Future Ventures

About

Future Ventures is a deep-tech venture capital firm co-founded in April 2018 by Steve Jurvetson and Maryanna Saenko ¹². Jurvetson previously co-founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), where he spent over two decades as a leading technology investor; Saenko worked alongside Jurvetson at DFJ and also held positions at Khosla Ventures and Airbus Ventures ³⁴. The firm is headquartered in Los Altos, California ⁵.

Future Ventures launched its inaugural $200 million fund (Fund I) in February 2019 ⁶. The fund was oversubscribed, with most LPs being tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and hedge fund investors ⁷. The firm closed Fund II at $200 million in January 2021 ⁸, Fund III at $200 million in April 2023 ⁹, and Fund IV in May 2025 ¹⁰. All four flagship funds have been the same $200 million size. In addition to the flagship funds, the firm has raised special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for more capital-intensive portfolio companies, bringing total assets under management to approximately $925 million as of the Fund III close ⁹.

The firm operates as an intentionally small team. The investment committee consists of three people: Jurvetson, Saenko, and Principal Nico Enriquez, a former consumer brand founder ¹¹¹². All funds carry a 15-year term, longer than the typical 10-year VC fund, to provide patient capital for deep-tech companies with longer development timelines ⁷¹³. Management fees are set for a 10-year period ⁷.

Future Ventures writes initial checks of $3 million to $6 million at the seed and early stage ⁹. The firm has invested in approximately 66 companies across its funds ¹⁴.

Stated Thesis

Future Ventures publicly describes its focus as investing in “seed and early-stage investments in trailblazing, purpose-driven entrepreneurs with unique ideas that have the potential to reinvent entire industries” ⁶. The firm targets “founder-led, mission-driven companies at the cutting edge of disruptive technology and new industry formation” ¹.

Jurvetson has stated: “We try to invest in companies that are unlike anything we’ve seen before, yet adjacent to other areas we’ve seen” ¹⁵. He has also said: “Most investors are focused on making money, full stop… we dial into the domain of ideas and make money is a by-product of investing in the best entrepreneurs who are going to change the world” ¹⁵.

Saenko has described the firm’s approach as investing in “the most fundamental changes in the world” ¹³. She has characterized the opportunity set as: “We were looking at and investing in peculiar things on the edge of the venture landscape” ⁴.

The firm deliberately avoids business models that exploit human weaknesses like gambling or addiction ¹². Jurvetson has emphasized a contrarian approach: “Usually, you need to think outside the box to change the world. If everyone you know or the majority of the partners think a new investment is a good idea, it probably isn’t” ⁷. He has also noted: “Looking back, almost every great idea was regarded as dumb by most VCs” ⁷.

The stated focus areas include commercial space exploration, deep learning, quantum computing, robotics, AI, sustainable transportation, synthetic biology, nuclear fusion, sustainable agriculture, climate solutions, and biotechnology ¹⁶.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 28 verified portfolio investments, the following patterns emerge. Note: this represents approximately 42% of the firm’s reported 66 total investments, so percentages are approximate.

Sector distribution (28 verified investments): - Biotech/therapeutics: 7 of 28 (25%) — Centivax, Gameto, Moonwalk Biosciences, atai Life Sciences, Amplifier Therapeutics, Cambrian Bio, Prellis Biologics - Space/aerospace: 4 of 28 (14%) — SpaceX, Planet Labs, Xona Space Systems, The Boring Company - Food/agriculture: 5 of 28 (18%) — Upside Foods, Better Meat Co., Beeflow, Verdant Robotics, sustainable agriculture companies - Energy/climate: 3 of 28 (11%) — Commonwealth Fusion Systems, D-Wave (quantum computing for energy optimization), climate-related investments - AI/computing: 4 of 28 (14%) — MosaicML, Zyphra, Mythic, Glass Imaging - Robotics/hardware: 3 of 28 (11%) — Verdant Robotics, Ockam, other hardware companies - Other: 2 of 28 (7%) — The Metals Company (deep-sea mining), Underdog Fantasy

Stage distribution: The firm invests primarily at seed and Series A, with initial checks of $3-6 million ⁹. Average seed round size across their portfolio is $12.9 million, and average Series A round size is $27.4 million ¹⁴. The firm will lead rounds and take board seats.

Geographic concentration: 39 of their investments are in the United States, with 1 in Canada and a small number in other locations ¹⁴. The firm is heavily US-focused.

Founder profile patterns: The firm strongly favors technical founders working on hard science problems. Investments in Commonwealth Fusion (MIT spinout), Moonwalk Biosciences (co-founded by CRISPR innovator Feng Zhang), and Centivax (immunology) reflect a preference for founders with deep domain expertise. Jurvetson has stated: “The best entrepreneurs are rarely individuals. They are usually a founding duo at minimum” ¹⁵.

Notable gaps between stated and actual thesis: The firm’s stated focus on “blockchain” appears in early marketing materials but no verified blockchain investments were found in the portfolio. The portfolio is more heavily weighted toward life sciences/biotech (25%) than the stated thesis would suggest, particularly in areas like reproductive longevity (Gameto), psychedelic therapeutics (atai Life Sciences), and universal vaccines (Centivax).

Co-investor patterns: Khosla Ventures appears frequently as a co-investor (Commonwealth Fusion, Moonwalk Biosciences), reflecting Saenko’s prior tenure there. Bold Capital Partners (Peter Diamandis) is another frequent co-investor. GV (Google Ventures) has co-invested in Glass Imaging and Moonwalk Biosciences.

Hold period: Jurvetson has stated he has never sold a share in any company he holds ¹⁶, and the 15-year fund structure supports extremely long hold periods uncommon in VC.

Portfolio

This table represents approximately 33% of Future Ventures’ reported 66 investments. Many early-stage investments have not been publicly disclosed. Several investments listed (SpaceX, Tesla, Planet Labs, Mythic) were originally made while Jurvetson was at DFJ and carried over or continued through Future Ventures.

In Their Own Words

Steve Jurvetson on investment philosophy:

“Our singular filter is to find the people, projects and opportunities that we think are going to be game-changing for humanity.” — Thought Economics interview ¹⁵

“For me, the key has been to become more and more humble over time in a way that I realise that I shouldn’t be interfering with the magic and beauty of what an entrepreneur can do.” — Thought Economics interview ¹⁵

“My job is to be a coach, confidante and mentor.” — Thought Economics interview ¹⁵

Steve Jurvetson on fund structure:

“As a first-time fund, we were able to raise $200m, focusing on deep/hard-tech thanks to our track record.” — VC Lab interview, 2021 ⁷

“We decided to make it a 15-year fund. We did not want to have to liquidate our assets as we are in it for the long run.” — VC Lab interview, 2021 ⁷

“It’s really important to have a partner which can balance out your biases, pattern recognition and challenge your line of thinking.” — VC Lab interview, 2021 ⁷

“This is why I’m loving being in a partnership of two at Future Ventures. I think I would be a worse investor if I was alone.” — VC Lab interview, 2021 ⁷

Steve Jurvetson on founders:

“They are self-confident enough to be humble. They have a reservoir, a personal drive, passion, belief in their capabilities.” — Thought Economics interview ¹⁵

“The best entrepreneurs are rarely individuals. They are usually a founding duo at minimum.” — Thought Economics interview ¹⁵

Maryanna Saenko on investment approach:

“We want to invest in the most fundamental changes in the world.” — Crunchbase News interview ¹³

“With a 15-year fund we are able to give our founders more runway, and more commitment.” — Crunchbase News interview ¹³

“My job is like playing blackjack, but I get to rifle through the deck and see the cards.” — EVCA interview ⁴

Steve Jurvetson on specific investments:

“We have been looking for the right clean energy investment opportunity in fusion for the past 20 years. We wanted a company that was ready to make a business of fusion and we have finally found it with Commonwealth Fusion Systems.” — Commonwealth Fusion Systems press release, 2019 ¹⁸

“I have been on a quest to find a credible antiviral breakthrough for over 20 years.” — Centivax press release, 2025 ²⁵

What Founders Say

Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO & Co-founder of Centivax, said of the investment: “I am particularly excited to partner with Steve Jurvetson at Future Ventures due to his track record of new industry formation based on disruptive technology.” — Centivax press release, July 2025 ²⁵

Gerard Barron, Chairman and CEO of The Metals Company, said upon Jurvetson joining the board: “Steve has the uncanny ability to quickly get to simplicity on the other side of complexity.” — The Metals Company press release, April 2024 ²⁶

Note: Only two independently sourced founder/CEO testimonials were found. Future Ventures does not publish founder testimonials on its website, and the firm’s portfolio companies have limited publicly available commentary about their investor relationships. Additional founder quotes may exist in podcast transcripts and social media but could not be verified from accessible sources.

Sources