Chemistry Ventures raising $500 million for second fund

Chemistry Ventures is raising $500 million for its second investment fund, according to a regulatory filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fundraising effort has reportedly drawn strong interest from allocators. The Wall Street Journal reported that the second fund is already oversubscribed—meaning that investor demand to commit capital to the fund exceeds the $500 million target the firm is seeking to raise. Because of this high demand, the fundraise is expected to close in the near future. Chemistry Ventures did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the SEC filing or the fundraising timeline.

The capital expansion represents a notable scale-up from the firm’s initial pool of capital. Chemistry Ventures launched two years ago with a $350 million initial fund. The new $500 million target represents a significant increase in capital under management, reflecting the firm’s growth since its inception. This transition from a $350 million initial fund to a $500 million second fund represents a significant expansion for a firm that is only two years old.

The firm was established by founders Mark Goldberg, Ethan Kurzweil, and Kristina Shen. The trio launched the firm to combine their experience working at large venture capital firms. Prior to founding Chemistry Ventures, Goldberg worked at Index Ventures, Kurzweil was with Bessemer, and Shen worked with Andreessen Horowitz. By pooling their backgrounds from these major venture capital firms, the founders established Chemistry Ventures to target early-stage opportunities.

The firm focuses its investment strategy on early-stage startups building in the artificial intelligence sector, including both AI infrastructure and AI applications. Its current portfolio includes companies such as Granola, Decagon, Persona, Serval, and Nova Intelligence. These portfolio companies represent the firm’s active deployment of capital into the early-stage AI ecosystem.

Why it matters

Chemistry Ventures’ fundraising for its second fund highlights the continued investor appetite for early-stage AI startups, even as the firm is only two years old.