Creative Ventures
Creative Ventures is a founder-led, early-stage deep tech venture capital firm founded in 2016 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, investing across Real-World AI and Biodata themes into pre-seed and seed companies in AI infrastructure, robotics, synthetic biology, and advanced materials.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Creative Ventures does
Creative Ventures is a privately held, founder-led deep tech venture capital firm established in 2016 and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in early-stage companies organized around two core theses — "Real-World AI" (covering AI infrastructure such as energy storage, semiconductors, interconnects, and power management, plus AI applications in automation, robotics, and manufacturing) and "Biodata" (synthetic biology, decoding biological code, drug discovery, and engineered biology for sustainable outcomes). Its publicly listed portfolio spans approximately 30+ companies across AI, Automation, Biodata, Biotech, Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure, and Advanced Materials, including AM Batteries, Exo Imaging, Tierra Biosciences, Alice Technologies, C. Light Technologies, FORT Robotics, and OncoPrecision. The firm is led by two General Partners: James Wang, who brings AI/ML and infrastructure expertise from Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, Bridgewater Associates, and Google[X]; and Dr. Kulika Weizman, who brings life-sciences expertise via a Ph.D. in Microbiology from UC Berkeley, prior co-founding of a synthetic biology startup, and NSF SBIR reviewer experience. Creative Ventures generates returns through standard venture capital fund economics — management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on portfolio exits — and does not publicly disclose fund sizes, AUM, or LP composition. GTM is founder/investor sourcing-led, augmented by an active thought-leadership footprint across a dedicated Substack newsletter, the GPs' personal Substacks (including James Wang's "Weighty Thoughts"), an upcoming book by James Wang, and conference participation such as SXSW.
Creative Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Creative Ventures
- Legal name
- Creative Ventures
- Website
- https://creativeventures.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Creative Ventures is a founder-led, early-stage deep tech venture capital firm founded in 2016 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, investing across Real-World AI and Biodata themes into pre-seed and seed companies in AI infrastructure, robotics, synthetic biology, and advanced materials.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Creative Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
Keywords
Where Creative Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Creative Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Venture capital fund returns: As an early-stage deep tech venture firm since 2016, Creative Ventures generates returns through venture capital fund economics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on exits from portfolio companies across Real-World AI and Biodata sectors. Specific fund sizes and AUM are not publicly disclosed.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Creative Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Creative Ventures is an early-stage deep tech venture capital firm that invests pre-seed and seed capital into founders building breakthrough technologies under two theses: Real-World AI and Biodata. The firm backs companies across climate, industry, health, and computing using traditional venture fund economics (management fees and carried interest), and supports founders from the earliest stages onward through General Partner engagement, published thought leadership, and portfolio company resources.
Product overview
Creative Ventures is a single firm offering one core product — an early-stage deep tech venture capital fund active since 2016 — wrapped around two named investment theses (Real-World AI and Biodata) and supported by three ancillary assets: the Creative Ventures Substack newsletter (a thought-leadership content platform), the publicly listed Creative Ventures Portfolio (the ~30+ deep tech companies they have backed, tagged across AI, Automation, Biodata, Biotech, Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure, and Advanced Materials), and the General Partnership team of James Wang and Dr. Kulika Weizman who deliver the firm's investment-management service. The fund, the newsletter, and the portfolio are not separate software products but rather the constituent offerings of one VC firm.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Creative Ventures Deep Tech Venture Fund Early-stage deep tech venture capital fund active since 2016, deploying pre-seed and seed capital into founders building technologies with real-world impact across climate, industry, health, and computing. The fund is organized around two core investment theses: Real-World AI and Biodata, with portfolio tags spanning Advanced Materials, AI, Automation, Biodata, Biotech, Energy, Healthcare, and Infrastructure. Investments are made via minority equity stakes on deal-by-deal terms negotiated with founders.
- Creative Ventures Substack Newsletter Long-form thought-leadership publication covering the firm's core investment sectors — AI, robotics, energy storage, synthetic biology, and advanced materials. Published under Creative Ventures and authored by General Partners James Wang and Kulika Weizman, it serves as a content platform to engage founders and Limited Partners and to articulate the firm's investment theses.
Companies that use Creative Ventures
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
Creative Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Creative Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Creative Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lux Capital: Early-stage deep-tech and frontier-science venture firm investing in AI, robotics, biotech, energy, and advanced materials. Highly comparable to Creative Ventures in sector mandate, check size tier, and 'hard tech + science' investment philosophy.
- DCVC (Data Collective): Early-stage deep-tech and computational venture firm investing in AI, robotics, life sciences, and climate. Closely comparable to Creative Ventures in focus on AI-for-the-real-world and bio/computational convergence thesis.
- Playground Global: Deep-tech venture firm focused on frontier technologies including AI infrastructure, robotics, autonomous systems, and advanced materials. Overlaps directly with Creative Ventures' Real-World AI investment area.
- Obvious Ventures: Mission-driven venture firm investing in companies addressing world-positive themes including energy, health, sustainable infrastructure, and AI. Comparable in 'world-positive deep tech' positioning and similar early-stage check sizes.
- Material Impact: Early-stage deep-tech venture firm investing in advanced materials, energy storage, and industrial technology. Direct overlap with Creative Ventures' advanced materials and energy storage portfolio companies.
- Engine Ventures: Deep-tech seed and early-stage venture firm investing in AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences spun out of MIT. Closely comparable in stage, sector focus, and academic-founder sourcing.
Broad incumbents
- Khosla Ventures: Large, established venture firm with significant early-stage activity in deep tech, AI infrastructure, robotics, and synthetic biology. Comparable sector coverage but with materially larger funds, broader mandate, and more partners.
- Founders Fund: Large, established venture firm with active deep-tech and frontier-tech investments across AI, biotech, and aerospace. Comparable in 'hard-tech frontier' investing but with materially larger fund sizes and broader mandate.
Emerging players
- Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Climate-tech-focused deep-tech venture fund backed by high-profile LPs. Overlaps with Creative Ventures' energy storage, sustainable materials, and biodata portfolio themes, though narrower in sector mandate.
- Anorak Ventures: Early-stage deep-tech venture firm focused on AI, robotics, climate, and life sciences. Comparable in fund size tier and Real-World AI thesis overlap with Creative Ventures.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Creative Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceCreative Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Creative Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Creative Ventures subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries32 records
Creative Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Creative Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments65 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Creative Ventures
What does Creative Ventures do?
Creative Ventures is an early-stage deep tech venture capital firm that invests pre-seed and seed capital into founders building breakthrough technologies under two theses: Real-World AI and Biodata. The firm backs companies across climate, industry, health, and computing using traditional venture fund economics (management fees and carried interest), and supports founders from the earliest stages onward through General Partner engagement, published thought leadership, and portfolio company resources.
Is Creative Ventures a public or private company?
Creative Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Creative Ventures founded?
Creative Ventures was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Creative Ventures based?
Creative Ventures is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Creative Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture capital fund returns.
Who are Creative Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lux Capital, DCVC (Data Collective), Playground Global, Obvious Ventures, Material Impact and Engine Ventures. Broad incumbents are Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund. Emerging players are Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Anorak Ventures.
Does Creative Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Creative Ventures.
What industry is Creative Ventures in?
Creative Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed). Its NAICS code is 525 and its SIC code is 6282.