Prime Movers Lab Raises $245 Million Early-Stage Fund to Advance Breakthrough Science Startups

Prime Movers Lab raised $245 million for its third early-stage fund (fourth overall fund), bringing the firm’s total assets under management to more than $1.2 billion.

Like the firm’s previous early-stage funds, the new investment vehicle is investing in companies tackling the world’s biggest problems across the energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture sectors. The firm’s other funds, Prime Movers Lab Fund I (a $100 million fund), Prime Movers Lab Fund II, (a $245 million fund), and Prime Movers Lab Early-Growth Fund (a $500 million fund) have invested in breakout companies like fixed wireless technology provider Tarana Wireless, supersonic aircraft developer Boom Supersonic, commercial spaceflight pioneer Axiom Space, and sustainable satellite network creator E-Space.

“Too many venture capital investors have been chasing Web3 and generative AI startups over the last 18 months, leading to ridiculous valuations. With Prime Movers Lab Fund III, we are focused on partnering with early-stage founders who are building must-have solutions for the world’s biggest problems,” said Prime Movers Lab Founder and General Partner Dakin Sloss. “An increasingly aging population combined with high demand for sustainable energy is changing the way we live, so we need to invest in solutions to these mission-critical challenges.”

Prime Movers Lab’s access to high-quality deal flow, particularly with serial entrepreneurs, positions the firm well among breakthrough science venture firms. The firm has conducted due diligence on thousands of companies from some of the world’s leading founders and the nation’s top universities and incubators since its inception in 2018.

Prime Movers Lab has already made investments in several breakthrough science startups out of Fund III, including cislunar infrastructure provider Quantum Space, mental health therapeutics company Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, brain computer interface developer Paradromics, and robotics innovator Robust.AI.

“Dakin and the Prime Movers Lab team provide more than just capital to their portfolio companies. They create a true partnership with founders to support them every step of the way,” said Quantum Space Co-founder and Executive Chairman Kam Ghaffarian. “I’ve never seen another venture capital fund roll up their sleeves to help a founder raise capital like Prime Movers Lab.”

“Prime Movers Lab is on the frontier of so many important breakthroughs. Its team of technical and subject matter experts helped us move into clinical trials faster than expected,” said Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Founder and CEO Jonathan Sporn. “The investments and portfolio support that they provide are paving the way for the future of mental health treatments.”

“There are a lot of early-stage venture capital firms that will write checks and then walk away. There are also others that will not invest in a biotech startup until there is clinical data. Prime Movers Lab plays a critical role in helping companies like Paradromics that are tackling big problems. They carry the torch for startup founders and help them get across the chasm to market,” said Paradromics CEO and Founder Matt Angle.

“From my time at iRobot to Rethink Robotics, I’ve worked with a lot of venture capital firms, and Prime Movers Lab had the most intentional and effective due diligence process that I’ve encountered,” said Robust.AI Co-founder and CTO Rodney Brooks. “They conducted comprehensive landscaping of the robotics sector with their research and deal team so they knew exactly what they were looking for in a robotics company. Once Prime Movers Lab invested in us, it sent a market signal to other investors and potential employees that helped us stand out in the middle of a very crowded robotics and artificial intelligence boom.”

Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in seed-stage companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.