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Mordecai Ventures Research Overview Mordecai Ventures is a small emerging venture capital firm managed by two experienced technology founders: Linhao Zhang (Co-founder & CTO of Formation Bio) and Jake Cahan (Founder & CEO of January). The firm operates under the entity name "Mordecai Ventures Management, LLC" (SEC CRD #322172) and its primary investment vehicle is "Fund I, a series of Mordecai Ventures, LP," structured through AngelList's Platform Advisor, LLC. The firm's official website is at https://mordecai.vc/. Investment Thesis Mordecai Ventures takes a founder-led investment approach, with both GPs having built and scaled venture-backed technology companies. The firm positions itself at the intersection of healthcare/biotech and fintech — the two domains where its general partners have deep operating experience. Linhao Zhang's tenure as Co-founder and CTO of Formation Bio, an AI-powered drug discovery company that has raised over $608M from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Sanofi, provides the firm with strong domain expertise in clinical-stage biotech, AI-enabled healthcare, and computational biology. Jake Cahan's experience building January (formerly Debtsy), a consumer debt resolution fintech platform that has raised over $82M from Industry Ventures, Tribe Capital, and others, adds deep knowledge in fintech, consumer financial services, and regulatory technology. The fund is a classic operator-led micro-fund, where seasoned founders leverage their domain expertise and founder networks to back early-stage companies that are in similar territory to where they built their own companies. This model is particularly common in the AngelList ecosystem and is valued for the hands-on operational guidance the GPs can provide. Fund Details Fund I is a seed-stage venture capital fund with a total offering of $3 million, of which approximately $775,000 had been raised as of January 2025 (per SEC Form D/A amendment filed 2025-01-14 with CIK 0001932053). The fund was incorporated in Delaware and first sold securities in May 2022. It accepts a minimum LP investment of $5,000 and had 9 accredited investors as of the latest filing. Back-office administration is handled by Belltower Fund Group, Ltd. (AngelList's preferred fund administrator), with records maintained at 119 South Main Street, Suite 220, Seattle, WA 98104. The firm's principal phone is 917-426-1441 (New York area code), suggesting the GPs operate primarily from the New York metropolitan area. Stage Focus The fund focuses on pre-seed and seed stage investments. Given the $3M fund size targeting a diversified seed portfolio, individual check sizes are estimated in the $25,000–$250,000 range. The fund name and regulatory structure are consistent with a seed-stage focus. The GPs' own companies were both venture-backed from seed stage, giving them particular credibility and empathy with founders at that stage. Team Linhao Zhang — General Partner Linhao Zhang is the co-founder and CTO of Formation Bio, an AI-native pharma company that uses machine learning to accelerate and de-risk drug development. Formation Bio has raised $608M+ across four rounds, most recently a $372M Series D led by a16z (with Sequoia, Sanofi, Thrive Capital, Emerson Collective, and others). Prior to Formation Bio (formerly TrialSpark), Linhao was a software engineer at Oscar Health and Salesforce. He is a Sequoia-recognized founder and has been an active angel investor, participating in seed rounds in companies such as Coherence Neuro (BCI for cancer treatment, $10M seed, 2025). Jake Cahan — General Partner Jake Cahan is the founder and CEO of January, a fintech platform that modernizes consumer debt resolution. January raised $82M+ across multiple rounds including a $72M Series B led by Industry Ventures, with participation from Vestigo Ventures, Euclidean Capital, and others. Prior to January, Jake was an investor at Third Prime Capital (a seed-stage fintech-focused VC), and before that founded SourceRE, a real estate technology startup. His background spans both sides of the table — as founder and as investor — giving him a nuanced perspective for backing early-stage companies. Portfolio and Investment Activity Due to the fund's small size and early stage, limited public information is available about Mordecai Ventures' specific portfolio companies. Linhao Zhang has been publicly documented as a personal angel investor in Coherence Neuro (a brain-computer interface startup developing closed-loop neuro-modulation for cancer treatment, $10M seed round led by Topology Ventures and Artesian, November 2025). Whether this investment was made through Mordecai Ventures or as a personal angel is not confirmed from public sources. Given the $3M total fund size with ~$775K deployed, the portfolio is likely 3–10 seed-stage companies across healthcare/biotech and fintech sectors. Geographic Focus Both GPs operate New York City-based companies, and the 917 area code on the firm's contact number confirms a NYC presence. The fund is expected to be US-focused with a preference for the New York City and San Francisco Bay Area ecosystems, though the AngelList-based structure facilitates nationwide and potentially global investment access. Decision Process As a two-partner emerging fund, Mordecai Ventures operates with a simple partnership decision-making structure. Decisions are likely made jointly between Zhang and Cahan, with the ability to move quickly given the lean team. The fund's founder-operator DNA means portfolio companies can expect active involvement from GPs with hands-on experience in navigating the challenges of building venture-backed companies. Co-Investor Network Given the GPs' backgrounds, Mordecai Ventures is likely to co-invest alongside or be introduced to deals through investors in the Formation Bio and January syndicates, including a16z, Sequoia, Thrive Capital, Industry Ventures, Tribe Capital, Third Prime Capital, and Emerson Collective. Summary Mordecai Ventures is a small but credible emerging fund with genuine operator DNA. The GPs have built two successful venture-backed technology companies across healthcare AI and fintech, making them well-positioned to support seed-stage founders in those domains. The fund is currently in the early stages of deployment and represents a founder-friendly, founder-to-founder investment style typical of operator micro-funds.