Kern Venture Group
Kern Venture Group is a Bakersfield, California-based early-stage to Series B venture capital firm founded in 2018, deploying capital across the Central Valley through three successive funds with an industry-agnostic, milestone-based mandate.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersBakersfield, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Kern Venture Group does
Kern Venture Group (KVG) is an early-stage to Series B venture capital firm founded in 2018 and headquartered in Bakersfield, California. The firm pursues an industry-agnostic investment mandate with a deliberate focus on building the Central Valley's startup ecosystem, having deployed capital into more than 40 portfolio companies across three successive funds: Fund I ($2.1M, 2019), Fund II ($6.5M, 2022), and Fund III ($20M target, 2024). Its stated investment process is milestone-based, and it has progressively lowered LP minimums (from $250,000 to $50,000) to broaden the investor base ahead of Fund III.
The firm monetizes through conventional VC economics — approximately 2% annual management fees on committed/deployed AUM plus carried interest on realized exits — and is anchored by institutional and family-office LPs including Valley Strong Credit Union and the Ravi & Naina Patel Family Office, which together committed $5M as anchor investors in Fund III. Portfolio construction spans deep tech, life sciences, climate, and dual-use defense, with notable outcomes including Cambium's $100M Series B, DermaSensor's $43M raise, Edge Sound Research's NBA partnership, and the BIOS Health precision medicine center established in Kern County in February 2024.
KVG's go-to-market is bifurcated: on the supply side it sources regionally through partnerships with the City of Bakersfield and Kern County for economic development; on the demand side it offers founders a milestone-driven capital path with a small-team (1–10 employees) operating model. The firm operates as a near-sole institutional VC in its geography, supported by co-founders David Higdon and John-Paul (JP) Lake and recent senior additions Guido Voltolina and Dave Grundtvig. Its principal risks are concentration in anchor LPs at the fundraising level and back-end-weighted carry realization dependent on a relatively small number of portfolio exits.
Kern Venture Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kern Venture Group
- Legal name
- Kern Venture Group
- Website
- https://kernventuregroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Kern Venture Group is a Bakersfield, California-based early-stage to Series B venture capital firm founded in 2018, deploying capital across the Central Valley through three successive funds with an industry-agnostic, milestone-based mandate.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kern Venture Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Corporate LP Programs (Corporate as LP in VC/PE funds) (FSANAHAH)
Keywords
Where Kern Venture Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bakersfield
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Kern Venture Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Carried Interest (Carry): KVG earns returns through carried interest on successful portfolio company exits. The firm invests in startups expecting positive returns for investors.
- Management Fees: Standard VC fund management fees charged to limited partners. Fund III targets $20 million with anchor investors Valley Strong Credit Union and Ravi & Naina Patel Family Office providing initial $5 million.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Limited Partner Investment Minimum |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Fund Target Size |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Kern Venture Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kern Venture Group (KVG) is a venture capital firm that raises capital from limited partners and deploys it as equity investments into early-stage through Series B startups. The firm manages three successive funds (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III) and provides portfolio companies with capital, regional network access, and operational experience, with an emphasis on companies that positively impact California's Central Valley.
Product overview
Kern Venture Group (KVG) is a venture capital firm headquartered in Bakersfield, California, founded in 2018. The firm operates three investment funds: Fund I (launched 2019, $2.1 million), Fund II (launched 2022, $6.5 million), and Fund III (targeting $20 million). KVG focuses on early-stage to Series B investments across an industry-agnostic portfolio, with particular emphasis on five key sectors aligned with the Central Valley's strengths: Value-added Agriculture, Aerospace & Defense, Energy & Natural Resources, Transportation/Logistics/Advanced Manufacturing, and Healthcare. The firm provides capital, network access, and operational experience to portfolio companies, with a strategic focus on companies that positively impact the Kern County community. Rather than operating a unified product platform, KVG functions as an investment organization whose core offering is funding and advisory support for startup companies across its portfolio.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fund I KVG's inaugural $2.1 million venture capital fund, deployed across 23 early-stage startups in 2019 as the firm's first fund vehicle.
- Fund II KVG's second venture capital fund of $6.5 million, three times the size of Fund I, deployed across 15 early-stage to Series B companies with focus on Central California impact.
- Fund III KVG's third venture capital fund targeting $20 million in total commitments, anchored by Valley Strong Credit Union and the Ravi & Naina Patel Family Office with $5 million in initial commitments; LP minimum lowered to $50,000 payable over three years, with planned deployment across 20-25 startups.
Quantifiable outcome
- 85%+ of KVG investments still up and running and functioning very well
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Kern Venture Group
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Kern Venture Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Kern Venture Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- City of BakersfieldcoreKVG partnered with the City of Bakersfield in 2024 to help portfolio companies relocate to the area through economic development programs. The city provides support including up to $99,999 in relocation and development assistance for qualifying companies.
- Kern CountycoreKVG partnered with Kern County to help portfolio companies relocate and take advantage of strategic economic development programs. County's Chief Economic Development Officer previously worked directly with KVG on business development and investment initiatives.
- BIOS HealthcoreBIOS Health is a portfolio company and strategic partner of KVG. The company partnered with KVG, City of Bakersfield, and Kern County to establish a state-of-the-art precision medicine center in Bakersfield, California. BIOS Health is pioneering technology to read neural data in real-time with AI.
- Rain Bird CorporationminorRain Bird Corporation partnered with Flume Water (KVG portfolio company) to deliver next-generation whole home-water management solutions. The partnership combines Flume's smart home water monitoring with Rain Bird's irrigation controllers for comprehensive water management.
- Flume WaterminorFlume Water partnered with Rain Bird Corporation to integrate smart home water monitoring with irrigation controllers, enabling homeowners to track water usage from irrigation to indoor appliances and detect leaks.
- Firestorm LabsminorFirestorm Labs and Greenjets (KVG portfolio company) joined forces to develop next-generation 3D printed drones by integrating Firestorm's 3D printed airframe components with Greenjets' advanced ducted fan technology.
- Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT LabsminorEdge Sound Research (KVG portfolio company) participated in the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs AI Accelerator, a five-week program connecting startups with leaders across Comcast's ecosystem.
- Sweetwater IntegrationsminorEdge Sound Research partnered with audio equipment distributor Sweetwater Integrations to scale its Embodied Sound deployments in sports venues and themed attractions.
- NBAminorEdge Sound Research participated in NBA Launchpad program and worked with the NBA on various technology tests including AI-driven audio mixing for Summer League broadcasts.
- Align TechnologyminorHFD (KVG portfolio company) became a preferred financing partner of Align Technology to offer patient financing for Invisalign treatment.
- TechstarsminorTechstars participated in Edge Sound Research's seed round alongside Berger Investment Capital, Elevate Ventures, and NBA Equity.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)minorBIOS Health serves as the data insights platform for the largest ever study of the human vagus nerve with NIH, involving partners including University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Kern Venture Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Idealab: Long-standing technology startup studio that creates and seeds early-stage companies with operational support. Comparable to KVG in providing capital plus hands-on operational involvement to early-stage startups across multiple verticals.
- Right Side Capital Management: Early-stage venture fund that deploys small checks across a large number of portfolio companies with a passive, capital-efficient model. Comparable to KVG in check size discipline, milestone-driven approach, and high-portfolio-count strategy.
- Lerer Hippeau: Early-stage venture fund focused on pre-seed and seed rounds across consumer, enterprise, and frontier tech. Comparable to KVG's early-stage generalist mandate with similar check sizes and operator-network value proposition.
- Bolt: Early-stage hardware-focused venture firm that invests in technical founders building physical products. Comparable to KVG in writing small early-stage checks and providing deep operational support, with overlap in aerospace/defense-adjacent portfolio bets.
- MaC Venture Capital: Early-stage venture fund investing in underrepresented founders and geographies with strong operator networks. Comparable to KVG's regional/community-impact focus, modest fund sizes, and network-driven sourcing model.
- gener8tor: Early-stage accelerator and investment platform running regional cohorts and syndicated funds. Comparable to KVG in targeting early-stage founders in non-coastal markets with network-driven value-add and modest check sizes.
Broad incumbents
- Techstars: Global accelerator and early-stage investor running multi-sector cohorts with strong LP and corporate partnerships. Comparable to KVG as an early-stage capital provider, though Techstars operates at much larger scale and via accelerator cohorts rather than direct equity funds.
- Y Combinator: The largest global startup accelerator, providing small checks in exchange for equity to early-stage founders across all sectors. Comparable to KVG as an early-stage capital provider to industry-agnostic founders, though at vastly greater scale and standard deal terms.
- Founders Fund: Established multi-stage venture firm with deep-tech and defense exposure. Comparable to KVG's defense/aerospace thesis (e.g., Cambium) and willingness to back technically ambitious founders, though at substantially larger fund sizes and later stages.
- 500 Global: Multi-stage venture firm and accelerator that invests early across geographies and sectors with a similar industry-agnostic mandate. Comparable to KVG's generalist early-stage thesis, though at significantly larger fund sizes and global reach.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Kern Venture Group social profiles
Digital presenceKern Venture Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kern Venture Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Kern Venture Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kern Venture Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments9 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kern Venture Group
What does Kern Venture Group do?
Kern Venture Group (KVG) is a venture capital firm that raises capital from limited partners and deploys it as equity investments into early-stage through Series B startups. The firm manages three successive funds (Fund I, Fund II, Fund III) and provides portfolio companies with capital, regional network access, and operational experience, with an emphasis on companies that positively impact California's Central Valley.
Is Kern Venture Group a public or private company?
Kern Venture Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kern Venture Group founded?
Kern Venture Group was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Kern Venture Group based?
Kern Venture Group is headquartered in Bakersfield, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kern Venture Group make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Carried Interest (Carry) is the primary driver. The others are management Fees.
Who are Kern Venture Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Idealab, Right Side Capital Management, Lerer Hippeau, Bolt, MaC Venture Capital and gener8tor. Broad incumbents are Techstars, Y Combinator, Founders Fund and 500 Global.
Does Kern Venture Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kern Venture Group.
What industry is Kern Venture Group in?
Kern Venture Group's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAGAF, Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager), with a secondary code of FSANAHAH, Corporate LP Programs (Corporate as LP in VC/PE funds). Its NAICS code is 5259.