Proximal Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Proximal Ventures is a San Francisco-based, independent early-stage venture firm founded in 2026 by Sahir Raoof. It invests at the intersection of AI and the life sciences, backing AI-native software and infrastructure across the pharmaceutical value chain, from molecule to market. The firm's homepage says it backs ambitious founders rewriting the life science playbooks across the entire value chain, and describes its sector as AI and infrastructure for life sciences.
The central argument, as Raoof told TechCrunch, is that pharma has historically been a poor buyer of software but a very good buyer of services. Pharmaceutical companies outsource synthesis of compounds, manufacturing process development, clinical trial data analysis and similar work to specialist providers. Raoof believes AI can automate much of that work, so startups can deliver the same services faster and cheaper and capture a share of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on pharmaceutical services each year. He compares this to service-heavy industries like law and finance, where AI applications have already worked.
The homepage lists the problems the firm wants to fund: systems that make discovery smarter, trials faster, manufacturing more resilient, supply chains more transparent, or commercial execution more precise. It says nothing is too early.
Stage Focus
Pre-seed and seed. The firm says it often engages before a company is incorporated, helping founders validate ideas and refine go-to-market strategy.
Check Size
$500K to $1.5M per company, per the homepage and TechCrunch.
Lead Tendency
Unclear. The press release says Proximal has earned allocation in competitive rounds alongside leading multi-stage firms, which suggests it often participates in rounds led by others. No source states that it leads.
Recent Activity
On November 10, 2026 the firm announced the close of its debut Fund I at $27.5M, above a $25M target. A Form D filing for Proximal Ventures Fund I LP exists, with a $20M offering amount and $10.6M reported sold at the time of that filing. The fund is actively investing. TechCrunch reports the firm has already backed seven startups. Only one is named in the sources found: ChronicleBio, co-founded by former OpenAI executive Fidji Simo and with CEO Rohit Gupta, which applies AI to biological and medical data to understand chronic disease. PitchBook lists ChronicleBio as the latest investment, dated 2026-10-09.
Portfolio Highlights
The site has no portfolio page. Of the seven reported investments, only ChronicleBio has been publicly named. The firm is a new fund with no exits.
Team
- Sahir Raoof, Founder and Managing Partner: Led techbio and pharmatech investing at SignalFire (about two years as a principal). Before that, first commercial hire and VP of Business Development at Iterative Health, biopharma research partnerships at Flatiron Health (acquired by Roche for $1.9B in 2018), and biotech and outsourced pharma services coverage at J.P. Morgan.
Advisory network named in the press release: Amy Abernethy (co-founder of Highlander Health, former Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA) and Kim Branson (Chief AI Officer, GSK).
Decision Process
Solo GP. Raoof founded and runs the firm as the sole managing partner.
Founder Preferences
Ambitious founders building AI-native companies for pharma buyers. The firm emphasizes hands-on help with the initial commercial flywheel: design partners, pharma executive introductions and first customers. Raoof says starting that flywheel is among the hardest parts of selling into life sciences. Founders get access to a network of pharma, regulatory and technology leaders.
Limited Partners and Backers
Strategic partners and LPs named in sources: Domino Lane, SignalFire, Kleiner Perkins, Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, PagsGroup, Signature Ventures and Amkan Ventures. Individual backers include Nan Li and Zavain Dar (Dimension co-founders) and Amy Abernethy.
Geographic Focus
Not stated. The firm is based in San Francisco and its network is US pharma and techbio centered.
Gaps
Six of seven portfolio companies are unnamed, no portfolio page exists on the site, and the firm's lead or follow behavior is not documented.