Dimension: Pioneering the Convergence of Technology and Life Sciences
Investment Thesis
Dimension is a specialized venture capital firm singularly focused at the intersection of technology and life sciences. The firm's core conviction is that technology and biology are not separate disciplines but are fundamentally converging to create the next generation of transformative companies. Founded in March 2022 by three experienced venture investors—Nan Li, Adam Goulburn, and Zavain Dar—Dimension addresses a critical gap in the VC ecosystem: the shortage of capital allocators who are equally fluent in both domains.
The firm believes that the digitization of life sciences is creating unprecedented opportunities for value creation. Biotech, once characterized by one-off experimentation and chance outcomes, is evolving into a data-centric, mechanized discipline where lab equipment follows Moore's Law-like cost and performance curves. This transformation has generated petabytes of rich biological data that can be leveraged by cutting-edge ML and software infrastructure. Dimension sees tomorrow's biotech as fundamentally different from the traditional model: it will be led by teams of three—a biologist, a chemist, and a computer scientist—rather than two.
Core Investment Areas
Dimension invests across the entire continuum of the tech-bio ecosystem:
Biotech Platforms & Tools:
- Drug discovery platforms powered by AI/ML
- Lab automation and instrumentation
- Molecular simulation and computational biology
- Next-generation lab software and data management
Software & Infrastructure:
- AI/ML infrastructure applicable to biological problems
- High-performance computing for scientific applications
- Developer tools for life science researchers
- Data infrastructure and visualization tools
Clinical & Therapeutic Applications:
- Precision medicines
- Therapeutic modalities enabled by computational advances
- Cell and gene therapy platforms
- Regenerative medicine
Stage Focus & Check Size
Dimension demonstrates flexibility across all stages, from incubation through growth:
- Pre-Seed to Seed: $1M-$10M
- Series A: $2M-$15M+
- Series B and beyond: Continuing support for exceptional companies
Check size range: $1M-$10M+ with willingness to lead or co-lead rounds.
Recent Activity
Fund II Status: Dimension closed Fund II at $500M in December 2024, upsizing from an initial $350M Fund I. The firm is actively deploying from the new fund.
Recent Investments (2024-2025):
- Chai Discovery: $130M Series B (AI-driven drug discovery, $1.3B valuation)
- Aspect Biosystems: $115M (bioprinted tissue therapies)
- NewLimit: $130M Series B (anti-aging/longevity)
- Modal Labs: $87M (AI infrastructure, unicorn status)
- Enveda Biosciences: Multiple rounds (AI + natural products)
- BioRender: Scientific visualization platform
- Odyssey Therapeutics: $213M Series D (precision medicines)
- Monte Rosa Therapeutics: Molecular glue degrader therapeutics
- Automata Technologies: $40M (lab automation)
- Recursion Pharma: NASDAQ-listed platform company
Portfolio Highlights
Unicorn Companies:
- Chai Discovery ($1.3B valuation)
- Modal Labs (AI infrastructure)
- Recursion Pharma (NASDAQ: RXRX)
- Enveda Biosciences (unicorn status)
Clinical-Stage Companies:
- Odyssey Therapeutics (multi-program, $213M Series D)
- Monte Rosa Therapeutics (Novartis partnerships, $5.7B+ potential)
- Aspect Biosystems (tissue engineering, $115M)
- NewLimit (anti-aging, Eli Lilly co-investor)
AI/Infrastructure:
- Modal Labs (unicorn, high-performance computing)
- Chai Discovery (AI molecular design)
- Enveda Biosciences (AI drug discovery)
- BioRender (scientific visualization)
Team
Founding Partners:
- Nan Li: Former MD at Obvious Ventures, investor in Dexterity, Recursion, Planet
- Adam Goulburn: Former GP at Lux Capital, founded Cajal Neuroscience, expertise in digitization and neuroscience
- Zavain Dar: Former GP at Lux Capital, led Recursion and Hugging Face investments, AI/crypto expertise
Key Team Members:
- Simon Barnett: Partner and Head of Research (ARK Invest background)
- Reha Mathur: Investor with computational biology background (D.E. Shaw, Princeton)
- Nikhil Namburi: Investor with infrastructure focus (Two Sigma Ventures, Lux)
Operations:
- Anna Bitton: VP Finance & Operations (OrbiMed, Torch Capital background)
Decision process: Partnership model with research-backed thesis.
Geographic Focus
Primary: US (SF Bay Area, Boston, NYC) Secondary: Canada, Europe (UK), Japan, South Korea for specialized tech
Founder Preferences
Dimension seeks:
- Technical founders with deep domain expertise across biology/chemistry AND CS/ML
- Cross-disciplinary teams combining wet-bench scientists with software engineers
- Founders with track records from category-defining companies
- Contrarian thinkers challenging industry dogma
- Mission-driven entrepreneurs focused on transformative health impact
Anti-Thesis
- Pure consumer social apps
- Hardware-only without software/ML differentiation
- Non-technical founders
- Teams without biotech/pharma operational experience
- Business models not leveraging tech-bio convergence
Strategic Insights
- Platform-first: Portfolio companies build reusable platforms (Recursion, Enveda, Chai)
- AI/ML centrality: Nearly every company incorporates AI as core differentiation
- Large market focus: Targeting multi-billion dollar markets
- Regulatory expertise: Several companies pursuing FDA-regulated pathways
- Founder excellence: Portfolio marked by exceptional team pedigree
- Co-investor alignment: Attracts top-tier co-investors (OpenAI, Eli Lilly, Novo, Sanofi, Microsoft, Nvidia)