Carbon Silicon Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Carbon Silicon Ventures invests in founders transforming biology into an engineering discipline. Founded by Color Genomics co-founder Nish Bhat, the fund backs founders building novel biological capabilities through a concentrated portfolio focused on synthetic DNA, automated labs, computational drug design, and AI-for-biology infrastructure. The fund positions itself as a technical partner alongside top-tier investors like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz in highly specialized biotech and AI-for-bio companies.
Sector Focus
Carbon Silicon Ventures has a highly specialized focus on the infrastructure stack of biology:
- Synthetic DNA & DNA Synthesis - Enzymatic DNA writing platforms and services
- Automated Labs & Robotics - Cloud-enabled lab infrastructure and autonomous AI scientists
- Computational Drug Design - Physical AI scientists and protein design platforms
- Drug Delivery Systems - Novel delivery mechanisms for therapeutics
- RNA Therapeutics - RNA-based therapeutic development platforms
- Computational Biology - AI/ML applications to biological workflows
They explicitly focus on the infrastructure layer of biology rather than traditional therapeutics, seeking to enable science as a software/engineering problem at scale.
Stage Focus
Carbon Silicon Ventures invests across multiple stages, with particular strength in seed-stage companies:
- Seed: Primary focus area ($1M-$3M range based on portfolio)
- Series A: Active participant and occasional lead
- Pre-Seed: Selective participation in exceptional technical teams
- Series B+: Follow-on investments in strong performers
Examples from portfolio:
- Tetsuwan Scientific: $2.7M pre-seed (May 2024)
- Medra: Series A $52M (December 2025), total funding $63M
- Ansa Biotechnologies: Series B $54.4M (October 2025)
Check Size
Based on portfolio analysis:
- Typical range: $100K - $500K initial checks
- Average investment: $250K-$1M based on stage
- Fund capacity: Estimated $50M-$100M fund size based on check sizes and portfolio concentration
Lead Tendency
Leads and co-leads rounds, often positioning as primary technical advisor.
Recent evidence:
- Co-led or participated in oversubscribed rounds (Tetsuwan $2.7M pre-seed)
- Portfolio companies with strong follow-on funding (Ansa $54.4M Series B, Medra $52M Series A)
- Actively co-investing with Sequoia, a16z, Lux Capital, and other tier-1 VCs
Recent Activity
The fund is actively deploying from current fund, with recent investments demonstrating strong momentum:
Portfolio Company Milestones (2024-2025):
- Medra: $52M Series A funding (December 2025) - Physical AI scientists for drug discovery; now $63M total funded
- Ansa Biotechnologies: $54.4M Series B (October 2025) - Enzymatic DNA synthesis platform; $45.2M closed + $9.2M commitments
- Tetsuwan Scientific: $2.7M pre-seed (May 2024) - Autonomous AI robotic scientists for lab experiments
- Bluenote Health: $10M Series A (December 2024) - Generative AI platform for life sciences workflows
- Octant Bio: Series B $80M (April 2022) - High-throughput drug discovery platform; total $115M raised
Active Portfolio: 15+ companies in portfolio including press-covered exits:
- Sphinx Bio: Acquired (acquired)
- Ansa Biotechnologies: Growing fast, Series B momentum
- Basepair: DNA sequence analysis platform
- Current Surgical: Surgical technology
- Olden Labs: Biotech innovation
Portfolio Highlights
Notable Companies:
- Medra AI - Building autonomous bioscience labs with physical AI scientists; $52M Series A (Dec 2025); partnership with Genentech
- Ansa Biotechnologies - Revolutionary enzymatic DNA synthesis with on-time guarantee; $54.4M Series B (Oct 2025)
- Octant Bio - Drug discovery using high-throughput screening and ML; $115M total raised; partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Tetsuwan Scientific - First autonomous robotic AI scientists for lab experimentation; $2.7M pre-seed (May 2024)
- Bluenote Health - Generative AI for life sciences workflows; $10M Series A (Dec 2024)
- Basepair - DNA sequence analysis and bioinformatics
- Current Surgical - Surgical automation and innovation
- Olden Labs - Advanced biotech R&D
Team
Founder & General Partner:
- Nish Bhat - Founded Color Genomics (scaled to oncology and population health company); deep expertise in clinical-grade biology infrastructure; currently focuses on funding founders transforming biology through engineering
- Background: Serial founder in biology/healthcare; experience building at scale
Portfolio Support: The fund appears to be run as a concentrated operation with Nish Bhat as primary decision-maker and technical advisor. Co-investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Lux Capital, and other top-tier biotech investors, suggesting strong network effects and deal access.
Geographic Focus
- Primary: San Francisco Bay Area (HQ location)
- Secondary: NYC and other major biotech hubs
- International: Selective participation in groundbreaking biology research globally
Decision Process
Solo GP with strong technical vetting:
- Nish Bhat serves as primary decision-maker with deep biology/engineering background
- Strong thesis-driven approach - evaluates founders on engineering rigor and technical innovation
- Positions fund as technical advisor and partner, not just capital provider
Decision Timeline
Based on portfolio activity and stage focus:
- Pre-seed/Seed: 2-4 weeks for decision with technical deep-dive
- Series A: 4-8 weeks with reference checks and co-investor alignment
Warm Intro Requirement
Likely helpful but not required - Nish maintains active presence in biotech founder community (Tech Weekend VC office hours, speaking engagements). Strong technical founders with compelling biology problems can likely get warm intros through co-investors or Color network.
Typical Involvement
- Board seat: Yes, for larger investments
- Advisor: Yes, provides technical guidance on biology/engineering problems
- Passive: Rare, given concentrated portfolio and technical engagement model
Founder Preferences
Carbon Silicon Ventures backs founders who:
- Have deep technical expertise in biology, chemistry, or computational biology
- Think like engineers - apply software/systems thinking to biological problems
- Solve infrastructure problems - enabling better science rather than traditional drug development
- Preferably have prior scientific validation - papers, patents, or prior work in biology
- Work at the intersection of AI/ML and biology for computational focus areas
Fund Status & AUM
Actively deploying based on recent investment activity through 2025. Fund appears to be in growth phase with strong momentum in portfolio companies securing Series A/B funding.
AUM/Fund size: Not publicly disclosed, estimated $50M-$100M based on check sizes, portfolio concentration, and investment frequency.
Notable Exits & Unicorns
- Sphinx Bio: Acquired (acquisition status noted in portfolio)
- No current unicorns in portfolio, but several approaching scale:
- Medra: $63M total funded, partnered with Genentech
- Ansa: $54.4M+ after Series B, critical infrastructure play
- Octant: $115M total, BMS partnership
Key Differentiators
- Thesis clarity: Explicitly focused on biology-as-engineering, not traditional VC approach
- Founder-operator fit: Nish brings Color Genomics scale experience to advising
- Co-investor quality: Positioned alongside Sequoia, a16z, Lux Capital in major rounds
- Portfolio quality: Companies attracting top institutional capital in follow-ons
- Technical depth: Evaluates companies on scientific merit and engineering rigor
- Concentrated approach: Small number of companies suggests high-touch approach