Fifty Years Research
Investment Thesis
Fifty Years is a pre-seed and seed focused venture capital firm founded in 2016 by Ela Madej and Seth Bannon, two Y Combinator alumni and serial entrepreneurs. The firm's core mission is to back founders using technology to solve the world's biggest problems while building massively profitable businesses. The firm explicitly rejects traditional "maximize shareholder value" thinking in favor of a model where capitalism is used as a force for good. They invest with the belief that the best businesses are those that solve real problems and create positive impact simultaneously.
Investment Philosophy
Fifty Years operates with a distinctly founder-first philosophy. Both co-founders were themselves entrepreneurs who struggled to find investors with the knowledge, networks, experience, and values alignment to help them scale. They founded Fifty Years to solve this problem. The firm is backed by 46 founders of $1B+ tech companies, creating a unique investor base of operators who deeply understand entrepreneurship. This creates a "founders backing founders" dynamic throughout the organization.
The firm's approach centers on what they call the "Mr Burns Test" - the idea that a sustainable or impact-focused company must be so good that even the most self-interested person would buy it for selfish reasons (best, cheapest, most convenient). This ensures impact at scale by building products that are fundamentally superior, not just ethically better.
Stage Focus
Fifty Years focuses exclusively on pre-seed and seed stage investments. They prefer to be the first institutional investor and partner with founders at the very earliest stages when capital and guidance are most valuable. This stage focus allows them to build deeper relationships with founders and provide meaningful operational support beyond capital. Independent fund analysis (VC Sheet) corroborates the firm's check size, stage focus, and "does not lead" pattern for check writing, consistent with a hands-on, high-conviction seed program rather than large-round leadership.
Sector and Geographic Preferences
The firm describes itself as sector-agnostic but is particularly enthusiastic about:
- Deep tech and scientific innovation
- Climate tech and clean energy
- Synthetic biology and biotech
- Accelerating scientific discovery
- Health and mental health
- Space tech and satellite technology
- Connectivity and communication
- Food tech
- Hardware, software, healthcare, and robotics
Geographically, they strongly prefer companies with their initial go-to-market in North America or Europe, with particular strength in the San Francisco Bay Area, though they have expanded to the UK.
Check Size and Fund Information
While specific check sizes are not publicly stated in detail, the firm's portfolio of 150+ investments across multiple funds suggests a typical range in the $250K-$2M range for pre-seed and seed. Fifty Years has raised multiple funds:
- Fund I: Raised in 2016, sub-$5M initial fund
- Fund II: $50M raised in 2019
- Fund III: Implied from recent activity
- Total AUM: $200M+
The firm continues to actively deploy capital into 2026, with recent investments including Wafer (April 2026), Adaption Labs (February 2026), Merge Labs and Apollo Research (January 2026), and a newly identified investment in Dinamo Biotechnologies (April 2026).
Team and Expertise
Fifty Years is led by Ela Madej and Seth Bannon, both serial entrepreneurs. The broader team includes:
- Ela Madej: Founding Partner. Co-founder of the firm.
- Seth Bannon: Founding Partner. Co-founder of the firm.
- D. Scott Phoenix: Partner. Former founder and CEO of Vicarious AI, which raised $250M and was acquired by Alphabet. Investor and advisor to many unicorns.
- Alex Teng, PhD: Partner. Caltech PhD in Environmental Science. Entrepreneur with expertise in startup operations and R&D.
- Drew Moxon: Head of Platform and Product. Entrepreneur, product leader, and community builder.
- Alejandra Borda: Instigator (community/ecosystem role).
The team includes 46+ founders of $1B+ companies as investors, providing unparalleled operational and strategic guidance.
Portfolio and Recent Activity
Fifty Years has invested in 150+ companies, with particular strength in deep tech and impact-driven ventures. Notable portfolio companies tracked in F4-OS include:
- Upside Foods: Commercializing cell-based meat
- Solugen: Decarbonizing chemicals through enzymatic manufacturing
- BillionToOne: Single molecule diagnostics for better healthcare
- Athelas: ML-powered rapid blood diagnostics
- Astranis: Advanced satellites for high orbits
- Substack: Building paid publications platform
- Atom Computing: Quantum computing
- Varda: In-space manufacturing
- Worldcoin: Decentralized identity and global currency
- BioRender: Scientific communication and visualization
- Latch, Arpeggio Biosciences, Catalog DNA, DeepCell, Geltor, Meati, Opentrons, Quantstamp: Spanning biotech, food tech, and infrastructure
- Onepot AI, Cosmic, Wafer, Adaption Labs, Merge Labs, Apollo Research, Vercept: 2025-2026 vintage AI and deep-tech bets
- Dinamo Biotechnologies (newly identified, April 2026): San Carlos-based precision immunology therapeutics company using AI and dynamic blood biomarkers; Fifty Years invested alongside True Ventures, Boom Capital Ventures, and Wireframe Ventures.
The portfolio spans biotechnology, energy, aerospace, healthcare, synthetic biology, AI, and climate tech, with multiple exits including acquisitions by major tech and industrial companies.
Additional Initiatives
Beyond traditional venture investing, Fifty Years has launched several founder-support initiatives:
- 5050 Program: Helping scientists and engineers become entrepreneurs, backing 72+ PhD founders
- Spinout Playbook: A guide to spinning out of academia
- Manifest Grants: Fast funding for translational science
- Progress Index: Open source datasets charting humanity's progress
- Translation Podcast: Scientists taking research from bench to benefit
- Speed Podcast: A show about leaders who move fast
These initiatives demonstrate the firm's commitment to building an ecosystem around impact-driven entrepreneurship, not just writing checks.
Founder Profile
Fifty Years targets entrepreneurs who want to build massive businesses AND move the world forward. They explicitly do not back founders just looking to get rich. The firm looks for:
- Determined, passionate, smart, creative founders
- Leaders who can get back up after failure
- Charismatic leaders who can recruit and inspire talent
- Entrepreneurs focused on both business success and positive impact
- Founders building products that solve real problems at scale
They prefer to work with founders for 5+ years, suggesting a long-term partnership mindset.
Decision Process and Support
Given the team composition and founder-first philosophy, decisions appear to be made through partnership discussion rather than committee. The firm provides more than capital - they offer operational guidance, strategic advice, network introductions, and ongoing support. The presence of 46 founder-investors provides incredible depth of expertise across industries and functions. Independent fund databases note the firm typically does not lead rounds, consistent with a conviction-led, follow-on-heavy check-writing pattern at the seed stage.
Geographic Expansion
While headquartered in San Francisco, Fifty Years has expanded to the UK with dedicated UK leadership, indicating growing international presence and focus.
Conclusion
Fifty Years represents a new generation of venture capital - one that explicitly challenges the traditional "shareholder value maximization" model and instead invests in building great businesses that solve real problems. With $200M+ in AUM, a portfolio of 150+ companies, and a unique investor base of 46 founder-operators, the firm is well-positioned to support the next wave of impact-driven entrepreneurs building the future. This refresh confirms the firm's core profile against an independent source (VC Sheet) and adds one newly identified 2026 investment (Dinamo Biotechnologies) not previously tracked in F4-OS.