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Goodwater Capital
Goodwater Capital is the world’s largest venture firm dedicated entirely to consumer and prosumer technology. It invests in consumer and prosumer technology...
Goodwater Capital
Goodwater Capital is the world’s largest venture firm dedicated entirely to consumer and prosumer technology. It invests in consumer and prosumer technology companies at every stage, combining deep data-driven research with founder-first conviction. With over $3.3 billion of committed capital across 9 funds, it is the largest venture capital firm in the world focused exclusively on consumer tech. Its mission is to empower exceptional entrepreneurs everywhere to change the world for good.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2014
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Burlingame
Corporate office
Burlingame, CA, United States
Principals
Chi-Hua Chien
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Eric Kim
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Goodwater source proprietary deal flow?
Goodwater built an internal engineering platform that continuously monitors download velocity, user retention, session frequency, and cohort behavior across an estimated 50,000-plus mobile applications. The firm uses that data to identify consumer-tech companies with exceptional unit economics before traditional venture firms detect them through revenue or pitch-deck visibility. This infrastructure is maintained in-house rather than licensed from third-party data providers.
Is Goodwater a generalist venture firm or a consumer-tech specialist?
Goodwater concentrates nearly all of its capital on consumer-facing technology — mobile apps, fintech platforms, digital-health marketplaces, and AI-native consumer products. The firm does not actively invest in enterprise SaaS, deep-tech infrastructure, or hardware. Within consumer, it ranges from seed-stage checks to growth rounds, occasionally leading or co-leading financings alongside other venture firms.
What investment stages does Goodwater typically target?
The firm spans seed through growth equity within the consumer-tech domain. Early checks can enter at the seed or Series A stage, while later deployments have included Series C rounds such as the $40M financing for Stash in 2018. Goodwater does not maintain a dedicated late-stage vehicle but has capacity to follow portfolio companies into later rounds when conviction warrants.
How is Goodwater's approach different from other consumer-focused venture firms?
Most consumer VCs rely on founder networks, pattern recognition, and subjective product judgment. Goodwater adds a quantitative layer: an in-house data-engineering team builds and maintains analytics on app-ecosystem behavior that the investment team uses to source and diligence targets. The firm runs that capability alongside the partnership rather than as a separate research group, making its investment process structurally closer to a quant fund than a traditional VC firm.
Where does Goodwater deploy capital geographically?
The firm invests primarily in North America, with a secondary focus on East Asia — particularly South Korea — where co-founder Eric Kim maintains relationships from his prior investment career. Portfolio companies such as musical.ly (Shanghai-based, acquired by ByteDance) reflect the firm's willingness to back consumer platforms with global user bases rather than restricting capital to the Bay Area.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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