Formic Ventures
Formic Ventures is a privately held, founder-financed seed-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco that invests in biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and in technology startups across AI, robotics, and frontier sectors. It was founded by Oculus co-founder Michael Antonov and operates with a small specialized team.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Formic Ventures does
Formic Ventures is a privately held, founder-financed venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California. Founded by Michael Antonov — co-founder and former Chief Software Architect of Oculus (acquired by Facebook in 2014) and co-founder of Scaleform (sold to Autodesk) — the firm makes seed-stage and early-stage equity investments in two principal verticals: biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and healthspan extension, and technology startups positioned as high-potential platforms in AI, robotics, and adjacent frontier sectors.
The firm's investment offering is its capital allocation, strategic guidance, and the network access of its small team. The internal team comprises Michael Antonov (Founder), Matt Shlosberg (Chief of Staff), Hayk Danielyan (Portfolio Manager, CFA Charterholder), and Maria Konovalenko (Scientist in Residence, PhD in Biology of Aging from the University of Southern California). Notable portfolio companies include Insilico Medicine, Schrodinger, Turn Bio, Anduril, Arctoris, Bolt, Zero, BEV, Iron Ox, and Volumetric, collectively numbering over 40 investments across biotech, AI, robotics, longevity, and consumer verticals.
Formic Ventures generates returns through equity appreciation in portfolio company exits (IPOs and acquisitions) and, where applicable, management fees and carried interest on committed capital. The firm is not disclosed to have institutional LP backing and operates as an independent, founder-owned investment vehicle. It is supported by an affiliated nonprofit, The Michael Antonov Foundation, which makes grants to 501(c)(3) organizations conducting human longevity-centered research. Co-investor relationships are maintained with LVF, Gigafund, and Anorak.
Formic Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Formic Ventures
- Legal name
- Formic Ventures
- Website
- https://formic.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Formic Ventures is a privately held, founder-financed seed-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco that invests in biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and in technology startups across AI, robotics, and frontier sectors. It was founded by Oculus co-founder Michael Antonov and operates with a small specialized team.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Formic Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Studios / Company Builders (FSANAAAH)
Keywords
Where Formic Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Formic Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Venture Capital Returns: Formic Ventures generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups. As a VC firm, the primary revenue stream comes from capital gains on successful portfolio company exits via IPOs or acquisitions, supplemented by management fees on committed capital and carried interest from portfolio returns.
Marketing channels3 records
Formic Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Formic Ventures is a diversified venture capital firm that makes seed-stage equity investments in early-stage biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and in technology startups that reinvent how people do things. The firm also operates a philanthropic Foundation arm that makes small gifts to 501(c)(3) organizations conducting human longevity-centered research.
Product overview
Formic Ventures is a diversified venture capital firm that makes seed stage investments in biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and technology startups that make human lives more meaningful. The firm operates three main investment areas: seed stage investments in early stage high potential startups that reinvent the way people do things, biotech investments in startups contributing to human longevity and making lives more meaningful, and a Foundation that makes small gifts to 501(c)(3) organizations performing human longevity-centered research. The firm does not develop or offer a standalone product; rather, its offering is its investment capital, strategic guidance, and network for portfolio companies in the biotech and technology sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Seed Stage Investments Equity investments in early-stage, high-potential technology and biotech startups that reinvent the way people do things, intended for founding teams raising initial capital.
- Biotech Longevity Investments Equity investments in biotechnology startups contributing to human longevity, including portfolio companies such as Insilico Medicine, Schrodinger, Turn Bio, and Arctoris.
- The Michael Antonov Foundation Grants Small gifts to 501(c)(3) organizations performing human longevity-centered research, administered through The Michael Antonov Foundation charitable organization.
Companies that use Formic Ventures
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Formic Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Formic Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- ArctoriscoreFormic Ventures invested in Arctoris, a robotic-powered lab platform for biotech companies. Arctoris offers fully automated R&D capabilities that improve experiment quality, speed, and reproducibility. The platform allows scientists to focus on creative tasks while machines handle repetitive work with precision.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Formic Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Longevity Vision Fund: Dedicated early-stage fund focused on human longevity and biotech, investing alongside Formic Ventures in similar anti-aging and healthspan-extension startups such as Insilico Medicine. Directly comparable thesis, stage, and target companies.
- The Longevity Fund: Laura Deming's seed-stage fund exclusively focused on longevity biotech. Operates at the same stage and thesis as Formic Ventures, often as co-investor or competitor in longevity rounds.
- Kizoo Technology Ventures: German-based longevity-focused seed fund backing rejuvenation biotech startups (e.g., Turn Bio, AgeX). Same anti-aging thesis and seed-stage approach as Formic Ventures with overlapping portfolio names.
- Apollo Ventures: Early-stage venture fund exclusively focused on aging and longevity research, often co-investing alongside Formic Ventures in cellular reprogramming and geroscience companies.
- Methuselah Fund: Specialized longevity biotech investor backing tissue engineering, organ preservation, and anti-aging research — overlapping thesis with Formic's longevity portfolio and stage focus.
Broad incumbents
- Founders Fund: Founder-led (Peter Thiel) tech and science VC that shares Formic's founder-driven model and frontier-tech/life-sciences thesis. Has invested in Anduril and similar deep-tech names and competes for the same founder profile.
- Khosla Ventures: Large generalist VC with a strong biotech and frontier-tech practice that often competes with Formic for AI/biotech founders; much larger AUM and institutional scale.
- ARCH Venture Partners: Premier biotech-focused VC that backs deep-science platform companies (including longevity-adjacent names). Comparable on biotech diligence but operates at much larger check sizes and institutional scale.
- Flagship Pioneering: Biotech creation and venture firm that originates and funds platform biotech companies in health and longevity. Overlaps with Formic on biotech R&D but operates as a company-builder with significantly more capital and infrastructure.
- Y Combinator: Largest seed-stage accelerator backing frontier tech and biotech startups (including some longevity-related companies). Competes with Formic at the earliest stage and has a far broader funnel.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Formic Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceFormic Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Formic Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Formic Ventures subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Formic Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Formic Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments40 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Formic Ventures
What does Formic Ventures do?
Formic Ventures is a diversified venture capital firm that makes seed-stage equity investments in early-stage biotechnology startups focused on human longevity and in technology startups that reinvent how people do things. The firm also operates a philanthropic Foundation arm that makes small gifts to 501(c)(3) organizations conducting human longevity-centered research.
Is Formic Ventures a public or private company?
Formic Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Formic Ventures founded?
Formic Ventures was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Formic Ventures based?
Formic Ventures is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Formic Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Capital Returns.
Who are Formic Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Longevity Vision Fund, The Longevity Fund, Kizoo Technology Ventures, Apollo Ventures and Methuselah Fund. Broad incumbents are Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Flagship Pioneering and Y Combinator.
Does Formic Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Formic Ventures.
What industry is Formic Ventures in?
Formic Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAH, Venture Studios / Company Builders. Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6282.