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SciFounders
SciFounders helps science companies get started by backing strong technical leaders working on world-changing technologies from pre-seed to series A.
SciFounders
SciFounders helps science companies get started by backing strong technical leaders working on world-changing technologies from pre-seed to series A. They run the SciFounder Fellowship, which provides up to $1MM and hands-on mentorship. The team has started research-heavy companies such as Mammoth Bio and Conception and aims to help more technical founders do the same.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2021
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Principals
Matt Krisiloff
CEO of Conception, previously director of Y Combinator Research and founding team member of OpenAI
Lucas Harrington
Co-founder and CSO of Mammoth Biosciences
Alexander Schubert
PhD in Molecular Biology, previously part of Research & Early Development group at Genentech
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at SciFounders?
The three principals — Matt Krisiloff, Lucas Harrington, and Alexander Schubert — operate as a partnership. Each brings distinct scientific-operating experience: Krisiloff from OpenAI and Conception, Harrington from Mammoth Biosciences and UC Berkeley's Doudna lab, Schubert from Genentech. Investment decisions are made collaboratively by the trio, without a separate investment committee.
How does SciFounders source proprietary deal flow?
The firm sources almost entirely through scientific-network referrals and its SciFounder Fellowship program. Fellows receive up to $1 million and hands-on mentorship from operators who have built genomics and biotech companies themselves. This creates a proprietary scientist-to-founder pipeline that competes with traditional accelerator models on technical credibility rather than speed or cohort size.
Is SciFounders structured as a venture firm or a venture studio?
SciFounders occupies a hybrid space. It operates like a venture firm by taking equity in external startups from pre-seed to Series A, but its fellowship model — writing up to $1 million to help a postdoc start a company with direct operating mentorship — resembles a venture studio. The principals also run their own operating companies (Mammoth, Conception) alongside the investment vehicle, making the structure closer to a distributed foundry than a traditional fund.
What investment stages does SciFounders typically target?
SciFounders explicitly invests from idea stage up to Series A. The SciFounder Fellowship is designed for technical founders who have not yet incorporated, while their broader investment activity extends through early institutional rounds. This covers everything from pre-incorporation lab builds to post-seed therapeutic development.
How is SciFounders related to Mammoth Biosciences and Conception?
The relationship is co-foundational. Lucas Harrington co-founded Mammoth Biosciences with Jennifer Doudna and serves as its CSO; Matt Krisiloff is CEO of Conception. SciFounders itself is an investment firm run by these same operators. The companies are separate entities, but the investing team's ongoing R&D work at Mammoth and Conception directly informs their scientific sourcing and diligence at SciFounders.
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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