What Civilization Ventures does

Civilization Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2017 by Shahram Seyedin-Noor that invests exclusively in early-stage life sciences companies across four thematic pillars: genomics and diagnostics, digital health, and synthetic biology (including gene and cell therapies). The firm operates a "mentor capital" model — combining early-stage funding with deep scientific due diligence, operational support from biopharma-experienced partners, and access to a global advisor network spanning Silicon Valley, Cambridge, New York, and Europe. A signature component is the Civilization Fellowship Program, which has trained 40+ PhDs, MDs, and MBAs from Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Oxford, and Cambridge to become biotech investors and entrepreneurs, functioning as both a talent pipeline and a deal-sourcing channel.

The firm's product set comprises three fund vehicles — CV Fund I (a $1M pilot in 2017), CV Fund II ($35M raised in 2020), and the CV Opportunity Fund (raised in 2023, bringing total AUM to over $100M and currently over $200M) — alongside the Fellowship service offering. The investment team includes PhD-level Operating Partners in biophysics, chemistry, and precision oncology, an Investment Partner running scientific diligence, and a CFO overseeing fund administration. The core technology of the firm is its proprietary scientific due diligence methodology refined across 75+ investments.

Economically, Civilization Ventures operates a standard 2-and-20 fund model, earning management fees on AUM and carried interest from exits. Across 7 years the firm has completed 75 investments, 17 exits, and 3 unicorn outcomes (Rocket Pharma NASDAQ-listed, Omada Health NASDAQ IPO 2025, BilliontoOne $5B IPO 2025). Notable exits include Rewrite Therapeutics ($200M acquisition by Intellia, 2022), Lemonaid Health ($400M acquisition by 23andMe, 2021), Fluent BioSciences (acquired by Illumina, 2024), Singular Bio (acquired by Invitae, 2019), and Foresight Diagnostics ($450M acquisition by Natera, 2025). Customers, in the LP sense, are undisclosed family offices and strategic LPs, while end beneficiaries are scientific founders across the firm's thematic pillars.

Name

Civilization Ventures

Legal name

Civilization Ventures Management, LLC

Website

https://civilizationventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Civilization Ventures is a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests across genomics, diagnostics, digital health, and synthetic biology, managing over $200M across three funds and a 40+ fellow Fellowship Program. It has completed 75 investments, 17 exits, and 3 unicorns in seven years.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Civilization Ventures generates management fees from managing over $200M in capital across multiple funds (CV Fund I, CV Fund II at $35M, CV Opportunity Fund). The firm operates as a traditional VC with standard 2-and-20 fee structure implied by its fund vehicles.
2. Carried Interest (Carry): The firm earns carried interest from portfolio company exits. Notable exits generating returns include Rewrite Therapeutics (acquired by Intellia for $200M), Lemonaid Health ($400M acquisition by 23andMe), Foresight Diagnostics ($450M acquisition by Natera), Fluent Bio (acquired by Illumina), Singular Bio (acquired by Invitae), Rocket Pharma (NASDAQ listed), Omada Health (IPO 2025), and BilliontoOne ($5B valuation IPO 2025).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Civilization Ventures is a venture capital firm that provides early-stage capital and 'mentor capital' support to scientific founders building companies in genomics and diagnostics, digital health, and synthetic biology. The firm manages three funds (CV Fund I, CV Fund II at $35M, and CV Opportunity Fund) with over $200M in total capital under management, and also runs the Civilization Fellowship Program training PhDs and MDs to become biotech investors and entrepreneurs.

Product overview

Civilization Ventures is a venture capital firm offering three core investment funds (CV Fund I, CV Fund II, and CV Opportunity Fund) with over $200M in total capital under management. The firm focuses on genomics, diagnostics, digital health, and synthetic biology sectors, with portfolio companies in AI-powered protein characterization, liquid biopsy testing, gene editing, and virtual care. Additionally, the firm offers the Civilization Fellowship Program, a training service for PhDs and MDs to become biotech entrepreneurs and investors. The firm has achieved 17 exits and 3 unicorns across 75 investments in 7 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CV Fellowship Program: A fellowship program that trains PhDs to become entrepreneurs and investors in the life sciences sector. The program has graduated over 40 fellows.

Products and services

• CV Fund I Venture capital fund investing in early-stage life sciences companies across genomics, diagnostics, digital health, and synthetic biology. The fund provides capital and mentorship to founders building companies in AI, liquid biopsy, gene editing, and cell therapies.
• CV Fund II Second venture capital fund of $35M raised in 2020 to lead pre-seed and seed investments in life sciences companies, including those working on COVID vaccine development and related therapeutics.
• CV Opportunity Fund Opportunity fund raised in 2023 to back founders as they scale, bringing total capital under management to over $100M. The fund supports portfolio companies through growth stages beyond initial investment.
• Civilization Fellowship Program A fellowship program training PhDs, MDs, and MBAs to become life sciences founders and investors. The program covers venture lifecycle including opportunity sourcing, due diligence, and investment memorandum writing. Over 40 fellows have graduated from institutions including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Oxford, and Cambridge.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 unicorns achieved (Rocket Pharma, Omada Health IPO, BilliontoOne at $5B valuation) out of 75 investments in 7 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KdT Ventures: KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture firm investing in computational biology, life sciences, and biotech at pre-seed and seed. It is the most directly comparable peer: similar fund size range, similar early-stage focus, and a co-investor alongside Civilization Ventures in deals such as Tacit Therapeutics.
• Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a science-and-technology-focused venture firm with a sizable life sciences and biotech portfolio investing from seed through growth. It is highly comparable in thesis (frontier science) and has co-invested with Civilization Ventures in Trial Library and other deals.
• Foresite Capital: Foresite Capital is a healthcare and life sciences-dedicated venture firm investing across stages with a focus on genomics, diagnostics, and data-driven therapeutics. It is a co-investor with Civilization Ventures in Foresight Diagnostics and shares the same investment domains.
• Section 32: Section 32 is a venture fund founded by Bill Maris focused on frontier science, technology, and healthcare. It is comparable in early-stage, science-first thesis, and in willingness to back ambitious life sciences and biotech founders before they are mainstream.
• Atlas Venture: Atlas Venture is an early-stage life sciences venture firm that builds and funds biotech companies from inception through Series A. It is directly comparable in stage focus and therapeutics/diagnostics orientation, with deeper resources and longer history.
• 5AM Ventures: 5AM Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on life sciences, founding and seeding biotech and platform companies. Directly comparable in stage (seed/Series A) and life sciences focus, with similar fund size profile to Civilization Ventures.

Broad incumbents

• ARCH Venture Partners: ARCH is one of the largest and most established early-stage life sciences venture firms, with a multi-decade track record founding and backing biotech, genomics, and therapeutics companies. It operates at much larger fund sizes but overlaps materially in thesis and stage.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio): a16z Bio is the dedicated life sciences and bio fund within Andreessen Horowitz, investing at the intersection of biology and computation. It is a broad incumbent peer — far larger and broader in scope — but increasingly active in the same AI-meets-biology seed landscape.
• RA Capital Management: RA Capital is a healthcare-focused investment manager with both public-market and private-venture operations across biotech, rare disease, and genomics. Comparable in domain (life sciences) and active in co-investments in CV's portfolio companies.
• OrbiMed Advisors: OrbiMed is one of the world's largest healthcare-dedicated investment firms, covering venture, growth, and public markets across therapeutics, medical devices, and diagnostics. Comparable in domain focus though at significantly larger fund sizes and broader stage coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CivilizationVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/civilizationventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments74 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Civilization Ventures