Breakout Ventures
Breakout Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 that backs science-driven founders building AI-enabled companies in biotech, chemistry, neurotechnology, and hard tech, deploying seed checks of $500K–$5M from its $114M Fund III.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Breakout Ventures does
Breakout Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 by Lindy Fishburne and Julia Moore to back science-driven founders commercializing breakthroughs at the intersection of artificial intelligence and laboratory science — spanning biotech, tech-bio, chemistry, materials, neurotechnology, and hard tech. The firm operates through Breakout Management LLC, a Delaware-registered entity, and has built a portfolio of approximately 28 active and exited companies including Cytovale (FDA-cleared AI sepsis diagnostic), Surf Bio (acquired by Halozyme for up to $400M), Cortexyme (IPO 2019, now Quince Therapeutics), Twelve, ZymoChem, Noetik, and Modern Meadow.
The firm's core product is its third venture fund — Fund III, closed at $114 million in March 2026 — which deploys seed capital of $500,000 to $5,000,000 per company into at least 20 startups. Breakout's investment process relies on a PhD-trained partner bench (Dana Watt, Nima Ronaghi, Susanna Harris) supplemented by five venture partners and a fractional CFO and counsel, providing technical diligence and syndicate-stacking network access to portfolio companies. Complementary products include the Breakout Job Board / Talent Network (jobs.breakout.vc, operated via Getro) aggregating open roles across 26+ portfolio companies, and an LP investor portal (FundPanel.io and ShareFile).
Breakout generates revenue through standard venture fund economics: management fees on assets under management across Funds I, II and III, plus carried interest (typically 20%) on successful exits. The firm's capital base includes returning US institutional LPs (Cortes Capital, S-Cubed Capital, The Kraft Group, Pinegrove Venture Partners, LH Capital affiliate) and new international LPs (JIMCO, Korea Omega Investment Corporation). Portfolio support, talent network infrastructure, and the firm's decade-long specialization in AI-driven science positioning constitute its primary differentiation against generalist seed investors.
Breakout Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Breakout Ventures
- Legal name
- Breakout Management LLC
- Website
- https://breakout.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Breakout Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 that backs science-driven founders building AI-enabled companies in biotech, chemistry, neurotechnology, and hard tech, deploying seed checks of $500K–$5M from its $114M Fund III.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Breakout Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)
Keywords
Where Breakout Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Breakout Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Venture Fund Management & Carried Interest: Breakout Ventures earns revenue as a venture capital firm managing multiple funds (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III). Revenue is generated via management fees on assets under management and carried interest (typically 20%) on successful exits. Notable Fund II exit: Surf Bio acquired by Halozyme Therapeutics for up to $400M (returning ~half of Fund II to LPs). Other Fund I exit: Cytovale developed FDA-cleared AI sepsis diagnostic. Fund III ($114M) actively deploying seed investments.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Breakout Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Breakout Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that raises pooled funds from institutional limited partners and invests the capital as seed-stage checks ($500,000 to $5,000,000) into science-driven startups operating at the intersection of AI/computation and laboratory research — spanning biotech, tech-bio, deep tech, chem tech, hard tech, neurotechnology, sustainable fuels, diagnostics, and bio-based materials. The firm also operates the Breakout Job Board/Talent Network and an LP Investor Portal as portfolio-support services.
Product overview
Breakout Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm (founded 2016) whose product offering centers on its third venture fund, Breakout Ventures Fund III ($114M, closed March 2026), a single pooled investment vehicle targeting early-stage startups at the intersection of science, technology, and AI (biology, chemistry, AI diagnostics, sustainable fuels, neural interfaces, deep tech). Complementing the fund, Breakout operates the Breakout Ventures Talent Network / Job Board, a recruitment platform (jobs.breakout.vc, powered by Getro Inc.) that aggregates open roles across portfolio companies such as Parallel Bio, Zymochem, Twelve, Cytovale, Checkerspot, Transfyr, NOETIK, Constellation Systems, EnPlusOne Biosciences, Passkey, and Vitra Labs. A separate Investor Portal (FundPanel.io and ShareFile) serves limited partners. Together, Fund III is the core capital-allocation product, the Talent Network is an operational/portfolio-support service, and the Investor Portal provides LP-facing fund administration and document access.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Breakout Ventures Fund III A $114 million venture capital fund (closed March 2026) that deploys seed-stage capital ($500,000–$5,000,000 per company) into early-stage, science-driven startups operating at the intersection of science, technology, and AI, with emphasis on biology, chemistry, AI diagnostics, sustainable fuels, neural interfaces, deep tech, and reshoring critical materials. Available to institutional limited partners.
- Breakout Ventures Talent Network / Job Board An online recruitment platform (jobs.breakout.vc, powered by Getro Inc.) that aggregates open roles across Breakout's portfolio companies (e.g., Parallel Bio, ZymoChem, Twelve, Cytovale, Checkerspot, NOETIK, Constellation Systems, EnPlusOne Biosciences, Passkey, Vitra Labs) and includes job alerts, talent-network registration, and direct application submission for job-seekers.
- Breakout Ventures Investor Portal Limited-partner investor login and document access (powered by FundPanel.io and ShareFile) provided to Fund III investors and related stakeholders for fund administration and reporting.
Quantifiable outcome
- Surf Bio acquired by Halozyme Therapeutics for $300M upfront + $100M in milestone payments (up to $400M total), returning approximately half of Fund II to LPs.
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Breakout Ventures
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Breakout Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature3 records
Breakout Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and minor.
- Halozyme TherapeuticsflagshipAcquiror of Breakout Ventures' portfolio company Surf Bio for up to $400M ($300M upfront + $100M milestones). The exit returned approximately half of Fund II to Breakout's limited partners and validated Breakout's thesis on stabilizing biologics to address drug delivery challenges.
- University of ChicagominorSource of a stealth-mode portfolio company spinout (small-molecule discoveries) in which Breakout Ventures led the seed investment as one of the initial Fund III deployments.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Breakout Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a New York-based early-stage VC investing at the intersection of science, technology, and frontier tech — including AI-bio, deep tech, and hard tech. Most direct peer to Breakout's AI × science thesis at the seed stage.
- DCVC: DCVC (Data Collective) is a San Francisco-based early-stage VC focused on deep tech at the intersection of computation and the physical and life sciences — including AI-bio, computational biology, and materials. Direct peer to Breakout's AI × science seed strategy.
- ARCH Venture Partners: ARCH Venture Partners is one of the longest-tenured science-driven VCs, backing early-stage companies in biotech, advanced materials, energy, and AI-enabled science. Direct peer for frontier-science seed investing with a comparable thesis on science × technology.
- Atlas Venture: Atlas Venture is a Boston-based early-stage VC focused exclusively on building biotech startups, with deep domain expertise in drug discovery and platform technologies. Direct peer to Breakout's biotech seed strategy and one of the most established science-focused seed funds.
- Section 32: Section 32 is a San Diego-based early-stage VC founded by Bill Maris (founder of Google Ventures) investing at the frontier of science and technology, including biotech, AI, and hard tech. Direct peer for early-stage science-driven thesis investing.
- Foresite Capital: Foresite Capital is a San Francisco-based healthcare and science-driven VC investing across biotech, genomics, and AI-enabled drug discovery at early stages. Direct peer with overlapping portfolio themes including AI-bio and frontier science.
- SOSV: SOSV is a multi-stage VC running accelerator programs (including HAX for hardware, IndieBio for biology, and others) focused on deep tech and biotech at the earliest stages. Direct peer for seed-stage science-driven investing with global reach.
Broad incumbents
- Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a much larger Menlo Park-based VC with a portfolio spanning AI, biotech, deep tech, and frontier science. A broad incumbent in the same space with substantially more capital and brand recognition, competing for science-driven seed deals.
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio Fund: Andreessen Horowitz's Bio Fund invests at the intersection of biology and technology, including AI-bio and computational drug discovery. A broad incumbent with a much larger fund size and broader portfolio competing in the same AI-bio seed space as Breakout.
Emerging players
- Petri.bio / Petri Bio (formerly Petri): Petri is an early-stage VC specifically focused on programmable biology and AI-bio at the seed stage. Emerging player with a closely overlapping thesis on AI × biology investment, although with a narrower programmatic focus than Breakout's broader deep-tech remit.
Market position
Strengths2 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Breakout Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceBreakout Ventures compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Breakout Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Breakout Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Breakout Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Breakout Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments38 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Breakout Ventures
What does Breakout Ventures do?
Breakout Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that raises pooled funds from institutional limited partners and invests the capital as seed-stage checks ($500,000 to $5,000,000) into science-driven startups operating at the intersection of AI/computation and laboratory research — spanning biotech, tech-bio, deep tech, chem tech, hard tech, neurotechnology, sustainable fuels, diagnostics, and bio-based materials. The firm also operates the Breakout Job Board/Talent Network and an LP Investor Portal as portfolio-support services.
Is Breakout Ventures a public or private company?
Breakout Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Breakout Ventures founded?
Breakout Ventures was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Breakout Ventures based?
Breakout Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Breakout Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Fund Management & Carried Interest.
Who are Breakout Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lux Capital, DCVC, ARCH Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, Section 32, Foresite Capital and SOSV. Broad incumbents are Khosla Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio Fund. Petri.bio / Petri Bio (formerly Petri) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Breakout Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Breakout Ventures.
What industry is Breakout Ventures in?
Breakout Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B), with a secondary code of FSANAAAD, Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists). Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.