Wonder Ventures Raises $102 Million for New Fund

Where’s that money? 💸

Scion Life Sciences

Global | Early Stage | Life Sciences

Led by three biotech veterans, New York City-based venture capital firm Scion Life Sciences launched with an oversubscribed $310 million fund to form companies working on potentially transformational and curative therapies.

While the firm has a substantial amount of capital to invest, they will act more as an incubator of early stage companies. They formed an in-house team of scientific, medical and technology experts to guide the founding and building of its portfolio companies, while also providing internal R&D capabilities.

The firm will make small investments—as low as “a few thousand dollars” for early-stage efforts—but can also provide $60 million or more in funding throughout the life of its portfolio companies.

The firm’s mission is to create and build companies developing innovative treatments that could “cure or transform the clinical management” of life-threatening diseases.

Wonder Ventures

Southern California | Pre-seed | Agnostic

Dustin Rosen, managing partner at Wonder Ventures, has raised a $57 million Fund 4 for pre-seed investments and a $45 million late stage opportunity fund.

Rosen first opened his doors 11 years ago in 2013 to close the funding gap in Southern California. Since then, he has invested in nearly every unicorn from the area including Honey and Whatnot.

With the most recent fund, they have not made an investment yet, but when they do the firm will write checks between $1 million and $1.5 million. What they are looking for is “great founders and big markets, and we're not afraid to jump in before you even build any product.”

Voyager Ventures

Global | Series A | Climate Tech

Voyager Ventures, a climate tech VC firm based in San Francisco and New York, has raised a second fund of $100 million, bringing its total AUM to $200 million. The fund, called Voyager Partners Select I Fund, will focus on backing companies across software, hardware, and biotech that are dedicated to decarbonization efforts. With a target of leading or co-leading Series A rounds, the fund will invest $5 million to $8 million in startups addressing emissions reduction in various sectors such as transportation, energy, computing, and food.

This new fund serves as a follow-on to Voyager Fund I, allowing the firm to double down on successful portfolio companies or seize new investment opportunities. Led by founding partners Sierra Peterson and Sarah Sclarsic, Voyager Ventures aims to take a meaningful stake in its portfolio companies and leverage its operational expertise to drive success.

Additionally, Voyager Ventures plans to expand its presence by opening a London office this year, further strengthening its footprint in both North America and Europe.

Episode 1

Europe | Seed and Series A | Agnostic

Episode 1 Ventures' investment philosophy centers on supporting ambitious founders with disruptive ideas across various sectors, including software, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity. Hector Mason serves as the firm's general partner.

Consistent with its prior funds, Episode 1 aims to invest between £250,000 and £3 million in pre-seed and seed-stage startups primarily located in the U.K. It plans to reserve a "significant amount" for follow-on rounds. The primary focus will be on software companies in AI, infrastructure, health, open source, and marketplace domains. Additionally, it is open to considering investments in U.S. and European startups with substantial operations in the U.K.

Who’s Hiring? 😎

Psst…firms expanding their investment team are often raising a new fund behind the scenes. 💰

Firms that raised capital in the past few weeks.

February 6th- Alt Capital, Acadian Ventures, Speedinvest…

January 30th- Innovation Endeavors, Plural, ArcTern Ventures

January 23rd- Thomvest Ventures, Act One Ventures, Cardumen Capital…

January 15th- Venrock, Exponent Founders Capital, Seedstars…

January 9th- Baird Capital, Artis Ventures, Partech…

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