zymergen, Databricks, Embark, AgileAI via acquisitions)
3. Co-investment and syndication economics: DCVC frequently co-leads and participates in rounds alongside co-investors (e.g., Kembara, Playground Global, Founders Fund, a16z, B Capital, Activate Capital, Munich Re Ventures, British Business Bank, Breakthrough Energy Ventures), sharing economics from rounds led by the firm or in which it participates

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DCVC is a deep tech venture capital firm that invests from seed through growth stage using a scientist-led diligence approach across AI, compute, quantum, climate, energy, life sciences, defense, space, and industrial sectors. The firm manages approximately $4 billion in assets under management across 13 funds, including six flagship DCVC funds and three DCVC Bio life-sciences funds, deploying patient capital and operating-partner support to founders addressing trillion-dollar real-world problems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DCVC Flagship Deep Tech Funds DCVC's six flagship venture capital funds that back companies using AI and deep tech to tackle trillion-dollar real-world problems across climate, energy, defense, security, compute, and industrial sectors. Managed by Managing Partners Matt Ocko and Zachary Bogue.
• DCVC Bio (Life Sciences Funds) DCVC's life-sciences venture capital franchise (est. 2018) comprising three funds that back companies applying AI, computational biology, and deep biotech to human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology. Co-founded and led by Dr. John Hamer, Dr. Kiersten Stead, Matt Ocko, and Zachary Bogue.
• DCVC Bio III Fund Third and largest life-sciences fund under the DCVC Bio franchise, closed at $400 million in September 2024 for investing in DCVC Bio portfolio companies in human health, agriculture, and synthetic biology.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2024 Deep Tech Opportunities Report and Climate Impact Report published; over $700M in new DCVC Climate funds closed in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• U.S. Department of Commerce (CHIPS R&D Office)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026DCVC explicitly highlighted a $2B U.S. Department of Commerce investment across nine quantum companies, materially involving four DCVC portfolio companies: Atom Computing ($100M equity stake), Quantum Motion (via $375M allocation to GlobalFoundries), Rigetti Computing ($100M), and Q-CTRL (with IBM, which received $1B). DCVC engages directly with federal quantum policy through Operating Partner Dr. Prineha Narang.
• Government of Saudi Arabia (Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026DCVC engaged in a ministerial meeting at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026 with Tidal Metals and the U.S. side, targeting cooperation with Saudi Arabia in mineral exploration and processing technology as part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 strategy.
• Nasdaq Stock MarketflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 May 2026DCVC partner Zachary Bogue and Dr. Rachel Slaybaugh joined Fervo Energy co-founders Tim Latimer and Jack Norbeck on the podium to ring the Nasdaq opening bell in celebration of Fervo's IPO under ticker FRVO. Fervo was first invested by DCVC in 2022 and represents one of the firm's flagship climate tech exits.
• GlobalFoundries (via Quantum Motion)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026GlobalFoundries is the foundry manufacturing partner for DCVC portfolio company Quantum Motion, enabling production of silicon-spin-qubit quantum chips using standard CMOS processes; the U.S. Department of Commerce allocated $375M to GlobalFoundries to scale this capacity.
• Microsoft (via Atom Computing)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025Microsoft is partnering with DCVC portfolio company Atom Computing to install the world's first commercial quantum computer with logical qubits — a significant ecosystem relationship that anchors the Atom Computing roadmap and reinforces DCVC's quantum portfolio thesis.
• Gates FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2025Gates Foundation participated in Kanvas Biosciences' $48M Series A (co-led by DCVC and Lions Capital) and is partnering with Kanvas on a synthetic microbiome product for maternal environmental enteric dysfunction, a condition affecting ~150M people worldwide primarily in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Playground Global:
• Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a deep tech venture capital firm investing across AI, compute, quantum, space, biology, and advanced manufacturing, with a scientist-led partnership model nearly identical to DCVC. Both firms compete directly for the same founder pool and co-invest alongside each other in quantum and life sciences rounds.
• Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a large deep tech and climate venture firm with $15B+ AUM and a comparable science-led thesis spanning clean energy, biotech, AI, and frontier tech. It is one of the most direct competitors for DCVC's deep tech deal flow and is co-listed alongside DCVC in quantum investor rankings.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a $2B+ climate-focused venture fund backed by Bill Gates that invests in companies addressing climate change across energy, agriculture, transportation, and industrial decarbonization. It is a co-investor with DCVC in companies such as Fourth Power and shares the climate deep tech mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Andreessen Horowitz operates a $35B+ multi-stage venture franchise spanning bio/health, crypto, infrastructure, and increasingly deep tech. While not a pure-play deep tech firm, a16z increasingly competes for the same quantum, robotics, and defense founders (e.g., co-led Chariot Defense with DCVC).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dcvc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/data-collective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments597 records

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

Frequently asked questions about DCVC