Chemistry VC

Chemistry is "an early-stage venture firm that leads investments in standout software companies at the Seed and Series A," according to its launch post. Its focus includes AI infrastructure and applications, fintech and developer tools.^[1],[2],[3]

The firm was built around alignment. "The idea for Chemistry started with a question - what would a venture firm look like if its success was fully aligned with its founders' success?" the partners wrote, describing a lean team that "would out-hustle the legacy firms that have grown distracted by scale." They named it Chemistry after the word they used for the connection they shared with each other and with founders.^[1]

Chemistry makes a select number of investments. "All three of us will actively support each investment. We are the portfolio services team," the launch post says, and Tech Funding News reported that the firm plans two to three deals per year per partner.^[1],[3]

Chemistry launched in October 2024 with Chemistry Fund 1 and $350M of capital. In July 2026 TechCrunch reported, citing an SEC filing, that the firm is raising $500 million for its second fund; the Wall Street Journal reported that the fund was already oversubscribed and expected to close soon.^[1],[2],[3]

TechCrunch lists Granola, Decagon, Persona, Serval and Nova Intelligence among Chemistry's portfolio companies. Several have raised large rounds in 2026: Granola raised $125 million in a Series C led by Index Ventures at a $1.5 billion valuation in March, and Serval announced a $150 million Series C led by Sequoia at a $3 billion valuation in October.^[2],[4],[5]

Chemistry participated in Assort Health's $120 million Series C, led by Menlo Ventures at a $1.2 billion valuation in June 2026, alongside Lightspeed Venture Partners, Felicis and First Round Capital.^[6]

Mark Goldberg previously worked at Index Ventures, Ethan Kurzweil at Bessemer Venture Partners and Kristina Shen at Andreessen Horowitz. Tech Funding News reported that Goldberg invested in Plaid and Bridge, Shen backed Sprig and Decagon, and Kurzweil has notable investments in Twitch and PagerDuty.^[2],[3]

Together, the partners say they have led investments in over a dozen unicorns at the early stage, including PagerDuty, Intercom, Persona, Twitch and Pave, served on over 50 boards and led nearly 100 investments. Those are their records at prior firms, not Chemistry exits.^[1]

Chemistry leads rounds and does few of them, so it has to want your company specifically. The fit is a software company at seed or Series A, especially in AI, fintech, infrastructure or developer tools, that wants three senior partners involved rather than one partner and a platform team.^[1],[3]

The firm does not publish an application form; its site and launch post are the public entry points, and a warm introduction through a founder or co-investor is the usual route.^[1]

Who founded Chemistry? Mark Goldberg, Ethan Kurzweil and Kristina Shen, formerly of Index Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz.^[2]

How big are Chemistry's funds? Fund 1 was $350M; it is raising $500 million for its second fund, per TechCrunch.^[1],[2]

What stage does Chemistry invest at? Seed and Series A, usually leading.^[1]