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Lemnos Labs
Lemnos Labs pairs pre-seed venture capital with in-house engineering, taking equity in early-stage hardware and industrial tech startups.
Lemnos Labs
Lemnos Labs is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Seattle, WA, registered since 2012. It advises on investment strategies from its Seattle office. The firm is based in Seattle.
General information
Firm type
Venture Capital
Year founded
2012
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Seattle
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Principals
Eric Klein
Co-Founder & Partner
Helen Zelman Boniske
Co-Founder & Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Lemnos Labs?
Co-founders Eric Klein and Helen Zelman Boniske lead the firm as Partners. Both are involved in investment decisions, supported by a small partnership team. The firm does not publicize a separate Investment Committee structure, suggesting a flat, founder-led decision process consistent with its boutique, engineering-heavy model.
How does Lemnos Labs source proprietary deal flow?
Lemnos sources from the intersection of deep-tech labs, university research, and industrial design communities. Its in-house engineering team scans for founders solving physical-world constraints — robotics PhDs, former SpaceX engineers, or manufacturing domain experts. The firm's ability to offer real build capacity attracts founders who need more than a term sheet.
Is Lemnos Labs structured as a venture fund or a startup studio?
Lemnos operates as a hybrid: a venture capital firm that deploys dedicated engineering fellows into each portfolio company for 12 to 18 months. This makes it more operationally engaged than a standard seed fund but distinct from a full startup studio, since it does not originate companies internally.
Does Lemnos Labs participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Lemnos exclusively makes direct, equity-based investments in early-stage companies. The firm has not publicly disclosed allocations to external venture funds as a limited partner, nor does it structure investments as SPVs for later-stage follow-on consolidation.
What investment stages does Lemnos Labs typically target?
The firm focuses on pre-seed and seed rounds, entering when a startup has a technical concept and early prototyping underway. Its capital and engineering support aims to carry companies to a functional prototype and initial customer traction ahead of a Series A.
Which sectors does Lemnos Labs explicitly avoid?
Lemnos avoids pure software, consumer internet, and enterprise SaaS plays that do not have a hardware or physical-world component. The firm's in-house engineering bench is built for mechanical, electrical, and firmware challenges; it is not structured for B2B workflow tools or marketplace models.
Does Lemnos Labs maintain a philanthropic structure, and how is it separated?
There is no publicly disclosed philanthropic foundation or donor-advised fund tied operationally to the Lemnos Labs partnership. The firm's public presence is focused exclusively on its venture and engineering activities.
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