Necessary Ventures

Necessary Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Necessary Ventures invests in companies addressing fundamental societal needs. The firm systematizes mission-based narratives and provides a comprehensive Talent/Capital/Attention platform to founders. They believe that the best companies solve problems the world actually needs, and they help founders leverage their missions to find talent, access non-dilutive capital, and generate earned media through their in-house content engine. The fund is thesis-driven and explicitly invests across a wide range of sectors, technologies, and business models, with particular emphasis on deep tech, hard tech, and AI.

Investment Approach and Stage Focus

Necessary Ventures leads seed-stage investments, specifically $1-2M pre-seed rounds, and also invests non-lead from pre-seed to pre-IPO. Their pre-seed focus is notable for founders who have compelling missions and strong narratives. The firm demonstrates flexibility across the entire venture spectrum, indicating they will follow successful founders through later stages once conviction is established. This approach suggests strong conviction-based decision making rather than strict stage gatekeeping.

Check Size and Capital Deployment

Primary check size: $1-2M in pre-seed rounds where they lead Secondary participation: Non-lead tickets across all stages through pre-IPO The relatively modest primary check size suggests focus on early-stage founders and companies in formation rather than established teams seeking Series A growth capital.

Sector and Model Preferences

Necessary Ventures maintains broad sector coverage with documented deep focus areas:

Core Sectors:

• Healthcare and Healthcare Technology (Akido, Alyf, Beyond, Brellium, EnsoData, EveryCare, Mending, Mental, Modern Health, OneImaging, Perceptive, Zocalo Health)
• Biotech and Life Sciences (Recursion - AI-driven drug discovery, Unlearn - AI for clinical trials, ReadoutAI - generative AI for clinical trials)
• Climate and Clean Energy (Arc, Circularity Fuels, Copper, Nevoya, Plural Energy, Rubi, Terra Energy)
• Hard Tech and Robotics (Vicarious Surgical - minimally invasive surgical robots, Verustruct - robotic construction, Wayve - autonomous driving)
• AI and Machine Learning (Wayve, Recursion, Unlearn, ReadoutAI, Brellium, EnsoData, OutRival)
• Agriculture and Food Systems (Farmers Business Network)
• FinTech and Payments (Forage, Nomba, Relief)
• Employee and Community (AllVoices, Kurios)
• Consumer Hardware and Logistics (Infinite Machine, Moov, Nevoya)
• Education Technology (Inferred from advisor network)

The portfolio demonstrates sophisticated thesis about societal needs: healthcare access, climate sustainability, autonomous transportation, clinical innovation, agricultural equity, and financial inclusion for underserved populations.

Team and Expertise

Core Partners:

• Neil Devani (Founder & Managing Partner): Deep tech and hard tech focus. Medical school background (Drexel), JD from Stanford Law School. Worked on Affordable Care Act in US Senate. Advisor to mission-driven nonprofits (Upsolve for bankruptcy relief, Copia for food rescue). Technical founder background with policy expertise.

• Akash Malhotra (Partner): Early-stage specialist. 10+ years in startups as founder, operator, and investor. Founded Eventable (30M+ users), took it through acquisition to Rockerbox. Partner at The House Fund backing earliest-stage founders. Forbes 30 Under 30. Deep GTM and founder story expertise.

• Deepa Sheth (Venture Partner): Healthcare executive and investor. Former Chief Corporate Development Officer at SCAN ($5B health plan). Scaled Oak Street Health through IPO and $10.6B acquisition by CVS. M&A, B2B growth, and new line of business expertise. Champion for female founders.

• Dr. Greg Burrell (Venture Partner): Chief Medical Officer at Homeward. Co-founder of Carbon Health (multi-state primary care). VP Clinical Strategy at Accolade (10M+ members). Board certified internal medicine physician with 10 years as Associate Professor at UCSF.

• Dr. Nachi Gupta (Venture Partner & Technical Advisor): Former Chief Innovation Officer at Kriya Therapeutics (AAV gene therapy). M.D. from Brown, Ph.D. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Oxford. Emergency physician. Prior experience at Brevan Howard and MIT Lincoln Laboratory on ballistic missile defense.

• Nikita Gaurav (Venture Partner): MedTech engineer. R&D, manufacturing, quality engineering at Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Abbott. Deep expertise in orthopedic, cardiac, diabetes, surgical-robotic devices. Materials science and healthcare AI/ML background.

Advisory Network:

• Michael Dempsey (AI/Deep Tech Advisor): Managing Partner at Compound. First-round investor in RunwayML, Wayve, Prime Intellect. Former lead at Rothenberg Ventures. Coined "Frontier Tech" at CB Insights.
• Adrian James (Healthcare Tech Advisor): Co-founder and former President of Omada Health (IPO 2025). IDEO Domain Lead. Stanford MS in Mechanical Engineering.
• Dr. Edmondo Robinson (Healthcare Tech Advisor): Physician, executive, investor. CEO of Downeast Digital. Senior VP and Chief Digital Officer at Moffitt Cancer Center. 25+ years healthcare delivery and innovation.
• Sheel Mohnot (FinTech Advisor): Co-founder and Managing Partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures. Founder of 500 Fintech. Early investor in Albert, Kin, Indio, Flexport, Coinclad, Coinbase. Founder of The Pitch podcast.
• Tom Brown (FinTech Advisor): Senior counsel at Paul Hustings. "Fintech's most famous legal mind" per J.P. Morgan. 30+ years fintech representation. Partner at Nyca Partners. Investor in Upstart, Chime, Ramp, Mercury, Albert.
• Jeremy Johnson (EdTech Advisor): Co-founder and former CEO of Andela (distributed engineering teams with African developers). Co-founded 2U (IPO 2014). Princeton degree.
• Komal Ahmad (Communications Advisor): Founder of Copia. Prevented 6.5M lbs food waste, delivered 5.4M meals. Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award. Toyota Mother of Invention Award.

The team composition reflects deep expertise in healthcare innovation, climate tech, fintech, hard tech/robotics, and mission-driven business strategy. The advisor network provides exceptional depth in specialized sectors.

Portfolio Analysis

As of February 2026, Necessary Ventures maintains a portfolio of 37+ active companies:

Healthcare and Digital Health (12 companies): Akido, Alyf, Beyond, Brellium, EnsoData, EveryCare, Mending, Mental, Modern Health, OneImaging, Perceptive, Zocalo Health

Climate and Clean Energy (6 companies): Arc, Circularity Fuels, Copper, Nevoya, Plural Energy, Rubi, Terra Energy (7 total)

Biotech and AI Drug Discovery (3 companies): Recursion (IPO), Unlearn, ReadoutAI

Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles (3 companies): Vicarious Surgical (IPO), Verustruct, Wayve

FinTech and Payments (3 companies): Forage, Nomba, Relief

Agriculture and Food Systems (1 company): Farmers Business Network

Other (3 companies): AllVoices (HR), Kurios (Talent), Moov (Semiconductor equipment)

Notable Exits and IPOs:

• Recursion (IPO 2024/2025): AI-driven drug discovery leader
• Vicarious Surgical (IPO 2025): Minimally invasive surgical robots
• Omada Health (IPO 2025): Portfolio company with advisor Adrian James as co-founder

Stage Distribution: Portfolio spans pre-seed through public companies, with concentration in seed and early Series A based on their stated $1-2M pre-seed focus.

Recent Activity and Fund Status

Based on current portfolio composition and public presence:

• Fund Status: Actively deploying (3+ new investments in last 12 months as of Sep 2025 per Tracxn)
• Total Portfolio Companies: 57+ companies invested across all stages
• Recent Content Activity: Active newsletter (Necessary Nuggets), podcast (Money Moves), and media commentary on venture trends (commentary on AI funding through May 2025)
• Last Significant Activity: Continuous deployment through 2025, with portfolio companies completing IPOs (Recursion, Vicarious Surgical, Omada Health)

Decision Process and Founder Preferences

Decision Process: Partnership-based with founder story expertise. Akash Malhotra's background in founder narrative crafting and Neil Devani's mission-focus suggest collaborative, conviction-driven evaluation. The presence of multiple venture partners and advisors with specialized domain expertise indicates committee-style evaluation for different sectors.

Founder Preferences:

• Mission-driven founders solving societal problems
• Technical founders with deep domain expertise (especially evident from advisor network in healthcare, climate, robotics)
• Founders capable of leveraging their mission as a strategic asset
• Experienced operators with prior company building or scaling experience
• Diverse founder backgrounds (female founder champion with Deepa Sheth; demonstrated support for international founders like Andela's African developers)

Geographic Focus

Primarily US-focused with:

• Strong presence in San Francisco Bay Area
• Some engagement in Los Angeles (Deepa Sheth, Greg Burrell based)
• National coverage for relevant theses
• International advisor network (Africa via Andela partnership)
• Evident selectivity for international opportunities (Nomba in Nigeria, Farmers Business Network)

Investment Timeline and Warm Introduction Requirements

Decision Timeline: Not explicitly stated, but partnership structure with multiple venture partners suggests 2-4 week evaluation cycle typical of seed-stage investors.

Warm Introduction: Not explicitly required, but given mission-focus and founder story emphasis, strong introductions that articulate societal impact likely improve odds significantly.

Unique Value Proposition

Necessary Ventures differentiates through:

1. Talent Platform: Help founders use mission to recruit exceptional talent
2. Capital Platform: Non-dilutive and strategic capital access beyond venture
3. Attention Platform: Earned and owned media networks for founder growth (newsletter 5K+ subscribers, podcast, media commentary)
4. Specialized Advisor Network: Deep domain experts in key sectors rather than generalists
5. Mission Alignment: Genuine investment thesis around societal impact rather than financial engineering
6. Follow-On Capacity: Evidence of following winners through pre-IPO stages despite pre-seed focus

Anti-Thesis

Based on portfolio absence and stated focus:

• Consumer apps and social networks without mission alignment
• Pure financial engineering or arbitrage plays
• B2C consumer goods without innovation/sustainability angle
• Gambling or vice-related businesses
• Non-technical founding teams in deep tech sectors

Investment Confidence Assessment

Necessary Ventures demonstrates:

• Consistency: Stated thesis (societal needs) aligns with actual portfolio composition
• Conviction: Multiple exits to IPO stage indicating successful follow-on strategy
• Specialization: Concentrated expertise in healthcare, climate, robotics, AI rather than broad generalists
• Active Deployment: Continuous investment activity through 2025
• Platform Value: Tangible founder support infrastructure beyond capital