Rhapsody Venture Partners
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Team
About
Rhapsody Venture Partners is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based seed-stage venture firm founded in 2016 that invests exclusively in hard-tech and industrial science startups 12. The firm co-creates and leads early-stage investments in companies born from university research and scientific breakthroughs, with a typical first check of $500K to $2M 13.
Rhapsody focuses on industrial sciences (non-life science) — areas like new materials, engineering innovations, chemistries, food tech, semiconductors, and clean energy 3. The firm’s stated vision is that “hard tech innovation can create a sustainable and prosperous world” 4.
As of late 2025, the firm has made 50 investments across its funds 2. The portfolio includes 1 unicorn exit (Apeel) and multiple acquisitions 25. Fund size has not been publicly disclosed.
The team of 9 is led by Managing Partner Carsten Boers and General Partners Jason Whaley and Bernard Lupien 3. Whaley, a co-founder, was previously CEO of Manus Biosynthesis, one of the firm’s portfolio companies 6.
Stated Thesis
Rhapsody believes that traditional VC and angel networks are poorly suited for early-stage hard tech, which requires specialized expertise, deep industry access, and substantial time investment 4. The firm positions itself as a co-creation partner rather than a passive capital provider 4.
The firm targets scientific researchers — graduate students, post-docs, undergrads, and professors — who have developed innovations through rigorous experimentation and often grant-funded research 4. Rhapsody argues that growing populations and resource constraints demand hard tech solutions, and that the next decades will be shaped by critical progress in applied science and engineering 4.
Inferred Thesis
Based on 26 verified active portfolio companies from the firm’s portfolio page 5:
- Semiconductors / Photonics: 4 companies (15%) — VioNano, ChEmpower, Polaris, Light Trace Photonics
- Food Tech / Ag Tech: 4 companies (15%) — Lasso, NuCicer, Chinova, Manus Bio
- Energy / Climate: 4 companies (15%) — Cnergreen, Ph7, Fluid Efficiency, SpinDrive
- Autonomous Systems / Sensors: 4 companies (15%) — NODAR, GPR, Tendo Technologies, Sensatek
- Materials / Manufacturing: 4 companies (15%) — Biophilica, HyperDamping, Kinalco, Adden
- AI / Computing Infrastructure: 2 companies (8%) — Netpreme, Wavelogix
- Other (wireless, chemicals, healthcare, haptics): 4 companies (15%)
Notable patterns: - 100% hard tech — no software-only or consumer internet - Strong university research pipeline: Harvard (Adden, Lasso), Purdue (Wavelogix), and others - Exclusively seed-stage first checks with active follow-on - Concentrated in the Boston/Cambridge corridor - Diverse across industrial verticals — not locked into one sector - Co-creation model: Manus Bio was co-founded by GP Jason Whaley
Portfolio
| Company | Stage | Year | Sector | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apeel | Seed | 2013 | Food Tech | Exited (unicorn) | 25 |
| Manus Bio | Co-founded | 2012 | Biomanufacturing | Active | 56 |
| NODAR | Seed | 2019 | Autonomous Vehicles | Active | 5 |
| Lasso | Seed (led) | 2020 | Food Tech | Active | 5 |
| GPR | Seed | 2020 | Autonomous Vehicles | Acquired (BTG Positioning, 2025) | 35 |
| Magnolia Medical | Seed | 2019 | Healthcare | Active | 5 |
| Sensatek | Seed | 2020 | Aerospace Sensors | Active | 5 |
| Chinova | Seed | 2020 | Food Preservation | Active | 5 |
| Tendo Technologies | Seed | 2021 | Sensors | Active | 5 |
| Holiferm | Seed | 2021 | Renewable Chemicals | Active | 5 |
| Fluid Efficiency | Seed | 2021 | Industrial/Energy | Active | 5 |
| Biophilica | Seed (led) | 2022 | Sustainable Materials | Active | 5 |
| ChEmpower | Seed | 2022 | Semiconductors | Active | 5 |
| Latys | Seed | 2022 | Wireless | Active | 5 |
| HyperDamping | Seed | 2022 | Materials | Active | 5 |
| Kinalco | Seed | 2022 | Materials | Active | 5 |
| NuCicer | Seed | 2022 | Ag Tech | Active | 5 |
| Polaris | Seed | 2023 | Photonics | Active | 5 |
| SpinDrive | Seed | 2023 | Industrial Technology | Active | 5 |
| Cnergreen | Seed | 2023 | Energy/Carbon Capture | Active | 5 |
| Ph7 | Seed | 2023 | Materials/Energy | Active | 5 |
| Adden | Seed | 2023 | Energy Storage | Active | 5 |
| Titan Haptics | Seed | 2023 | Hardware | Active | 5 |
| Wavelogix | Series A | 2024 | Construction Tech | Active | 7 |
| VioNano | Seed | 2024 | Semiconductors | Active | 5 |
| Light Trace Photonics | Seed | 2024 | Photonics | Active | 5 |
| Netpreme | Seed | 2024 | AI Infrastructure | Active | 5 |
| Nuclear Turbines | Foundational (participated, £15M / ~€17.5M; IQ Capital led; Zero Carbon Capital and Empirical Ventures also participated) | 2026-07-27 | Energy / Nuclear / Deep Tech | Active | 8910 |
| Relativity Networks | Seed (participated, $22M SAFE; no lead disclosed; Bell Ventures and Faster Than Glass also participated; company simultaneously disclosed a $40M follow-on order from an unnamed hyperscaler) | 2026-08-19 | Data Centers / Hollow-Core Fiber / AI Infrastructure | Active | 111213 |
In Their Own Words
No independently sourced quotes from firm partners found at this time.
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials found.
Sources
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VCSheet, “Rhapsody Venture Partners — VC Fund Breakdown,” accessed April 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/fund/rhapsody-venture-partners↩↩
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Crunchbase, “Rhapsody Venture Partners — Company Profile & Funding,” accessed April 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rhapsody-venture-partners-llc↩↩↩↩
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Rhapsody Venture Partners homepage, accessed April 2026. https://rhapsodyvp.com/↩↩↩↩
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Rhapsody Venture Partners mission page, accessed April 2026. https://rhapsodyvp.com/mission/↩↩↩↩↩
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Rhapsody Venture Partners portfolio page, accessed April 2026. https://rhapsodyvp.com/portfolio/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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LinkedIn, “Jason Whaley — Rhapsody Venture Partners,” accessed April 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmwhaley/↩↩
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Purdue University, “Purdue-related startup Wavelogix receives $3M investment from Rhapsody Venture Partners,” 2024. https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/2024/Q2/purdue-related-startup-wavelogix-receives-3m-investment-from-rhapsody-venture-partners/↩
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“Manchester’s Nuclear Turbines raises €17.5 million to develop compact, cost-effective nuclear power systems,” EU-Startups, July 27, 2026. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/07/manchesters-nuclear-turbines-raises-e17-5-million-to-develop-compact-cost-effective-nuclear-power-systems/ — Names Rhapsody Venture Partners as a participant in the IQ Capital-led foundational round. ↩
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“Ex-BAE Systems engineer ‘flips the script’ on nuclear power,” BusinessCloud, July 27, 2026. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://businesscloud.co.uk/news/ex-bae-systems-engineer-flips-the-script-on-nuclear-power/ — Confirms Rhapsody Venture Partners’ participation in the £15M round led by IQ Capital. ↩
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Tech.eu, “BAE Systems’ energy spinout Nuclear Turbines emerges from stealth with £15M raise,” July 27, 2026. Accessed July 2026. https://tech.eu/2026/07/27/bae-systems-energy-spinout-nuclear-turbines-emerges-from-stealth-with-ps15m-raise/ — Third independent primary source confirming Rhapsody Venture Partners as a participant alongside IQ Capital (lead), Zero Carbon Capital, and Empirical Ventures. Founders: Jeremy Owston (ex-BAE) and Prof. Tim Abram. Manchester, UK. ↩
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TechCrunch, “Relativity Networks raises $22 million to bring a faster kind of fiber to data centers,” August 19, 2026, accessed September 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/19/relativity-networks-raises-22-million-to-bring-a-faster-kind-of-fiber-to-data-centers/ — Tier-1 tech press confirming Relativity Networks’ $22M SAFE seed round on 2026-08-19 with Rhapsody Venture Partners, Bell Ventures, and Faster Than Glass as participating investors and a $40M hyperscaler follow-on order. ↩
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Data Center Dynamics, “Relativity Networks completes $22m raise, as hollow-core fiber provider secures $40m hyperscaler contract,” August 2026, accessed September 2026. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/relativity-networks-completes-22m-raise-as-hollow-core-fiber-provider-secures-40m-hyperscaler-contract/ — Independent trade-press confirmation of the $22M SAFE seed and the $40M hyperscaler contract, with Rhapsody Venture Partners named among the participating investors. ↩
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PR Newswire, “Relativity Networks Raises $22M and Lands $40M Hyperscaler Contract to Power the AI Geography Era,” August 2026, accessed September 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/relativity-networks-raises-22m-and-lands-40m-hyperscaler-contract-to-power-the-ai-geography-era-302854769.html — Company primary source (PR Newswire syndication) confirming $22M SAFE seed round with Rhapsody Venture Partners, Bell Ventures, and Faster Than Glass, plus the $40M hyperscaler purchase order. Round more than doubled the original target. ↩