Obvious Ventures

About

Obvious Ventures is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2014 by Ev Williams (co-founder of Twitter, Blogger, and Medium), James Joaquin, and Vishal Vasishth ¹². The firm is headquartered at 190 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco ³. It is a certified B Corporation ³.

Williams, Joaquin, and Vasishth connected in early 2014 over a shared belief that the most valuable companies would be the ones solving humanity’s biggest problems ³. Williams had previously started a conversation about continuing the “world positive” investing that began with the Obvious Corporation, which he co-founded ².

The firm has raised five funds with mathematically themed sizes: Fund I at $123,456,789; Fund II at $191,919,191 (a palindrome); Fund III at $271,828,182 (Euler’s number e); Fund IV at $355,111,553 (another palindrome); and Fund V at $360,360,360 (representing a “360-degree view” of their three pillars) ⁴⁵⁶. Total assets under management exceed $1 billion ⁷.

Obvious Ventures invests across three pillars: planetary health, human health, and economic health ¹³. The firm leads Series Seed and Series A rounds, with average check sizes of $250K to $6M ⁸. The team includes Managing Directors James Joaquin, Vishal Vasishth, and Andrew Beebe, along with Partners Kahini Shah and Rohan Ganesh ⁷. The firm also maintains a network of 18 “Obvious Champions” — experienced advisors including Glenn Kelman, Sachin Jain, and Sue Siegel — who support portfolio companies ⁷.

The firm’s portfolio has produced 5 unicorns, 5 IPOs, and 15 acquisitions ⁸. Notable investments include Beyond Meat (which IPO’d in 2019 with Obvious holding a 9% stake), Proterra (electric buses), Diamond Foundry (lab-grown diamonds), Planet (satellite imaging), and Recursion (AI-driven drug discovery) ¹⁹.

Stated Thesis

Obvious Ventures publicly describes itself as investing in “early-stage, purpose-driven entrepreneurs reimagining trillion-dollar industries through a world positive lens” ¹.

The firm’s foundational statement came from Ev Williams: “We should invest in companies we wish existed in the world” ³. This became the rallying cry for the firm’s approach to investing. Importantly, the firm distinguishes its approach from social impact investing: “There’s lots of investments that might make money, let’s narrow down the ones that we invest in to those that we legitimately and honestly think will have positive impact at scale” ².

The theory is that investments with potential positive impact at scale will be more profitable because they address real needs and long-term societal issues, representing “a longer term and ultimately more sustainable approach” ².

The firm organizes investments across three pillars ¹³: - Planetary Health — Climate, energy, sustainability (examples: Beyond Meat, Diamond Foundry, Proterra, Pyka, Zanskar) - Human Health — Healthcare, life sciences (examples: Devoted Health, Recursion, Galileo, Virta Health) - Economic Health — Fintech, SMB software, workforce tools (examples: Gusto, Corvus, Cal.com)

Inferred Thesis

Based on the 35 verified portfolio companies below, Obvious Ventures’ actual investment behavior closely aligns with its stated thesis — a rarity in venture capital.

Stage focus: The firm primarily leads Seed and Series A rounds, though its portfolio also includes later-stage entries such as Beyond Meat (Series D) and Gusto (Series C) ¹⁰¹². Early in its history, the firm had limited ownership stakes, but has since shifted to leading rounds to improve venture economics ³. Check sizes range from $250K to $6M ⁸.

Sector distribution (based on 35 verified companies): - Planetary Health: 14 of 35 (40%) — including climate tech, energy, transportation, agriculture - Human Health: 11 of 35 (31%) — including healthcare delivery, biotech, digital health - Economic Health: 10 of 35 (29%) — including fintech, SMB software, insurance, workforce

The distribution is relatively balanced across the three pillars, with a slight tilt toward planetary health — consistent with the firm’s early marquee bets in Beyond Meat, Diamond Foundry, and Proterra.

Investment patterns: The firm is genuinely thematic and contrarian. Its early bets in plant-based meat (Beyond Meat, entering at Series D in 2014) and lab-grown diamonds (Diamond Foundry) were made when these categories were considered fringe ³¹⁰. Similarly, Proterra’s electric buses and Zanskar’s geothermal energy represent conviction bets in categories with long development timelines.

Geographic focus: Overwhelmingly U.S.-based, reflecting the firm’s San Francisco headquarters and domestic focus.

Exit track record: 5 IPOs (Beyond Meat, Planet, Recursion, and others) and 15 acquisitions including Corvus (acquired), DarwinAI (acquired by Apple), Canvas (acquired), Amply Energy (acquired), and Bakpax (acquired) ¹⁸. The Beyond Meat IPO in 2019 was a breakout success with Obvious holding a 9% stake at IPO ⁹.

Key learning noted by the firm: Two failed SMB software startups taught that customer acquisition cost challenges in small business segments are severe due to customer mortality — leading to a preference for revenue models that grow with customers (exemplified by Gusto) ³.

Portfolio

This table represents 35 portfolio companies sourced from the Obvious Ventures portfolio page. The firm has made additional investments not listed here.

In Their Own Words

“We should invest in companies we wish existed in the world.” — Ev Williams, Co-Founder, Obvious Ventures ³.

On the firm’s approach to “world positive” investing: “There’s lots of investments that might make money, let’s narrow down the ones that we invest in to those that we legitimately and honestly think will have positive impact at scale.” — Obvious Ventures, describing their investment filter ².

The firm has stated that their core values are encoded as: “relentlessly curious about the future, deeply committed to our founders, and always asking whether the world is better because this company exists” ¹.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials were found during this research pass. The firm’s website features portfolio company descriptions but does not prominently display founder quotes about the investor experience. Additional dedicated search for founder testimonials in podcast transcripts and social media would strengthen this section.

Sources