First Spark Ventures

First Spark Ventures is a Silicon Valley deep-tech venture capital firm founded in 2021 that invests Pre-seed through Series A in startups across Advanced Compute, Digital Biology & Biotech, and CyberPhysical Systems, with a proprietary deal-flow pipeline via SRI International.

Company typePrivate
Founded2021
HeadquartersMenlo Park, United States
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What First Spark Ventures does

First Spark Ventures is a deep-tech venture capital firm founded in 2021 and headquartered in Silicon Valley (Menlo Park). The firm invests in early-stage startups developing breakthrough technologies across three verticals: Advanced Compute (including AI infrastructure, generative AI, and edge inference), Digital Biology & Biotech (computational biology, therapeutics, personalized medicine), and CyberPhysical Systems (physical systems with software-like scaling potential). It deploys capital at Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A, with a separate First Spark Opportunities vehicle led by General Partner Danny Chen that participates in later-stage and follow-on rounds. The portfolio spans 22+ companies including Radical Numerics, Unnatural Products, Vitara Biomedical, Xona Space Systems, Inworld AI, Latent AI, Curve Biosciences, and Tidal Metals.

The firm's core differentiation is its relationship with SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute), one of the most prolific US deep-tech research institutes. Founding Managing Partner Manish Kothari is the former President of SRI, and several team members (Jennifer Wu, formerly Associate Director on SRI's Ventures team) are SRI alumni, creating a proprietary deal-flow channel from laboratory to commercial formation. Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO/Chairman) serves as Strategic Advisor & Founding Non-Managing Partner, anchoring brand credibility and connecting First Spark to Schmidt Sciences and Schmidt Futures networks.

Economically, First Spark operates as a traditional venture capital fund: it charges management fees on committed capital and earns carried interest (typically ~20%) on investment profits above a hurdle rate. Distribution is direct — equity investments via term sheets, typically with board participation — to early-stage deep-tech founders globally. The firm does not publicly disclose fund size, AUM, LP composition, or revenue, and its ~8–10 investment professionals are distributed across Investing (Founding Managing Partner, three Founding General Partners, one Partner), First Spark Opportunities, and Principal/operating roles.

First Spark Ventures firmographics

Firmographics

Name: First Spark Ventures
Legal name: First Spark Ventures
Website: https://firstsparkventures.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2021
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: First Spark Ventures is a Silicon Valley deep-tech venture capital firm founded in 2021 that invests Pre-seed through Series A in startups across Advanced Compute, Digital Biology & Biotech, and CyberPhysical Systems, with a proprietary deal-flow pipeline via SRI International.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

First Spark Ventures industry classification

Industry

Product category: Venture Capital
NAICS: Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
SIC: Investment Advice (6282)
akta.pro industry: PRIMARYFSANAAAB
Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B)
Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Venture Capital Firms

Keywords

Deep tech venture capital
Early stage investing
Seed stage funding
Venture capital fund
Deep tech startups

Where First Spark Ventures is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Menlo Park
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

First Spark Ventures business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

Management Fees and Carried Interest: First Spark Ventures generates returns through traditional venture capital economics: management fees on committed capital during the fund lifecycle and carried interest (typically 20%) on investment profits above the hurdle rate, distributed to General Partners after Limited Partners receive their initial investment back.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

First Spark Ventures product offering

Product offering

Core offering

First Spark Ventures is a deep tech venture capital fund that invests in breakthrough technology startups at Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A stages. The fund focuses on three verticals—Advanced Compute, Digital Biology & Biotech, and CyberPhysical Systems—and provides portfolio companies with capital plus operational support through an interdisciplinary team of investment professionals, leveraging a strategic partnership with SRI International.

Product overview

First Spark Ventures is a Deep Tech venture capital fund that invests in breakthrough technologies. The firm focuses on three primary investment areas: Advanced Compute (including AI infrastructure, generative AI, and computing platforms), Digital Biology & Biotech (encompassing computational biology, therapeutics, and personalized medicine), and CyberPhysical Systems (physical systems with software-like scaling potential). The fund invests in companies at Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A funding stages, seeking stellar teams, large accessible markets, and massive sustainable differentiation. First Spark Ventures provides portfolio companies with support throughout their journey via an interdisciplinary team of investment professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

First Spark Seed Fund
First Spark Opportunities Fund

Companies that use First Spark Ventures

Customer profile

Named customers21 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

First Spark Ventures technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

First Spark Ventures partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

SRI InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Spark Ventures has a strategic partnership with SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute), a leading scientific research institute with labs across biosciences, AI, robotics, advanced imaging, computer vision, and cyber and formal methods. SRI's 75 years of innovation have created new industries and lasting benefits to society. This partnership provides First Spark with access to cutting-edge research and innovation pipeline for deal sourcing.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

First Spark Ventures competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

Lux Capital: Premier early-stage deep tech VC investing in science-driven startups across AI, biotech, robotics, and advanced compute. Directly comparable to First Spark on stage focus, vertical coverage, and interdisciplinary team structure.
DCVC (Data Collective): Deep tech VC investing in science- and engineering-led companies in compute, biotech, and cyber-physical systems. Closely comparable thesis, often leads rounds (e.g., Tidal Metals, where First Spark also participated).
Innovation Endeavors: Eric Schmidt's other deep tech venture firm, also backing breakthrough technology in AI, biotech, and cyber-physical systems. Most directly comparable peer given shared Schmidt brand and overlapping thesis areas.
Khosla Ventures: Long-running early-stage firm with a deep tech and 'bold, early' thesis spanning AI, biotech, robotics, and clean energy. Compares on stage focus and willingness to back capital-intensive breakthrough science.
ARCH Venture Partners: Veteran deep tech VC specializing in biotech, advanced materials, and physical sciences, with significant crossover and co-investor activity. Comparable on deep tech and biotech concentration.
Playground Global: Deep tech VC investing in startups combining frontier hardware, AI, and advanced engineering. Directly comparable on the CyberPhysical Systems and Advanced Compute theses.
Founders Fund: Early-stage VC with a long history of backing ambitious deep tech and frontier science companies. Compares on early-stage, high-conviction, science-led investment posture.
Obvious Ventures: Early-stage VC backing purpose-driven deep tech and biotech startups. Comparable on stage focus and willingness to invest in technically complex, mission-driven founders.

Broad incumbents

In-Q-Tel: Strategic deep tech investor affiliated with the U.S. intelligence community; comparable on deep tech and defense-adjacent AI/quantum investing. A broader incumbent in the institutional deep tech ecosystem.
Allen & Company / Vulcan Capital: Large, science-tilted investment vehicles with a long history of biotech, climate, and advanced compute investing. Comparable as broader incumbent deep tech capital pools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

First Spark Ventures financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

First Spark Ventures leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

First Spark Ventures funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

First Spark Ventures M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments31 records

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

Frequently asked questions about First Spark Ventures

What does First Spark Ventures do?

Is First Spark Ventures a public or private company?

First Spark Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was First Spark Ventures founded?

First Spark Ventures was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is First Spark Ventures based?

First Spark Ventures is headquartered in Menlo Park, United States, in the North America region.

How does First Spark Ventures make money?

One revenue line is on record: management Fees and Carried Interest.

Who are First Spark Ventures's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are Lux Capital, DCVC (Data Collective), Innovation Endeavors, Khosla Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Playground Global, Founders Fund and Obvious Ventures. Broad incumbents are In-Q-Tel and Allen & Company / Vulcan Capital.

Does First Spark Ventures have an API?

No public API is recorded for First Spark Ventures.

What industry is First Spark Ventures in?

First Spark Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.