# First Spark Ventures

First Spark Ventures is a Venture Capital based in Menlo Park, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Menlo Park, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Menlo Park, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2021
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** firstsparkventures.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-spark-ventures

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 318886
- **SEC file number:** 802-125830
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/318886

## About

First Spark Ventures is a Deep Tech venture capital fund investing in breakthrough technologies that make the world healthier, safer, and more productive. It is comprised of an interdisciplinary team that helps founders throughout their entire journey. The firm invests in Deep Tech startups focused on Advanced Compute, Digital Biology & Biotech, and CyberPhysical Systems, in companies raising Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A funding rounds.

## Sectors

- Advanced Compute
- Digital Biology & Biotech
- CyberPhysical Systems
- AI/ML
- Healthcare Services
- Enterprise Software
- Robotics & Automation
- Energy Transition & Renewables
- SpaceTech

## People

- Manish Kothari — Partner
- Aaron Sisto — Partner
- Peter Olcott — Partner
- Todd Meister — Partner
- Eric Schmidt — Partner
- Peter Richards — Partner
- Gal Treger — Partner
- Jennifer Wu — Partner
- Danny Chen — Partner

## Questions

### How does First Spark Ventures originate its deal flow?

First Spark Ventures is structurally integrated with SRI International, the former Stanford Research Institute whose 75-year innovation history includes Siri, the computer mouse, and foundational AI methods. The firm's partners access research breakthroughs emerging directly from SRI's labs in biosciences, robotics, advanced imaging, and AI — a pipeline that few other early-stage investors can replicate at equivalent scientific depth. This arrangement gives the partnership a proprietary sourcing advantage for companies built on fundamental technical insights.

### Which sectors does First Spark Ventures explicitly invest in?

The firm invests in three deep-tech domains: advanced compute (which includes probabilistic AI, edge inference, and federated learning), digital biology and biotech (therapeutics platforms, precision medicine, GI health diagnostics), and cyber-physical systems (autonomous system infrastructure, smart grid storage, robotics). Portfolio examples include Normal Computing in probabilistic AI, Unnatural Products in macrocyclic peptide therapeutics, and Inlyte Energy in iron-based grid batteries.

## Related profiles

- [First Row Partners](https://altss.com/profile/first-row-partners)
- [First Tracks Capital](https://altss.com/profile/first-tracks-capital)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:42.396Z

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