Stage 1 Ventures

What Stage 1 Ventures does

Stage 1 Ventures, LLC (DBA: S1V) is a privately held, early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2001 and headquartered in Coconut Grove, Florida, with a reported presence across the United States and the United Kingdom. The firm invests in disruptive Deep Tech and Science companies across stages from seed through growth equity, deploying a proprietary SSVSS framework — Scan, Selection, Validation, Scale, Success — that emphasizes stage-gated, research-driven decision-making. Stage 1 claims approximately 100 portfolio companies, $2 billion in cumulative investment proceeds, and 30 years of operating experience, with capital-efficient fund models designed to bridge the "Capital Gap" for early-stage entrepreneurs.

The firm's go-to-market is relationship-driven: it sources and supports deals directly and through a network of strategic co-investment partners, including Ospraie, BSC, Thrive, SOSV, and Flagship Pioneering, supplemented by banking and market-intelligence relationships with Cowen, Canaccord Genuity, and Flagship Pioneering. Portfolio companies gain access to an in-house operating bench including Partner David Baum, Operating Partner Joseph Pianelli, Managing Director Jonathan Gordon, and CEO Les Yetton, who provide hands-on strategic guidance from idea through exit. Recent portfolio activity spans space and defense (Zeno Power, True Anomaly, Performance Drone Works), AI/software (ai.io, Talkmap, JumpCloud), agriculture (Invaio Sciences), marketplaces (Openbay, Gigpro), and advertising technology (ViralGains).

As a private VC firm, Stage 1 generates revenue through management fees on committed capital and carried interest on realized exits; it does not disclose specific fund sizes, AUM, or revenue figures. The firm has no disclosed parent company, subsidiaries, or limited partner roster, and operates as an independent Delaware LLC. Its technology footprint consists of an investor portal hosted via Juniper Square and a corporate website; it offers no commercial products, APIs, or services to third-party customers.

Name

Stage 1 Ventures

Legal name

Stage 1 Ventures, LLC

Website

https://stage1ventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stage 1 Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in disruptive Deep Tech and Science companies from seed through growth equity, using its SSVSS framework and co-investing with partners such as Flagship Pioneering and SOSV.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Real Estate / PropTech Growth Equity (FSANACAH)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Deep tech funding
• Seed stage investment
• Growth equity capital
• Startup investment platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Waltham

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

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Stage 1 Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in disruptive Deep Tech and Science companies from seed stage through growth equity. The firm deploys capital through its proprietary SSVSS framework (Scan, Selection, Validation, Scale, Success), pairing investment with operating-partner support, strategic co-investor syndicates, and access to an extensive network of operating executives in technology and agriculture sectors. Portfolio companies include ai.io, Invaio Sciences, ViralGains, Talkmap, Wyebot, Zeno Power, True Anomaly, JumpCloud, and Performance Drone Works.

Product overview

Stage 1 Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in disruptive Deep Tech and Science companies. The firm does not offer a commercial product or service; its website serves as an informational portal for its investment activities, portfolio management, and investor relations. The company operates its SSVSS investment framework (Scan, Selection, Validation, Scale, Success) to support early-stage entrepreneurs and does not provide technology products or services to end customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Khosla Ventures: Large early-stage firm with a heavy deep-tech and science mandate (cleantech, biotech, robotics, AI); competes for similar founder profiles and capital-intensive hardware/science deals.
• SOSV: Multi-stage venture firm running accelerator programs (HAX, IndieBio, dlab) targeting deep tech and science; a stated co-investment partner of Stage 1 with directly comparable early-stage deep-tech orientation.
• Flagship Pioneering: Sector-focused deep science and biotech venture creator; explicit co-investment partner of Stage 1 Ventures (e.g., Invaio Sciences), directly comparable in thesis around science-driven company building and early-stage capital deployment.
• Lux Capital: Early- and growth-stage investor focused on deep tech, science, and frontier technology; comparable thesis on backing transformative science-driven companies from seed to growth.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Patient-capital fund backed by high-profile LPs investing in deep tech climate and energy startups; comparable deep-tech sector focus and willingness to back capital-intensive, long-horizon science ventures.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Early-stage deep tech and life sciences investor founding companies from university and corporate research; closely comparable to Stage 1's 'capital gap bridging' thesis around science commercialization.
• Data Collective (DCVC): Venture firm investing in deep tech at the intersection of compute, science, and engineering; directly comparable thesis on backing technically intensive, science-rooted companies.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Large multi-stage venture firm with significant deep-tech practice areas (bio, infrastructure, American Dynamism); competes for the same defense and science founders as Stage 1, but at materially greater scale and brand recognition.
• Founders Fund: Multi-stage venture firm investing in frontier tech, defense, and science (including space companies like SpaceX); comparable in its willingness to back deep-tech and hard-tech bets, but at much larger fund sizes.

Regional players

• Atlas Venture: Boston-area early-stage life sciences venture firm; comparable in geography and stage (seed/Series A) and overlapping with Stage 1's biotech/ag-bio investments such as Invaio Sciences, though Atlas focuses exclusively on therapeutics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stage-1-ventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments93 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Stage 1 Ventures