Early-stage deep-tech health VC firm led by scientists.
We back startups pioneering the future of health care and personalized medicine. Investing in what should exist, until it does.
About us
Founded by researchers out of Stanford’s Department of Genetics and Directors of the Stanford Healthcare Innovation Lab, Arben Ventures has unique access to the research ecosystem ranked #1 in the world for genomics and leading in precision medicine, longevity, multi-omics, and wearables. Scientists manage due diligence and support our portfolio teams as they launch, scale, and grow their companies, every step of the way.
We write $25-50K initial checks under $12M valuation, and up to $500K follow-on for our portfolio of pre-seed and seed stage health startups. Our portfolio companies have the potential to improve care by collecting and using health data in smarter ways, building novel medical devices, and democratizing access to high-quality treatment.
Our mission is to accelerate tech that will make millions of people happier and healthier. We invest in areas where we see the most potential for disruption and where our partners have expertise– precision medicine, multi-omics, early cancer detection, women’s health, mental health, and longevity– with an emphasis on deep tech.
We love being the first check.
Our story
In 2023, Arben Ventures was born out of the shared vision of researchers Ariel Ganz and Ben Rolnik, who met at Stanford working under Michael Snyder, Stanford’s leading precision health pioneer.
Ben focused on conducting biological profiling studies showing the potential of personalized health protocols to improve mental health care. In 2019, he became the Director of the Stanford Healthcare Innovation Lab, which has spun out >$500M in startup value over the last seven years alone. Similarly, Ariel’s research centered on using multi-omic data to drive innovation in personalized mental health and nutrition. She is a Stanford Genetics postdoc, holds a PhD from Cornell in Nutrition, and has published 20+ peer-reviewed papers with >1600 citations.
Throughout their research careers, both recognized a gap in healthcare innovation– too many transformative ideas fail to make it out of the lab due to a lack of funding, when they are too far along to rely on academic support but too early for attention from many top VCs. They observed how a small amount of funding could sometimes make the difference in turning a promising idea into a successful company. At Arben’s core, that’s the focus: finding and supporting pre-seed founders at the intersection of medicine and tech whose ideas are at a critical early point in development.
Coinvestors
