Single Family Office

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MITS Fund

MITS Fund is a multi-stage investment fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It invests globally, primarily in seed and early-stage companies.

MITS Fund logo

MITS Fund

MITS Fund is a multi-stage investment fund based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It invests globally, primarily in seed and early-stage companies. MITS Fund has made 9 investments, including Atlas Money in December 2015.

General information

Firm type

Single Family Office

Year founded

2014

AUM

Undisclosed

Location

Region

North America

Country

United States

City

San Francisco

Corporate office

San Francisco, CA, United States

Principals

Shawn Byers

Founder, Partner

Brook Byers

Co-investor, Advisor

Sector focus

Enterprise SoftwareAI/MLDigital HealthFinTechEducation

Frequently asked questions

Who makes investment decisions at MITS Fund?

Shawn Byers serves as the founder and partner of MITS Fund and is the primary investment decision-maker. The fund does not disclose an investment committee structure, but public filings and co-investment records indicate Byers originates, evaluates, and executes deals directly. Brook Byers, her husband and longtime Kleiner Perkins senior partner, appears in an advisory capacity on select co-investments.

How does MITS Fund source its deal flow?

The fund relies on a network-driven sourcing model centered on Shawn Byers's personal relationships within the Bay Area technology and venture community. Co-investment patterns with repeat partners — including Mitchell Kapor and Elizabeth Yin — suggest that deal flow originates through operator and founder referrals rather than a broad institutional marketing effort. The fund does not maintain a public-facing deal submission portal or scout program.

Does MITS Fund manage outside capital or operate purely as a family office?

MITS Fund deploys proprietary capital generated from the Byers family's technology venture wealth and does not raise outside limited partner commitments. It is structured as an investment company rather than a registered investment adviser with external clients. All co-investments alongside network partners are made on a deal-by-deal basis, not through a pooled fund vehicle.

What is the relationship between MITS Fund, Kleiner Perkins, and Brook Byers?

Brook Byers is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins, the venture capital firm he helped build over multiple decades. MITS Fund is a separate entity run by his wife, Shawn Byers, and does not share a management company, investment committee, or capital base with Kleiner Perkins. The two entities occasionally appear as co-investors, reflecting the couple's overlapping networks but not a formal institutional relationship.

What investment stages and sectors does MITS Fund target?

The fund operates across the full venture lifecycle — seed, start-up, and expansion through late stage — with no disclosed stage concentration. Sector activity has clustered in enterprise software, AI/ML, digital health, fintech, and education technology. Known positions include blockchain infrastructure (BlockCypher) and skills-training platforms (ProSky), indicating an appetite for both deep technology and applied enterprise categories.

Does MITS Fund maintain philanthropic structures alongside its investment activities?

Yes, the Byers family supports substantial philanthropic initiatives entirely separate from the fund's commercial investment operations. The Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University and the Byers Family Foundation are the two most prominent vehicles. Shawn Byers does not appear to blend philanthropic grant-making with for-profit investment decision-making at MITS Fund.

Has MITS Fund disclosed any succession or governance plans?

No. The fund provides no public information about its governance structure, succession planning, or long-term institutional architecture. Given the vehicle's tight operational footprint and single-decision-maker profile, these matters remain wholly private. Allocators conducting due diligence would need to address this directly with Shawn Byers.

Profile maintained by 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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