Astia

Venture Capitalastia.org

Astia is a nonprofit venture capital firm that invests in women-led, high-growth companies in Health, Climate, and Prosperity, using its proprietary Expert Sift screening methodology and a global network of 6,000+ advisors.

Company typePrivate
Founded2000
HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Astia does

Astia is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation that operates as a venture capital firm investing exclusively in women-led, high-growth companies addressing problems in Health, Climate, and Prosperity. Founded in 2000 in San Francisco as the Women's Technology Cluster by Catherine Muther, the firm transitioned from a physical incubator (2000-2005) to a virtual accelerator, was rebranded as Astia in 2007 under CEO Sharon Vosmek, and now maintains a global footprint supported by 6,000+ advisors across every continent.

The firm's core technology and competitive differentiator is the Expert Sift, a proprietary four-stage screening methodology (Criteria, Operations, Industry, and Investor screens) that uses wisdom-of-crowds techniques to eliminate bias from investment decisions. This process is operationalized through the Astia Connect Platform, a web-based collaborative environment where companies apply, upload materials, and are evaluated by global advisors. The platform supports Quarterly Venture Showcases that connect screened companies with accredited investors.

Astia monetizes primarily through venture fund management. Astia Fund I was launched in 2021 as the firm's first institutional vehicle, building on the prior Astia Angels program (2013-2023) which deployed $33M into 62 companies and generated 13 exits with top-quartile performance. Astia reports $65M+ in assets under management, 180+ portfolio investments, and 9,187 portfolio jobs created, with a reported 11% portfolio failure rate compared to a 65-74% broader-market benchmark. The firm is sustained by corporate sponsors including JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, Cisco, and Salesforce, alongside legal partners Wilson Sonsini, Perkins Coie, and Lowenstein Sandler.

Astia firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Astia
Legal name: Astia
Website: https://astia.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2000
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Astia is a nonprofit venture capital firm that invests in women-led, high-growth companies in Health, Climate, and Prosperity, using its proprietary Expert Sift screening methodology and a global network of 6,000+ advisors.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Astia industry classification

Industry

Product category: Venture Capital
NAICS: Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)
SIC: Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
akta.pro primary industry: Pension Master Trusts, Superannuation & Provident Funds (FSAAAGAB)
akta.pro secondary industry: Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

Venture capital investing
Women-led startup funding
Angel investment program
Investment screening methodology
Portfolio advisory services

Where Astia is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: San Francisco
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Astia business model

Business model

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

Revenue model

Venture Fund Management: Astia generates returns through venture capital investments in women-led high-growth companies. Launched Astia Fund I in 2021 with plans for Funds II and beyond. Manages $65M+ in AUM. Returns are generated through exits via acquisitions or IPOs within the typical 10-year venture fund window.
Angel Investments: Astia Angels made investments in companies identified by the Expert Sift from 2013-2023. $33M invested into 62 companies with 13 exits returning capital to date. These investments were made at the angel/early stage alongside the venture fund activities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Astia product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Astia is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation that operates as a venture capital firm investing in women-led, high-growth companies solving global problems in Health, Climate, and Prosperity sectors. It sources and screens companies through its proprietary Expert Sift methodology and the Astia Connect online platform, providing investment capital, access to a global network of 6,000+ advisors, and quarterly venture showcases. Astia manages institutional venture funds (Astia Fund I, launched 2021) and previously operated the Astia Angels angel investment program (2013-2023) that deployed $33M into 62 companies with 13 exits.

Product overview

Astia is a not-for-profit venture capital organization that operates as a single unified investment platform rather than a traditional product company. The core offering centers on the Astia Connect Platform, a web-based collaborative environment for investment evaluation, and the proprietary Astia Expert Sift methodology for screening women-led companies. Astia also manages investment programs including Astia Angels (2013-2023) and Astia Fund I (launched 2021). The organization provides investment consideration, access to networks of over 6,000 advisors, and market analysis to high-growth women-led companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Astia Fund I: The organization's first venture fund, launched in 2021 for investing in women-led high-growth companies.
Astia Angels
Astia Expert Sift
Astia Edge

Products and services

Astia Connect Platform A collaborative online platform built to enable unbiased evaluation of potential investments and facilitate connections between Astia Advisors and applicant companies through a structured screening workflow.
Astia Fund I The first institutional venture fund managed by Astia, investing in women-led high-growth companies, representing a major milestone in Astia's evolution from direct angel investments to a formal venture fund structure.
Astia Angels Angel investment program that operated from 2013-2023, investing $33M into 62 companies with 13 exits, achieving top quartile performance.
Quarterly Astia Venture Showcases Quarterly venture showcases presenting applicant companies to the broader VC community and accredited investors, providing a venue for portfolio companies to gain investor visibility.

Quantifiable outcome

11% failure rate for startups that make it through the Expert Sift, compared to 65-74% failure rate in the broader startup market
+3 more outcomes

Companies that use Astia

Customer profile

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Astia technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Astia partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & RosaticoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLegal counsel partner providing legal advisory services. Rob Kornegay is listed as Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and serves as Astia's legal counsel.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Astia competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Peers

Springboard Enterprises:

Direct peers

Female Founders Fund: Early-stage venture fund investing in companies with at least one female founder. Directly comparable to Astia given its parallel thesis on women-led investing, although it operates as a for-profit fund.
Pipeline Angels: Network-driven angel investing group focused on women and non-binary founders, using a cohort model. Comparable to Astia Angels in mission and angel-stage investing approach.
BBG Ventures: Seed-stage venture fund backing female founders, particularly those building consumer and enterprise products. Directly overlaps with Astia's women-led thesis and early-stage focus.
Golden Seeds: Angel network and early-stage fund investing specifically in women-led companies. Comparable to Astia Angels in mission, angel-stage deployment, and screening methodology.
SoGal Ventures: Global venture firm investing in diverse founding teams across multiple sectors. Closely comparable to Astia in thesis (gender-diverse teams) and stage (seed/early), though smaller AUM and for-profit.
Aspect Ventures: Early-stage venture firm backing companies with diverse teams, including women-led startups. Overlaps with Astia in stage and diversity thesis, though operates as a traditional for-profit fund.

Broad incumbents

Anthemis (Anthemis Group): Large digital financial services-focused venture firm with a thematic lens on inclusion and diversity. Broader in scope than Astia but shares the mission-driven investment approach and platform model.

Emerging players

127 Wall (fka Female Angel Group): Angel investing network for women backing women-led startups. Comparable to Astia Angels in cohort and angel-stage approach, smaller and more recent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Astia financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Astia leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Astia funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

Astia M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments13 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Astia

What does Astia do?

Is Astia a public or private company?

Astia is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Astia founded?

Astia was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Astia based?

Astia is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.

How does Astia make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Venture Fund Management is the primary driver. The others are angel Investments.

Who are Astia's main competitors?

Springboard Enterprises is listed as a peer. Direct peers are Female Founders Fund, Pipeline Angels, BBG Ventures, Golden Seeds, SoGal Ventures and Aspect Ventures. Anthemis (Anthemis Group) is listed as a broad incumbent. 127 Wall (fka Female Angel Group) is listed as an emerging player.

Does Astia have an API?

No public API is recorded for Astia.

What industry is Astia in?

Astia's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAAGAB, Pension Master Trusts, Superannuation & Provident Funds, with a secondary code of FSAAABAH, Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments). Its NAICS code is 5231 and its SIC code is 8600.