KdT Ventures
KdT Ventures is an Austin-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 that leads or co-leads pre-seed and seed rounds in frontier science companies spanning biology, chemistry, physics, and computation. The firm typically acts as the first institutional check, backing 57 portfolio companies with $100M+ raised as of late 2024.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What KdT Ventures does
KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, that backs founders engineering the future at what it describes as the deepest layer of science—from atoms to bits. The firm's investment thesis is built on the premise that "science is the source code of reality," targeting companies commercializing frontier advances across biology, chemistry, physics, and computation. KdT typically acts as the first institutional check into a company, leading or co-leading pre-seed and seed rounds, with a model explicitly designed for high-uncertainty, high-technical-risk beginnings where great science becomes a venture-scale business.
The firm operates a single integrated investment service rather than a multi-product platform, with portfolio breadth spanning life sciences, digital health, frontier technology, and industrials (57 portfolio companies across sectors such as biotech, oncology, RNA therapeutics, AI-enabled drug discovery, carbon-negative manufacturing, and clinical AI). Revenue mechanics follow standard VC economics: management fees on committed capital under management (typically ~2% annually) plus carried interest (typically ~20% above hurdle) from successful exits, with direct equity ownership in portfolio companies across stages from pre-seed through IPO. The firm is led by Managing Partners Cain McClary (Founder), Mack Healy, and Phil Grayeski, with additional Partner, Principal, Associate, Head of Operations, and Head of Talent roles on an 8-person core team. Portfolio company partnerships with Bristol Myers Squibb, NVIDIA, Sanofi, Mubadala, Bayer/Vividion, and Ginkgo Bioworks illustrate the downstream validation and exit pathways accessible through KdT's network.
KdT Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- KdT Ventures
- Legal name
- KdT Ventures LLC
- Website
- https://kdtvc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- KdT Ventures is an Austin-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 that leads or co-leads pre-seed and seed rounds in frontier science companies spanning biology, chemistry, physics, and computation. The firm typically acts as the first institutional check, backing 57 portfolio companies with $100M+ raised as of late 2024.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
KdT Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
Keywords
Where KdT Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
KdT Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Fund management fees: Traditional VC management fee structure charged on committed capital under management, typically 2% of AUM annually.
- Carried interest (carry): Performance fee of typically 20% of profits above the hurdle rate from successful portfolio company exits, representing the primary economic upside for the GP.
- Portfolio company equity: Direct equity ownership in portfolio companies through pre-seed, seed, Series A, B, and C investments, with returns realized through exits or IPOs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
KdT Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that provides pre-seed and seed investment capital to science-based founders. The firm typically acts as the first institutional check into companies, leading or co-leading rounds for startups commercializing frontier science across biology, chemistry, physics, and computation. Its investment model targets high-uncertainty beginnings where deep science becomes a venture-scale business.
Product overview
KdT Ventures operates as a venture capital firm offering a single unified investment service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The firm specializes in backing founders engineering frontier science at the deepest layer, from atoms to bits, with a focus on the physical layer of medicine, chemicals, and materials. Their investment model is built for high-uncertainty beginnings where great science becomes a venture-scale business, typically being the first institutional investor and leading or co-leading pre-seed and seed rounds. The company also maintains a portfolio job board platform for talent recruitment across their invested companies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Early-Stage Frontier Science Investing
- Portfolio Job Board
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $100M raised for early-stage investments
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use KdT Ventures
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
KdT Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
KdT Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- NGM BiocoreNGM Bio and KdT Ventures entered into a worldwide license agreement for NGM313, a Phase 2-ready FGFR1c/β-Klotho agonist drug candidate. This represents a direct investment and co-development partnership between NGM Bio and KdT Ventures.
- Bristol Myers SquibbcoreTerray Therapeutics, a KdT portfolio company, announced a multi-target collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb for drug discovery, demonstrating Terray's platform capabilities being validated by a major pharmaceutical partner.
- NVIDIAmajorTerray Therapeutics announced investment from NVIDIA to enable generative AI design for drug discovery, bringing compute infrastructure and AI capabilities to enhance Terray's spatially encoded screening platform.
- Ginkgo BioworksmajorGinkgo Bioworks acquired Circularis, a KdT portfolio company, demonstrating successful exit and strategic acquisition of a portfolio company by a major synthetic biology player.
- Bayer (via Vividion)majorBayer's Vividion subsidiary was reported to be pursuing up to nine oncology targets from a Duke spinout, with KdT Ventures associated with this ecosystem of biotech-pharma collaborations.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
KdT Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a US-based venture firm investing in frontier science and technology at the earliest stages, with a comparable 'atoms to bits' mandate spanning biotech, advanced materials, and deep tech — directly overlapping with KdT's portfolio focus.
- ARCH Venture Partners: ARCH is a pioneer in early-stage science venture capital, founding and seeding biotech, advanced materials, and physical-science companies — directly comparable to KdT's approach of leading pre-seed/seed rounds into frontier science.
- DCVC (Data Collective): DCVC invests in early-stage companies applying deep computing and engineering to science, including biotech, materials, and energy — closely matching KdT's combination of computation and physical-layer thesis.
- Prime Movers Lab: Prime Movers Lab backs early-stage frontier science startups reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, and human health — directly comparable to KdT's pre-seed/seed focus on engineering the physical layer.
- Section 32: Section 32 is a science-focused venture fund investing at the intersection of biology, computation, and technology — closely matching KdT's frontier science and early-stage mandate.
- Breakout Ventures: Breakout Ventures is an early-stage fund investing in frontier science and technology companies commercializing breakthroughs in biology, materials, and energy — directly aligned with KdT's pre-seed/seed model.
- Fifty Years: Fifty Years is an early-stage venture fund backing founders solving the world's biggest problems through deep tech and science — overlapping with KdT's high-uncertainty, mission-driven investing approach.
- Obvious Ventures: Obvious Ventures invests in early-stage science-driven companies across health, energy, and sustainable production — comparable in stage and thematic focus to KdT Ventures.
- Artis Ventures: Artis Ventures invests early in companies leveraging frontier science and technology across healthcare, energy, and materials — directly comparable to KdT's frontier-physical-layer mandate.
Broad incumbents
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio): Andreessen Horowitz's Bio fund invests across biotech and digital health at scale — overlapping with KdT's portfolio (e.g., co-investor activity in biotech rounds) but as part of a much larger, multi-stage generalist platform rather than a focused frontier-science thesis.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
KdT Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceKdT Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
KdT Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
KdT Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
KdT Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments88 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about KdT Ventures
What does KdT Ventures do?
KdT Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that provides pre-seed and seed investment capital to science-based founders. The firm typically acts as the first institutional check into companies, leading or co-leading rounds for startups commercializing frontier science across biology, chemistry, physics, and computation. Its investment model targets high-uncertainty beginnings where deep science becomes a venture-scale business.
Is KdT Ventures a public or private company?
KdT Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was KdT Ventures founded?
KdT Ventures was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is KdT Ventures based?
KdT Ventures is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does KdT Ventures make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Fund management fees are the primary driver. The others are carried interest (carry) and portfolio company equity.
Who are KdT Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lux Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, DCVC (Data Collective), Prime Movers Lab, Section 32, Breakout Ventures, Fifty Years, Obvious Ventures and Artis Ventures. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does KdT Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for KdT Ventures.
What industry is KdT Ventures in?
KdT Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 52399.