Twine Ventures

Twine Ventures Research Investment Thesis Twine Ventures partners with early-stage founders for whom purpose and profit are inextricably linked. The firm believes that healthcare systems and climate-impacted industries are in the midst of generational transformation, and they invest in audacious teams building the enabling technologies—data, AI, and software infrastructure—that will accelerate this critical transition. They position themselves as first-check investors with a nimble and targeted approach to supporting mission-driven founders from the very beginning of their journey. Fund Overview Twine Ventures Fund I is a $25M seed fund launched in 2022 by Leshika Samarasinghe and Ethan Yeh. The fund writes initial checks of $500K-$750K and focuses on the intersection of human health and planetary health. The firm has deployed across a diverse portfolio spanning healthcare, climate, fintech, and emerging technologies. Stage Focus and Check Size Twine Ventures is a pure seed investor: Primary focus : Seed stage ($500K-$750K first checks) Typical range : $500K-$1.5M per company Approach : First-check investor, leads or co-leads rounds Fund size : $25M (Fund I) Investment Sectors and Focus Areas The firm invests across three primary categories with both human and planetary health components: Human Health: Surgical outcomes improvement (Apella Technology) Pharmacy services and access (Alchemy Health) Home care and workforce coordination (Alden) Behavioral health (Colla Health, Oasys) Medical financing and access (Endeavor Health, Waltz Health) Preventive and root-cause medicine (Rupa Health) Precision medicine (Teiko Bio) Medicaid community care (Waymark) Planetary Health (Climate & Sustainability): EV charging infrastructure (Alpha Grid) Clean energy (Verse) Climate resilience and parametric insurance (Plover Parametrics) Environmental data collection (Nectar Climate) Industrial automation (Frontier Machines) Electrification services (Stealth Climatetech) Supply chain sustainability (Covalent Technologies) Agricultural compliance (Compass) Fintech & Data Infrastructure: Payments integrity (Alaffia) Financial access and credit (Ava Finance) AI-driven financial intelligence (Rowspace) Data analytics and collaboration (Stealth Data, Zipline AI) Credit access for underbanked (Stealth Fintech) Trade sales tools (Airship) Legacy industry staffing solutions (Pikl) Portfolio and Recent Activity Twine Ventures has built a diverse portfolio of 35+ companies spanning early-stage development: Notable Portfolio Companies: Apella Technology - Surgical outcomes through AI analytics (Series A deployed) Alchemy Health - Pharmacy services for vulnerable populations ($31M Series B, Feb 2026) Waymark - Community-based Medicaid care ($42M Series B, Oct 2023) Waltz Health - Prescription drug affordability (acquired) Rupa Health - Specialty lab testing for root-cause medicine Alpha Grid - EV charging infrastructure scaling Verse - Clean power generation Plover Parametrics - Climate resilience insurance (acquired Oct 2025) Zipline AI - AI/ML data platform Rowspace - AI financial intelligence Recent Activity (2024-2025): Actively deploying Fund I capital across healthcare and climate sectors Demonstrating strong follow-on investment capability (Alchemy Series B participation, Alaffia Series B participation) Producing material exits (Waltz Health acquisition, Plover Parametrics acquisition) Maintaining early-stage focus with newest investments in Pre-seed and Seed stages Team and Operator Background Leshika Samarasinghe - Founder & Managing Partner Former early product team member at Google Founding member of ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy) Managing Partner at The Production Board (venture studio founding health and climate companies) Deep expertise in GTM strategy and Series A fundraising Sri Lankan immigrant background, first-generation founder-investor Ethan Yeh, PhD - Managing Partner Former Head of Data Science at Stripe Former Director of Data Science at Twitter Health economist background (World Bank) Experience spanning technology startups, policy, government, and academic research Supported teams from inception to IPO as operator and investor This strong operator background—combining deep domain expertise in health (ARPA-E, World Bank), technology (Google, Stripe, Twitter), and entrepreneurship (The Production Board)—enables Twine to provide substantive support beyond capital. Decision Process and Support Model Decision style : Partnership-driven with hands-on involvement from both partners Typical involvement : Active operational support, particularly on GTM strategy and fundraising Timeline : Responsive and nimble as first-check investors Value add : Technical operational support, policy network (ARPA-E), technology expertise (Stripe, Google), healthcare domain knowledge Founder Profile Preferences Twine gravitates toward mission-driven founders building at the intersection of purpose and profit: Founders committed to solving material healthcare or climate challenges Technical teams with domain expertise (especially in healthcare or climate) Founders willing to be hands-on partners with investors Early-stage teams requiring operational support and strategic guidance Geographic Focus Primarily US-based, with concentration in: San Francisco Bay Area New York Other major US tech/health hubs Competitive Landscape and Co-Investors Common co-investors in Twine portfolio include: Pathlight Ventures Better Ventures QED Investors (Airship round) Greylock Partners FirstMark Capital Tau Ventures Sure Ventures This indicates positioning as a respected early-stage investor with strong relationships among quality seed-stage VCs. Fund Status and Outlook Status : Actively deploying from Fund I ($25M) Deployment pace : Consistent investment activity throughout 2024-2025 Exit performance : Demonstrated ability to generate material exits (Waltz, Plover) Follow-on capability : Strong reserves for follow-on investments in successful companies The firm appears well-positioned to close Fund II in the near-term, given strong performance from Fund I, demonstrated exits, and mission-aligned deployment across growth-stage checkpoints.