SOSV SF & NY (Fka IndieBio)

What SOSV SF & NY (Fka IndieBio) does

SOSV SF & NY (formerly IndieBio) is the deep tech venture capital arm of SOSV Investments LLC, founded in 1995 by Sean O'Sullivan. The firm operates three deeply resourced accelerator locations: SOSV SF (San Francisco, est. 2015) and SOSV NY (New York City, est. 2020), which together absorbed the legacy IndieBio biotech program, plus SOSV HAX (Newark, est. 2011, focused on hardware and physical sciences). Each location offers on-site wet labs (BSL1/BSL2), chemical and mechatronics labs, and embedded technical staff including location-specific CSOs and CTOs. As of early 2026, SOSV manages $1.5B in assets under management across funds, with Fund V ($306M) being the largest core vehicle.

The firm invests at pre-seed through Series A+, executing approximately 60 pre-seed deals of up to $550K per year and roughly 150 follow-on investments annually. Pre-seed founders join GP-led teams on-site for intensive product development, regulatory strategy, and fundraising preparation. SOSV's revenue model relies on standard venture capital mechanics: 2% management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on portfolio exits. SOSV also contributes 10% of firm profits to charity. The firm operates additional platforms including VC-Founder Matchups (15 events and 14,800+ 1:1 meetings since 2022), the annual Deep Tech Summit, the Deep Tech 100 portfolio showcase, the RETVRN exit preparation program, the new HAX Plasma Forge (plasma science startups at SRI Princeton), and the Genesis Consortium co-investment vehicle.

SOSV serves two primary customer segments: deep tech founders (scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in therapeutics, physical AI, climate tech, and advanced manufacturing) who receive capital, lab access, and operating support; and institutional limited partners (wealth platforms, sovereign wealth funds, corporates, family offices such as Credit Suisse, the Irish Strategic Investment Fund, Pfizer Ventures, and Honda) who provide fund capital. SOSV also supports 2,700+ co-investors through portfolio syndications. The portfolio spans 800+ companies that have collectively raised $7.3B and reached $18.2B in aggregate valuation, with 44% of founders holding PhDs and operations across 58 countries.

Name

SOSV SF & NY (Fka IndieBio)

Legal name

SOSV Investments LLC

Website

https://sosv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SOSV SF & NY (formerly IndieBio) is a deep tech venture capital firm operating accelerator programs in San Francisco, New York City, and Newark that invests pre-seed capital of up to $550K plus follow-on rounds in deep tech founders, providing 85,000 sq ft of equipped laboratories, embedded technical staff, and investor network access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital & Accelerator Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Deep tech venture capital
• Pre-seed accelerator programs
• Startup lab infrastructure
• Biotech hardware investment
• Limited partner fund management

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

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. Management Fees: VC fund management fees charged to limited partners, typically 2% on committed capital during investment period
2. Carried Interest (Carry): SOSV contributes 10% of firm profits (carry) to charity. Primary revenue from carried interest on successful portfolio exits through Fund V and select co-investment vehicles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SOSV SF & NY (formerly IndieBio) operates deeply resourced pre-seed accelerator programs at three U.S. locations (San Francisco, New York City, and Newark), providing deep tech founders with up to $550K in pre-seed SAFE investment, access to 85,000 sq ft of equipped labs and offices, and hands-on support from General Partners, scientists, engineers, and operators across product development, regulatory strategy, and fundraising. The firm also manages VC funds (most recently the $306M Fund V) with limited partner capital, runs VC-Founder Matchup events, and conducts follow-on seed through Series A+ investments in deep tech portfolio companies.

Product overview

SOSV SF & NY (formerly IndieBio) is a deep tech venture capital firm operating multiple accelerator programs across three locations: SOSV NY (NYC, focused on healthcare and biotech), SOSV SF (San Francisco, covering all deep tech), and SOSV HAX (Newark, focused on hardware and physical sciences). The firm makes pre-seed investments of up to $550K and provides founders with access to fully equipped labs, offices, and staff experts. Supporting programs include VC-Founder Matchups (virtual networking events), the Deep Tech 100 annual portfolio showcase, RETVRN exit preparation, HAX Plasma Forge (plasma technology focus), and the SOSV Consortium for co-investment. The programs are designed to dramatically speed up product development, commercial strategy, regulatory advances, corporate connections, and fund-raising for deep tech startups in human and planetary health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SOSV NY (formerly IndieBio NY) Pre-seed accelerator program in New York City focused on healthcare and engineering biology, providing wet-lab infrastructure (BSL1 & BSL2), deep technical, regulatory, and commercial expertise to de-risk biology and bring products toward the clinic or market.
• SOSV SF (formerly IndieBio SF) Pre-seed accelerator program in San Francisco covering all deep tech verticals, leveraging proximity to Silicon Valley's capital density, talent networks, and ability to iterate quickly with customers, partners, and follow-on investors.
• SOSV HAX Hard tech accelerator helping founders tap into global ecosystems for real-world product development, manufacturing, and fundraising. Located in Newark, NJ with 35,000 sq ft of equipped labs including chemical, analytics, EE, and mechatronics, supported by on-staff engineering, design, and supply chain experts.
• VC-Founder Matchups Virtual matchmaking platform hosting 4-5 annual events that bring together 250+ startups and 250+ investors for curated 1:1 meetings, with filtering by category, location, and funding stage. Categories include Climate Tech, Health Tech, Therapeutics, Robotics, and Physical AI.
• Deep Tech 100 Annual showcase of 100 portfolio companies selected from 800+ portfolio based on deep tech foundation, funding stage (raised at least seed but no more than Series C), and focus on human and planetary health.
• RETVRN Exit preparation program free to SOSV portfolio companies that helps founders develop compelling exit strategies and control their destinies through M&A, IPO, or other liquidity paths.
• HAX Plasma Forge Specialized pre-seed program for plasma science startups focused on advanced computing, energy, and manufacturing applications. Located at SRI in Princeton, NJ, in partnership with Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL).
• SOSV Consortium (Genesis Consortium) Co-investment vehicle providing an additional $250,000 in funding to startups meeting certain criteria, through partnership between SOSV programs and leading VCs and industry partners.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership with U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Lab for the HAX Plasma Forge. PPPL provides world-leading plasma physics research, advanced modeling, and plasma metrology expertise to startups.
• SRI (Formerly RCA Laboratories)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026HAX Plasma Forge will be headquartered at SRI Princeton, one of America's most storied innovation centers. SRI was formerly RCA Laboratories where color TV, LCD displays, and early semiconductors were invented.
• Genesis Consortium PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership vehicle between IndieBio (now SOSV NY/SF) and leading VCs and industry partners providing additional $250,000 in funding to qualifying startups. Includes corporate VCs and institutional investors.
• dlabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Fund spun out of SOSV in 2023 focused on early stage investing in blockchain infrastructure. Part of SOSV Consortium of closely aligned entities.
• Orbit StartupsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Fund that became independent of SOSV in 2023 to pursue investments in high growth startups in emerging and frontier markets. Part of SOSV Consortium.

Scale indicators22 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Y Combinator: The largest and most influential pre-seed/seed accelerator, running twice-yearly batches with standardized $500K checks. Directly comparable to SOSV as both operate batch-based accelerator programs targeting early-stage founders with global reach.
• Techstars: Global accelerator network running 50+ programs annually across verticals with mentor-driven cohorts. Closely comparable to SOSV's multi-location accelerator model (SOSV NY/SF/HAX), although Techstars lacks SOSV's deep lab infrastructure.
• Bolt (formerly Bolt.io hardware accelerator): Hardware-focused startup accelerator providing prototyping tools, mentorship, and seed capital. Directly comparable to SOSV HAX, which targets hardware founders with on-site labs and supply chain support.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Silicon Valley-based accelerator and venture fund running industry-specific programs (health, fintech, retail, etc.) with corporate partnerships. Comparable to SOSV for running vertical-specific accelerator batches with corporate LP backing.

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: Established deep tech venture firm with significant biotech, climate, and frontier tech exposure. Comparable as a deep tech specialist but operates without SOSV's lab/infrastructure model and at much larger AUM scale.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Large multi-stage VC with dedicated bio/health and American Dynamism practices. Overlaps with SOSV in deep tech investing but does not run accelerator-style programs with on-site labs.

Emerging players

• Antler: Global pre-seed VC running residency programs across 25+ cities. Comparable to SOSV's pre-seed, GP-led team model but with lighter infrastructure footprint and broader stage range.
• Creative Destruction Lab: Science-based accelerator affiliated with top research universities, focused on commercializing academic research. Comparable to SOSV for science-founder focus and structured program model.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Climate-tech-focused deep tech fund backed by Bill Gates and ultra-high-net-worth LPs. Comparable as a deep tech specialist targeting one of SOSV's core verticals (climate tech) but operates later stage with $1B+ check sizes.
• DCVC (Data Collective): Deep tech and computational sciences VC that has co-invested with SOSV in portfolio companies like unspun. Comparable for deep tech thesis focus and co-investment relationship, though stage and check size differ.

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/854535

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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

M&A

Investments661 records

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

Frequently asked questions about SOSV SF & NY (Fka IndieBio)