x<\/sup>), a collaborative group that focuses on deep tech investments. The five investors hail from four different firms \u2014 Anzu Partners, Hitachi Ventures, Myriad Venture Partners and SkyRiver Ventures \u2014 and they still make individual decisions on when to write a check. But it could be the start of something bigger.<\/p>\n\u201cThe need for partnerships for deep tech investments, and the need to work together, it seemed obvious,\u201d Hyuk-Jeen Suh told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n
Suh, general partner at SkyRiver, was inspired by startup accelerators like Greentown Labs in the Boston area, which began with a handful of climate tech founders and has grown into one of the largest deep tech incubators in the world. Initially, Greentown\u2019s founders were looking for lab space, but they quickly realized the benefits of the shared space went far beyond lower rent payments.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the startup ecosystem, they\u2019ve figured out that working together is better. There are economies of scale,\u201d Suh said. Plus, such incubators and other shared spaces can serve as a one-stop shop for investors looking for startups.<\/p>\n
Until now, venture capital has been lacking something similar. Yes, there\u2019s Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley, but Suh felt that thoroughfare was more like a collection of car dealerships along an \u201cautomobile mile\u201d than anything resembling a collaborative group. \u201cThey\u2019re all competing. I felt like there has to be a different way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of what allowed Venx to coalesce, Suh said, was the fact that the four firms run the gamut of investment stages, from pre-seed to later stages, and represent a range of interests within deep tech, including climate tech, AI and biotech.<\/p>\n
The fact that the collaborative emerged among deep tech investors isn\u2019t surprising. The sort of problems deep tech startups face favors cooperation over cutthroat competition. They tend to require deep pools of capital, expensive lab equipment and other pricey infrastructure. The problems they\u2019re trying to tackle often send them into uncharted territory. And the solutions they arrive at tend to benefit from a diversity of thinking.<\/p>\n
For investors, there\u2019s so much blue sky in deep tech that Suh doesn\u2019t think secrecy and jealousy give anyone an edge. \u201cWhy do VCs feel like they need to compete? Do we not have enough carbon to remove? Plastics to recycle or remove? Breast cancer to cure? Not enough challenges in AI?\u201d The shared knowledge and access to deals should benefit LPs, too, Suh said.<\/p>\n
If this sounds like a syndicate, it is \u2014 sort of.<\/p>\n
Like syndicates, the group shares leads, and each investor brings their own perspective and expertise to a pitch meeting. But unlike syndicates, which at the venture stage tend to be informal and ad hoc, Venx is a more formalized arrangement with the sort of intimacy only shared space can provide.<\/p>\n
For now, Venx consists of an office space where the partners sit, rub elbows and talk shop over lunch. There\u2019s a meeting room where they can collectively hear pitches from founders, after which they gather to share their thoughts. The group is open to new members as long as the majority of their investments are directly in startups (not other funds).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to imagine Venx morphing into something more. More partners, more funds, perhaps a shared fund from which the group can write checks, similar to an angel syndicate. Whatever it ends up becoming, Venx\u2019s collaborative approach is an intriguing experiment that\u2019s worth watching.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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