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IndieBio
Founded in 2014 as the biotechnology arm of SOSV, IndieBio emerged from the conviction that scientific founders needed a specialized launchpad distinct...
IndieBio
Founded in 2014 as the biotechnology arm of SOSV, IndieBio emerged from the conviction that scientific founders needed a specialized launchpad distinct from generic software accelerators. Managing Director Po Bronson and General Partner Aron Jazayeri built the program on a simple premise: give PhDs and postdocs a wet lab, initial capital, and tight mentorship to compress the time from discovery to investable company. IndieBio operates out of San Francisco and New York, running two cohorts per year. IndieBio invests $250,000 at the pre-seed stage in exchange for equity, alongside access to a 30,000-square-foot lab and a four-month curriculum. Its portfolio spans human health, planetary health, and next-generation computation. The firm has backed companies across regenerative medicine, cultivated meat, synthetic biology, and AI-driven drug discovery. Notable alumni include Memphis Meats (now UPSIDE Foods), which redefined the cultivated protein space, Clara Foods, now known as The EVERY Company and producing animal-free egg proteins, and Prellis Biologics, which developed a human lymph-node organoid for antibody discovery. Geographically, the program has always been global, with a significant proportion of founders arriving from Europe and Asia to relocate to IndieBio's labs. IndieBio has invested in over 197 companies across its lifespan, making it the most active biotech seed investor in the world by volume. Parent fund SOSV manages the capital, which raised a $277 million fund in 2019 and a $306 million fund in 2023 to support its accelerator programs including IndieBio and HAX. The vehicle is not a club or a co-investment platform; it functions as a concentrated accelerator that takes early operational risk on wet-lab science. In March 2024, IndieBio announced its pivot to a rolling-admissions model and a sharper focus on climate and human health AI applications (per the firm's official communications, March 2024). Structurally, IndieBio differs from both pure-play VC firms and university tech-transfer offices. It bridges the gap between academic research and Series A readiness by absorbing laboratory infrastructure cost and risk—a capital-intensive moat that few peers replicate. Its close tie to SOSV means portfolio companies are backed by a multi-stage parent that can follow-on through the seed and growth phases, creating an internal pipeline that shields the program's seed-stage risk profile from standard VC fund dynamics.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2014
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Additional offices
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Aron Jazayeri
General Partner
Po Bronson
Managing Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does IndieBio's program actually work for a founding scientist?
IndieBio accepts pre-seed companies into a four-month accelerator that provides $250,000 in initial funding alongside access to fully equipped wet-lab space in San Francisco or New York. Founders relocate to the lab and receive hands-on mentorship in company building, scientific de-risking, and fundraising. The program concludes with a Demo Day where companies present to later-stage life-science investors.
Who runs investment decisions at IndieBio?
Po Bronson serves as Managing Director and leads the broader investment thesis and mentor network. Aron Jazayeri is a General Partner focused on deal selection and portfolio support. Investment decisions are collegial but ultimately sit with the IndieBio leadership team within the larger SOSV partnership structure.
How is IndieBio related to SOSV?
IndieBio is a wholly owned accelerator program of SOSV, the multi-stage venture capital firm. SOSV provides the fund capital, back-office infrastructure, and follow-on investment capacity. IndieBio operates with its own brand, scientific advisory network, and lab facilities, but its portfolio companies go through the SOSV investment committee for any subsequent funding rounds.
What investment stages does IndieBio target?
IndieBio operates exclusively at the pre-seed stage. It is typically the first institutional capital into a company, often before any significant venture round. The program is designed to take a company from a scientific concept to a Series A-ready entity with proof-of-concept data, a defensible IP position, and a viable business plan.
Which sectors does IndieBio explicitly avoid?
IndieBio does not invest in traditional small-molecule drug development aimed at large chronic-disease markets, nor does it back therapeutic approaches intended to run through multi-year FDA approval processes within the fund's life. The program also avoids software-only companies; there must be a physical biology or deep-tech hardware component to the startup's approach.
Does IndieBio participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
IndieBio only makes direct investments into individual startups. It does not invest as a limited partner in other venture funds. The firm's capital comes from SOSV's core funds, and those SOSV vehicles are the sole investment vehicles used for IndieBio portfolio companies.
What is IndieBio's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
IndieBio encourages external co-investors to join its portfolio companies at or shortly after the accelerator cohort ends. Since the program's $250,000 check is typically insufficient to carry a biotech company to a full Series A, IndieBio actively syndicates follow-on rounds, often alongside domain-specialist venture firms and corporate venture arms, while SOSV may also contribute pro-rata follow-on capital.
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