Mode VC
Active Oct 8California

DCVC

DCVC, based in California, backs Seed and Series A deep tech, climate, life sciences, industrial, and food startups, can lead rounds with checks from $10 million to over $30 million.

Website LinkedIn XPortfolioTeam page
Entry stageSeed, Series A
Check size$10M to $30M+
Leads roundsYes
FocusDeep tech, Climate, Life sciences, Industrial, Food and ag
Latest fundBillions of dollars AUM
Investing team17 people3 activity updates, latest Oct 8

Who you would pitch at DCVC

17 people on the investing team, 10 of them partners who can make the call. Partners are listed first.

Ali Tamaseb
Ali TamasebGeneral PartnerHe authored a post about DCVC's investment in ElectronX, a derivatives exchange for electric power markets.
James Hardiman
James HardimanGeneral PartnerHe focuses on technologies characterizing biological systems, robotics, AI, and frontier tech like quantum computing.
Jason Pontin
Jason PontinGeneral PartnerHe co-led a $17 million Series A1 investment in Aquafortus, which focuses on wastewater treatment and resource recovery.
John Hamer
John HamerManaging Partner, DCVC BioHe wrote about a partnership between AbCellera and Novartis to find new disease treatments.
Kiersten Stead
Kiersten SteadManaging Partner, DCVC Bio
Matthew Ocko
Matthew OckoCo-Founder & Managing PartnerHe co-authored a news post about DCVC anchoring $150 million in financing for Impulse Space.
Milo Werner
Milo WernerGeneral Partner
Rachel Slaybaugh
Rachel SlaybaughGeneral Partner
Zachary Bogue
Zachary BogueCo-Founder & Managing Partner
Justin Kern
Justin KernPartner, DCVC BioHe wrote about Elo's breakthrough science for scalable, domestic sugar replacement solutions.
Emily Park
Emily ParkPrincipal, DCVC BioShe works on later-stage value in early-stage therapeutics and computational biology companies, and previously worked in public markets as a…
Josué López
Josué LópezPrincipalHe was previously an investor at Fine Structure Ventures and CEO of Kyber Photonics, and is a founding team member of Science for America.
Kristen Rocca
Kristen RoccaPrincipalFocus: climate, energy, and industrial innovation.
Vandon Duong
Vandon DuongPrincipalFocus: computational biology, healthcare, robotics, compute, and advanced materials.
Cara Yesko
Cara YeskoAssociateShe previously worked in investment banking and at Blue Owl Capital.
Jack Sauls
Jack SaulsAssociatePreviously, he was an investment banking associate at Piper Sandler, advising biotech and biopharma companies.
Richard Waines
Richard WainesSenior Associate, DCVC BioHe previously worked at Fika Bio and Credit Suisse, and served in the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.

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Writes $10M to $30M+ checks. Its smallest check is larger than 97% of firms in the atlas.

Bars: how many firms in the atlas report each band. Highlighted: this firm.

3 activity updates since September, latest Oct 8.

Weekly count of activity updates. Activity is not a confirmed deal.

Before you pitch

Ownership target7-10%
How to reach them[email protected]

Notable investments

DatabricksGinkgo BioworksRocket LabPlanetConfluentSentinelOneElasticOklo

In their words

DCVC | HomeWe are deep tech venture capital.www.dcvc.com
Founders and investors at a Mode VC gathering

Send Mode VC your deck

Raising a pre-seed or seed round? We write $1M to $5M first checks and help founders with distribution. A partner reads every deck.

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Alert me when DCVC is active

One email when this firm shows new activity. Nothing else.

Firms like DCVC

RA Capital Management$3M to $30M+
Better Ventures$500K to $1M
Refactor Capital$1M to $3M
Starshot CapitalCheck size not reported
The Production Board (TPB)Check size not reported
Creative VenturesCheck size not reported

On these lists

Seed deep tech investors in California94Seed climate investors in California75Seed life sciences investors in California71Series A deep tech investors in California68Seed industrial investors in California67Series A life sciences investors in California65Series A climate investors in California58Series A industrial investors in California48

Questions

What stage does DCVC invest in?

DCVC reports entry at seed, series a.

How much does DCVC invest?

DCVC reports checks of $10M to $30M+.

Does DCVC lead rounds?

Yes. DCVC says it can lead.

Who are the partners at DCVC?

Ali Tamaseb (General Partner), James Hardiman (General Partner), Jason Pontin (General Partner), John Hamer (Managing Partner, DCVC Bio), Kiersten Stead (Managing Partner, DCVC Bio), Matthew Ocko (Co-Founder & Managing Partner).

Is DCVC active right now?

DCVC has shown 3 activity updates since September 2026, the latest on 2026-10-08.

Work at DCVC? Claim or correct this profile.