3×5 Partners

What 3×5 Partners does

3×5 Partners was a venture capital firm founded in 2011 and based in Portland, United States, that focused on early-stage investments in companies developing breakthrough innovations in healthcare and environmental technology. The firm's investment thesis targeted two intertwined sectors affecting human well-being: healthcare (encompassing medical devices, diagnostics, biopharmaceutical, drug delivery, and life science tools) and environmental technology (clean energy, water, green chemistry and materials, agriculture and food, and waste reduction). The team worked closely alongside founders and CEOs, leveraging relationships cultivated over decades to access unique deal flow. Founding partners Anthony Arnerich and Nicholas Walrod led the firm alongside Joseph Biller, and the team collectively carried over 100 years of venture experience with 20+ years of average industry tenure per member.

The firm operated as a traditional venture capital investor, generating returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies rather than through product sales or SaaS revenue. Named portfolio companies included Aquea Health (minimally invasive glaucoma surgery), Arch Oncology (anti-CD47 antibodies), Bonum Therapeutics (allosteric regulation therapeutics), Claros Technologies (PFAS water pollution remediation), ENZINC (zinc battery technology), Fervo Energy (next-generation geothermal), Good Therapeutics (protein-based therapeutics), InterVene (chronic venous insufficiency therapy), Koya (lymphedema medical device), and Rivermark (BPH treatment). Pricing and investment terms were not publicly disclosed, with access restricted to institutional investors, professional investors, and wholesale clients.

In 2023, the 3×5 Partners Private Investments team was acquired by American Century Investments, with the team joining to form what is now branded as American Century Private Investments. The platform retains its thematic healthcare and environmental investment focus but now operates with the distribution scale, resources, and institutional reach of American Century, whose ownership structure directs 40% of dividends to fund life-changing medical research. The standalone 3×5 Partners entity is described in the source data as no longer operating independently.

Name

3×5 Partners

Website

https://3x5partners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

3×5 Partners was a Portland-based venture capital firm (founded 2011) that invested in early-stage healthcare and environmental technology companies. Its four-person team was acquired by American Century in 2023 and now operates as American Century Private Investments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Life Sciences Growth Equity (FSANACAB)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Healthcare investments
• Environmental technology
• Life sciences investing
• Early-stage funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Traditional venture capital investment model generating returns through equity ownership in portfolio companies across healthcare and environmental technology sectors

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

3×5 Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies developing breakthrough innovations in healthcare (medical devices, diagnostics, biopharmaceutical, drug delivery, life science tools) and environmental technology (clean energy, water, green chemistry, agriculture, waste reduction). The firm was founded in 2011, and its investment team was acquired by American Century in 2023, where it now operates as American Century Private Investments.

Product overview

American Century Private Investments is a venture capital investment platform that was previously 3×5 Partners before being acquired by American Century. The offering is a unified private investments platform focused on early-stage companies developing breakthrough innovations in healthcare (medical devices, diagnostics, biopharmaceutical, drug delivery, life science tools) and environmental technology (clean energy, water, green chemistry and materials, agriculture and food, waste reduction). The platform manages a portfolio of portfolio companies and is supported by 4 investment professionals with over 100 years of collective venture experience. The team has a 2019 discipline inception date and focuses on building relationships with founders and CEOs of companies developing disruptive technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• American Century Private Investments Venture capital investment platform managed by the former 3x5 Partners team, focused on early-stage companies in healthcare and environmental technology. Backed by American Century, the offering targets institutional investors, professional investors, and wholesale clients.

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: Frontier-technology venture firm investing across healthcare, climate, and deep tech. Directly comparable in mission-driven sector specialization and early-stage investment approach.
• ARCH Venture Partners: Early-stage venture firm focused on life sciences, physical sciences, and deep tech. Closely comparable to 3×5 Partners in its early-stage, science-heavy healthcare/biotech orientation and small specialist team model.
• Prelude Ventures: Early-stage climate-tech venture firm. Directly comparable as a dedicated environmental-technology investor of similar scale and stage focus.
• Atlas Venture: Early-stage biotech and healthcare venture firm. Comparable in early-stage life-sciences focus and small specialist team model.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Climate-tech-focused venture fund backed by Bill Gates. Directly comparable as a small, dedicated environmental-technology investor with similar thesis around breakthrough climate innovation.
• DCVC: Deep-tech venture firm backing science-driven companies. Comparable in specialized thesis around technically ambitious founders and breakthrough innovation.

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: Large venture firm with significant healthcare and clean-tech exposure. Comparable in sector overlap but vastly larger, more diversified platform.
• OrbiMed: Healthcare-dedicated investment firm across stages. Comparable in healthcare focus but operates at significantly broader scale across biotech, medtech, and diagnostics.
• Andreessen Horowitz: Major venture firm with a dedicated bio/health fund and climate investments. Comparable in healthcare/climate focus but operates a much broader multi-stage, multi-fund platform.
• New Enterprise Associates: Large, diversified venture firm with a substantial healthcare practice. Comparable in healthcare investing but materially larger, longer-duration, and broader-stage platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments19 records

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

Frequently asked questions about 3×5 Partners