Blue Bear Ventures

Blue Bear Ventures, or BBV, invests in founders working at the frontier of science and technology. It backs deep tech companies emerging from research, and it puts the founding team, not one founder or one idea, first.

What Blue Bear Ventures offers

• Early-stage deep tech investment — funding for research-led startups.
• Advice from the start — guidance across all areas of the business so founders can focus on getting the technology out.
• Long-term involvement — the firm stays with its companies through the whole journey, leaving decisions to founders.

Who it works with

Scientists and engineers from research institutions such as UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, MIT and Stanford. Portfolio examples include:

• Aether Bio, engineering enzymes for biological manufacturing
• Aluna, a respiratory health management system
• Ayar Labs, working on optical interconnects for computing

Key facts

• Focus: deep technology from academic research
• Approach: relationship-based, advising alongside founders