In one of the largest new venture capital fund launches in recent years, a trio of investment talent from top VCs has raised $350 million.
Chemistry’s three co-managing partners are Mark Goldberg, formerly an Index Ventures partner; Kristina Shen, previously an Andreessen Horowitz general partner; and Ethan Kurzweil, a 16-year veteran of Bessemer Venture Partners. The trio will split investment-making responsibilities.
Chemistry Fund 1 will lead seed and Series A investments in software startups.
Chemistry joins a shortlist of recent market entrants that have eclipsed the $300 million fundraising bar. New launches have seen fund sizes curtailed as capital flows to established managers with lengthy track records.
Notable exceptions this year include Matter Venture Partners, which raised about $300 million for a tech fund debut. Curie Bio, an established startup accelerator, took in $380 million for its debut in-house vehicle.
The trio have a track record of backing successful tech companies: Goldberg backed banking credentials platform Plaid; Shen invested in compensation planner Pave; Kurzweil led an investment in the now publicly traded business communications company PagerDuty.
The firm did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Chemistry has touted the experience of its team, their corresponding access to deal flow, and the firm’s relatively small size as being an advantage to potential portfolio companies.
“All three of us will actively support each investment,” the firm said in a statement. “We are the portfolio services team, working in the trenches with our founders.”
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