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Trust Ventures
Trust Ventures pairs VC funding with in-house legal strategy to help startups in energy, housing, and finance clear regulatory hurdles.
Trust Ventures
Trust Ventures was launched as a thesis-driven investment firm that pairs venture capital with in-house regulatory advocacy. Salen Churi, a onetime founder of the University of Chicago's Innovation Clinic, assembled a team with legal, operating, and policy experience to back early-stage companies in sectors where government rules often protect legacy players. The firm's operating model treats regulatory obstacles not as external risk but as the central barrier to product adoption. The firm invests from seed to early-stage across energy, housing, financial services, and deep-tech. Portfolio companies include Oklo, which is commercializing Gen IV modular nuclear reactors; Antora, a thermal-battery manufacturer for industrial heat and power; and ICON, a robotics company that 3D-prints entire residential communities. Trust Ventures also incubated Base Power Company, a distributed battery-storage provider that co-locates residential batteries with existing grid interconnections to shorten permitting timelines. The team's geographic focus is domestic, with an emphasis on companies navigating US federal and municipal regulatory frameworks. The firm lists 11 venture partners alongside its three general partners, giving it a wide network of operators and policy veterans. Notable affiliates include Zina Bash, a former White House deregulatory advisor and Supreme Court clerk, and Will Young, co-founder of health-benefits startup Sana Benefits. Trust Ventures has not publicly disclosed its total AUM or aggregate deployment figures. The structural differentiator is the firm's refusal to charge portfolio companies separately for its regulatory-strategy work — it embeds legal and policy support within its investment model, collecting its return solely through carried interest on equity stakes. This alignment, coupled with a team built to litigate, lobby, and navigate agency processes, positions Trust Ventures as a specialist in market categories where incumbents often rely on the status quo rather than operational efficiency.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Austin
Corporate office
Austin, TX, United States
Principals
Salen Churi
Managing Partner
Richard Deulofeut
Partner
Rob Newell
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Trust Ventures?
Investment decisions are led by Managing Partner Salen Churi alongside Partners Richard Deulofeut and Rob Newell. Deulofeut runs deal review and diligence, while Newell brings a background in technology and telecom investing from PRIMECAP Management. The firm's Venture Partners, including operators like Chris Ballard (ex-Uber) and policy experts like Zina Bash, contribute to sourcing and evaluation but do not appear to hold formal investment committee authority based on the firm's published team structure.
How does Trust Ventures source proprietary deal flow?
Trust Ventures's sourcing model relies heavily on its network of policy advisors and venture partners, many of whom have deep ties in regulated industries. Managing Partner Salen Churi's academic network — he founded the University of Chicago's Innovation Clinic — also provides access to regulatory-heavy startups emerging from university ecosystems. The firm frames its value proposition to founders as the ability to level the playing field against incumbents, which likely attracts companies preemptively searching for legal and policy firepower.
Does Trust Ventures invest like a VC fund or a family office?
Trust Ventures operates as a private equity firm deploying third-party capital with a venture capital fund structure, not as a single-family office. It explicitly states that it 'invests like a venture capital fund' and focuses on early-stage equity stakes. The absence of disclosed AUM or fund filings limits visibility into the precise vehicle structure, but the business model and team composition point to a pooled, fund-based approach.
What sectors does Trust Ventures explicitly target, and what does it avoid?
The firm explicitly targets startups in areas where regulation can entrench incumbents, naming energy, housing, and financial services as core focus areas. Portfolio companies like Oklo (advanced nuclear), ICON (3D-printed construction), and Black Ore (AI-driven tax preparation) reflect this emphasis on structurally inhibited markets. The firm's materials do not identify any sectors it formally excludes.
What is Trust Ventures's posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The firm's site emphasizes direct investing and in-house advisory support, with no mention of co-investment relationships, fund-of-funds allocations, or syndicated deal structures. Given its pooled-venture model, it is likely that Trust Ventures leads or participates in rounds alongside other early-stage VCs, but no specific co-investors are named in publicly available materials.
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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