FFundraiseJet
Carbon Silicon Ventures logo

Carbon Silicon Ventures

San Francisco, California · Invests in US · Website

Check size

$100K-$500K

+ Save to my list
Pre-SeedSeedSeries AAI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsHealthcare & BiotechRoboticsHardware & DevicesBiotech & Life SciencesDeveloper Tools & InfrastructureRobotics & Automation

Thesis

Backing founders transforming biology into an engineering discipline. We invest in the infrastructure stack of biology—synthetic DNA, cloud labs, automated experiments, computational drug design, and AI-for-biology—enabling science as a software problem at scale. We partner with technical founders who apply engineering rigor to biological challenges.

Likely not a fit for

No traditional therapeutics, non-technical founding teams, or solutions that don't fundamentally shift how biology is conducted as a discipline

How they invest

Lead or follow
Leads or follows
Typical decision
~2 weeks
Warm intro
Not required
Involvement
Takes a board seat
Fund status
Actively deploying
Decision process
Solo GP

Partners & team

1 contact on file

NB

Nish Bhat

Founder & General Partner · Primary contact

Portfolio

Ansa BioBiotech Life Sciences

Leading DNA Synthesis Company that manufactures synthetic DNA, overcoming limitations of traditional methods to empower scientists in health and sustainability.

Octant BioBiotech Life Sciences

Octant is a therapeutics company building small molecule drugs that modulate cellular mechanisms. They focus on next-generation drug discovery using synthetic biology, high throughput chemistry, and AI/ML to target complex diseases, particularly those caused by protein misfolding.

Tetsuwan Scientific
BasepairBiotech Life Sciences

Basepair offers a next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis platform that specializes in genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenetics, providing solutions for biopharma, diagnostics, and academic research.

FemtofluidicsSemiconductors Hardware
Sphinx BioBiotech Life Sciences

Sphinx Bio is a cloud-based data management and analysis platform designed for the life sciences, aimed at accelerating drug discovery through modern biotech data solutions.

Current SurgicalHealthcare Digital

Current Surgical is reinventing surgery through a digital platform that integrates AI-driven algorithms and focused ultrasound technology to enhance precision in surgical procedures, aiming to improve outcomes and reduce risks in treating various conditions, including cancer.

Medra

Medra is an innovative company that integrates Physical AI and Scientific AI to automate laboratory protocols and enhance data generation in life sciences. Their autonomous robotic systems are designed to execute scientific protocols with precision and efficiency, enabling breakthroughs in research and experimentation.

Olden LabsBiotech Life Sciences

Olden Labs is dedicated to improving animal research through innovative technologies such as AI and robotics, aiming to enhance the quality and efficiency of animal studies while ensuring animal welfare.

Bluenote HealthHealthcare Digital

Bluenote Health is an AI platform designed to streamline regulatory and compliance workflows in the life sciences sector, enabling faster submission of drug and device approvals.

Recent activity

Carbon Silicon Ventures in the news

Similar firms

OS Fund$1M–$10M

Founded by Bryan Johnson, invests in platforms and enabling technologies supporting inventors and scientists building programmable-biology solutions to rewrite life's operating systems and benefit humanity. OS Fund believes biology is programmable, and invests in platforms and enabling technologies (i.e. Ginkgo Bioworks).

Breakout Ventures$250K–$15M

Bioscience investor translating grant-funded research into venture-scale companies, with a pipeline centered on engineering biology using robotic cloud labs and computational design for human health and planetary sustainability. The firm grew directly out of a philanthropic grants program at the Thiel Foundation that funded highly speculative science before spinning into a traditional venture fund.

Flagship Pioneering$500K–$15M

Flagship Pioneering operates as an "institutional innovation" model that internally originates 80-100 "explorations" per year through Flagship Labs based on "What if…?" hypotheses, then systematically evolves promising ideas through a staged company-creation funnel (Explorations → ProtoCos → NewCos → GrowthCos) that it fully founds, funds, and owns through early stages. The firm positions itself as principal founder rather than a traditional investor, building "bioplatform" companies organized around proprietary discovery engines and operating its own drug development unit, Pioneering Medicines, which partners directly with large pharmas like Pfizer and Novo Nordisk to co-create therapeutics.

KdT Ventures$500K–$5M

Writes first institutional checks ($500k–$5M) at earliest stages for compute-applied chemistry and biology ventures (therapeutics, industrial biotech, climate, materials), led by an advanced-degree scientific team.

IndieBio$500K–$525K

Early-stage accelerator for synthetic biology and life sciences that gives scientist-founders lab independence with co-located BSL-rated wet labs and extended runway via SOSV integration reserving 75% for follow-ons. The world's first startup accelerator focused specifically on synthetic biology and life sciences, created to give scientists independence as founders rather than forcing them into traditional academic or big-pharma tracks. The program runs its own large wet-lab infrastructure where portfolio companies co-locate and build in BSL-rated labs owned by the fund, while providing an unusually long runway of capital through deep integration with SOSV's fund structure that reserves 75% for follow-on rounds.

Research briefRead more
Carbon Silicon Ventures Research Investment Thesis Carbon Silicon Ventures invests in founders transforming biology into an engineering discipline. Founded by Color Genomics co-founder Nish Bhat, the fund backs founders building novel biological capabilities through a concentrated portfolio focused on synthetic DNA, automated labs, computational drug design, and AI-for-biology infrastructure. The fund positions itself as a technical partner alongside top-tier investors like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz in highly specialized biotech and AI-for-bio companies. Sector Focus Carbon Silicon Ventures has a highly specialized focus on the infrastructure stack of biology: Synthetic DNA & DNA Synthesis - Enzymatic DNA writing platforms and services Automated Labs & Robotics - Cloud-enabled lab infrastructure and autonomous AI scientists Computational Drug Design - Physical AI scientists and protein design platforms Drug Delivery Systems - Novel delivery mechanisms for therapeutics RNA Therapeutics - RNA-based therapeutic development platforms Computational Biology - AI/ML applications to biological workflows They explicitly focus on the infrastructure layer of biology rather than traditional therapeutics, seeking to enable science as a software/engineering problem at scale. Stage Focus Carbon Silicon Ventures invests across multiple stages, with particular strength in seed-stage companies: Seed : Primary focus area ($1M-$3M range based on portfolio) Series A : Active participant and occasional lead Pre-Seed : Selective participation in exceptional technical teams Series B+ : Follow-on investments in strong performers Examples from portfolio: Tetsuwan Scientific: $2.7M pre-seed (May 2024) Medra: Series A $52M (December 2025), total funding $63M Ansa Biotechnologies: Series B $54.4M (October 2025) Check Size Based on portfolio analysis: Typical range : $100K - $500K initial checks Average investment : $250K-$1M based on stage Fund capacity : Estimated $50M-$100M fund size based on check sizes and portfolio concentration Lead Tendency Leads and co-leads rounds , often positioning as primary technical advisor. Recent evidence: Co-led or participated in oversubscribed rounds (Tetsuwan $2.7M pre-seed) Portfolio companies with strong follow-on funding (Ansa $54.4M Series B, Medra $52M Series A) Actively co-investing with Sequoia, a16z, Lux Capital, and other tier-1 VCs Recent Activity The fund is actively deploying from current fund, with recent investments demonstrating strong momentum: Portfolio Company Milestones (2024-2025): Medra : $52M Series A funding (December 2025) - Physical AI scientists for drug discovery; now $63M total funded Ansa Biotechnologies : $54.4M Series B (October 2025) - Enzymatic DNA synthesis platform; $45.2M closed + $9.2M commitments Tetsuwan Scientific : $2.7M pre-seed (May 2024) - Autonomous AI robotic scientists for lab experiments Bluenote Health : $10M Series A (December 2024) - Generative AI platform for life sciences workflows Octant Bio : Series B $80M (April 2022) - High-throughput drug discovery platform; total $115M raised Active Portfolio : 15+ companies in portfolio including press-covered exits: Sphinx Bio : Acquired (acquired) Ansa Biotechnologies : Growing fast, Series B momentum Basepair : DNA sequence analysis platform Current Surgical : Surgical technology Olden Labs : Biotech innovation Portfolio Highlights Notable Companies: Medra AI - Building autonomous bioscience labs with physical AI scientists; $52M Series A (Dec 2025); partnership with Genentech Ansa Biotechnologies - Revolutionary enzymatic DNA synthesis with on-time guarantee; $54.4M Series B (Oct 2025) Octant Bio - Drug discovery using high-throughput screening and ML; $115M total raised; partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb Tetsuwan Scientific - First autonomous robotic AI scientists for lab experimentation; $2.7M pre-seed (May 2024) Bluenote Health - Generative AI for life sciences workflows; $10M Series A (Dec 2024) Basepair - DNA sequence analysis and bioinformatics Current Surgical - Surgical automation and innovation Olden Labs - Advanced biotech R&D Team Founder & General Partner: Nish Bhat - Founded Color Genomics (scaled to oncology and population health company); deep expertise in clinical-grade biology infrastructure; currently focuses on funding founders transforming biology through engineering Background: Serial founder in biology/healthcare; experience building at scale Portfolio Support: The fund appears to be run as a concentrated operation with Nish Bhat as primary decision-maker and technical advisor. Co-investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux Capital, and other top-tier biotech investors, suggesting strong network effects and deal access. Geographic Focus Primary : San Francisco Bay Area (HQ location) Secondary : NYC and other major biotech hubs International : Selective participation in groundbreaking biology research globally Decision Process Solo GP with strong technical vetting: Nish Bhat serves as primary decision-maker with deep biology/engineering background Strong thesis-driven approach - evaluates founders on engineering rigor and technical innovation Positions fund as technical advisor and partner, not just capital provider Decision Timeline Based on portfolio activity and stage focus: Pre-seed/Seed : 2-4 weeks for decision with technical deep-dive Series A : 4-8 weeks with reference checks and co-investor alignment Warm Intro Requirement Likely helpful but not required - Nish maintains active presence in biotech founder community (Tech Weekend VC office hours, speaking engagements). Strong technical founders with compelling biology problems can likely get warm intros through co-investors or Color network. Typical Involvement Board seat : Yes, for larger investments Advisor : Yes, provides technical guidance on biology/engineering problems Passive : Rare, given concentrated portfolio and technical engagement model Founder Preferences Carbon Silicon Ventures backs founders who: Have deep technical expertise in biology, chemistry, or computational biology Think like engineers - apply software/systems thinking to biological problems Solve infrastructure problems - enabling better science rather than traditional drug development Preferably have prior scientific validation - papers, patents, or prior work in biology Work at the intersection of AI/ML and biology for computational focus areas Fund Status & AUM Actively deploying based on recent investment activity through 2025. Fund appears to be in growth phase with strong momentum in portfolio companies securing Series A/B funding. AUM/Fund size: Not publicly disclosed, estimated $50M-$100M based on check sizes, portfolio concentration, and investment frequency. Notable Exits & Unicorns Sphinx Bio : Acquired (acquisition status noted in portfolio) No current unicorns in portfolio, but several approaching scale: Medra: $63M total funded, partnered with Genentech Ansa: $54.4M+ after Series B, critical infrastructure play Octant: $115M total, BMS partnership Key Differentiators Thesis clarity : Explicitly focused on biology-as-engineering, not traditional VC approach Founder-operator fit : Nish brings Color Genomics scale experience to advising Co-investor quality : Positioned alongside Sequoia, a16z, Lux Capital in major rounds Portfolio quality : Companies attracting top institutional capital in follow-ons Technical depth : Evaluates companies on scientific merit and engineering rigor Concentrated approach : Small number of companies suggests high-touch approach

Add Carbon Silicon Ventures to your investor list

Sign up free to save investors, see partner contacts, and track your raise.

Sign up