Vishal Vasishth
Co-Founder & Managing Director at Obvious Ventures
Reviewed Updated Mar 26, 2026This profile is AI-generated. If you spot an error, please help us fix it by sharing a URL to the correct information.
Managing Director at Obvious Ventures, a $1B+ impact-focused firm co-founded in 2014. Heavily invests in healthcare and biotech (44% of portfolio) alongside fintech and climate tech, backed by deep domain expertise from prior roles at Patagonia, B Lab, and as founder of SONG Investment Advisors. Combines purpose-driven thesis with rigorous founder evaluation, preferring scientist-founders who can articulate precise outcomes.
Background
Vishal Vasishth is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at Obvious Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm he co-founded in May 2014 with James Joaquin, Ev Williams, and Andrew Beebe 12. The firm manages over $1 billion in assets across five funds 3.
Vasishth grew up in Chandigarh, India, near the Himalayan foothills 2. At age 17, he suffered a severe motorbike accident that left him hospitalized for over six months; shortly after beginning his recovery, his father died suddenly 2. He earned a B.Tech degree from an engineering university near Delhi, then moved to the United States at age 22 2. He holds an M.S. in technology management from North Carolina State University and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management 12.
Before becoming an investor, Vasishth spent nearly a decade at Patagonia, rising from product manager to Chief Strategy Officer 12. He has described the experience as transformative, saying he went from a “diehard capitalist” to a “compassionate capitalist” during his time there 2. After Patagonia, he co-founded B Lab with Bart Houlahan and Jay Coen Gilbert, creating the original B Corp certification standards to measure social and environmental impact 12.
Following his B Corp work, Vasishth served as a senior executive at Steve Case’s Revolution, LLC 1. He then founded SONG Investment Advisors, an India-based fund backed by the Soros Economic Development Fund, Omidyar Network, and Google, where he led investments in healthcare, education, agriculture, and financial services from 2008 to 2013 124.
Vasishth is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a Next Generation Fellow at the American Assembly 1.
Stated Thesis
(Self-reported: These represent what Vasishth says publicly about his investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)
Vasishth has stated that he invests in “values-driven founders and companies that dramatically improve healthcare outcomes, create more human-centered financial systems, and use AI to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time” 1.
On the firm’s founding vision, he has said: “We see the world’s current economic challenges as opportunities, and we want to find entrepreneurs who share this vision” 1.
Vasishth has described Obvious Ventures’ investment philosophy as centered on the belief that “the most valuable companies would be the ones solving humanity’s biggest problems” 2. The firm organizes investments across three pillars: planetary health, human health, and economic health 35.
On evaluating founders, Vasishth asks entrepreneurs what is the “gift” they are going to share with the world, and how it might help improve the status quo by 10x or more 6. He has a preference for founders who pitch specific, tangible outcomes rather than vague ambitions, advising entrepreneurs to articulate precise goals such as eliminating fossil fuels from the energy grid or reversing Type 2 diabetes without drugs 4.
On purpose-driven investing, Vasishth has stated that purpose and profit create a flywheel effect, and that purpose-driven investing has moved from niche to central in market trends 7.
Inferred Thesis
(Based on 18 verified investments where Vasishth is identified as the lead partner or board member. The firm has 113 total portfolio companies across all partners.)
Sector distribution: Based on 18 verified Vasishth-led investments: 8 healthcare/biotech (44%), 4 fintech/insurance (22%), 3 climate/energy (17%), 2 AI/tech (11%), 1 food/agriculture (6%).
Healthcare is Vasishth’s dominant focus, representing nearly half of his verified investments. Within healthcare, he spans the full stack from digital health platforms (Virta Health, Galileo, Devoted Health) to tech-enabled care delivery (ConcertoCare, Tomorrow Health) to AI-driven drug discovery (Recursion, Iterative Health). This concentration in healthcare is consistent with his stated thesis.
Stage distribution: Of 18 verified investments: 10 early stage — Seed or Series A (56%), 5 Series B (28%), 3 growth stage (17%). He primarily enters at Seed and Series A, consistent with Obvious Ventures’ positioning as an early-stage firm.
Check size: Reported range of $250K to $6M with a sweet spot of $3M 48. This is consistent with Obvious Ventures’ fund sizes and early-stage focus.
Geographic focus: Portfolio companies are overwhelmingly U.S.-based, with concentrations in San Francisco/Bay Area and Boston.
Founder profile patterns: Vasishth gravitates toward founders with deep domain expertise in regulated industries (healthcare, insurance, energy). Several portfolio companies were founded by executives from incumbents (e.g., Devoted Health founders came from Oscar Health and Athenahealth). His Patagonia background appears to inform a preference for founders with authentic mission alignment, not just market-opportunity framing.
Co-investor patterns: Frequent co-investors across Vasishth’s portfolio include Venrock (Virta Health, Devoted Health), Andreessen Horowitz (Brightside, Inceptive), and Y Combinator (Pyka). The firm often co-invests with other impact-oriented funds.
Notable gap: Despite the firm’s “economic health” pillar encompassing fintech and SMB software, Vasishth’s personal portfolio is heavily weighted toward healthcare relative to the firm’s overall portfolio mix. His fintech investments (Openly, Corvus, Brightside, Prism Data) are significant but secondary to his healthcare concentration.
Portfolio
Companies where Vasishth is identified as lead partner, board member, or board observer:
| Company | Year | Stage | Sector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virta Health | 2017 | Series A | Healthcare | 9 |
| Devoted Health | 2017 | Series A | Healthcare | 10 |
| Corvus Insurance | 2019 | Series B | Insurtech | 11 |
| Openly | 2020 | Series A (led) | Insurtech | 12 |
| Galileo | ~2019 | Series A | Healthcare | 13 |
| Recursion Pharmaceuticals | 2016 | Series A | Biotech/AI | 14 |
| Brightside | 2022 | Series B (led) | Fintech | 15 |
| ConcertoCare | 2022 | Series B | Healthcare | 16 |
| Beyond Meat | 2015 | Early Stage | Food/Agriculture | 17 |
| Iterative Health | 2021 | Early Stage | Healthcare/AI | 17 |
| ~unknown | Pi Health | — | Series A | Healthcare/AI |
| ~unknown | Prism Data | — | Seed (led) | Fintech |
| ~unknown | Tomorrow Health | — | — | Healthcare |
| Pyka | 2024 | Series B (led) | Climate/Aviation | 19 |
| Zanskar | 2024 | Series B (led) | Climate/Energy | 20 |
| Inceptive | 2023 | Series A | Biotech/AI | 21 |
| Planet Labs | ~2015 | Early Stage | Climate/Planetary | 17 |
| ~unknown | Diamond Foundry | — | Early Stage | Climate/Materials |
This table represents investments where Vasishth is specifically identified as the lead partner. Obvious Ventures has 113 total portfolio companies across all partners 3.
In Their Own Words
“We see the world’s current economic challenges as opportunities, and we want to find entrepreneurs who share this vision.” — Vishal Vasishth, Obvious Ventures website 1
“What we’ve seen again and again is that purpose is not a constraint on innovation. It’s the spark that drives it.” — Vishal Vasishth, StartUp Health Fireside Chat, November 2025 7
“We can’t accept business practices that fly in the face of what we stand for.” — Vishal Vasishth, Obvious Ventures blog 6
“We can’t drive our purpose without being profitable.” — Vishal Vasishth, Obvious Ventures blog 6
“Prism Data embodies our philosophy of investing in companies that harness technology to deliver more world-positive products and services.” — Vishal Vasishth, Prism Data funding announcement 18
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Vasishth holds board seats or observer roles at several portfolio companies including Openly (Board of Directors), Galileo (Board Observer), and Tomorrow Health (Board Observer) 4, suggesting active post-investment involvement, but no public founder quotes about working with him were identified through dedicated searching.
Connections
- Board of Directors, Openly — homeowners insurance platform 4
- Board Observer, Galileo — mobile healthcare platform 22
- Board Observer, Tomorrow Health — home health platform 4
- Co-founder, B Lab — alongside Bart Houlahan and Jay Coen Gilbert; created B Corp certification standards 2
- Former Chief Strategy Officer, Patagonia — worked under founder Yvon Chouinard 2
- Former Senior Executive, Revolution, LLC — worked with Steve Case 1
- Henry Crown Fellow, Aspen Institute 1
Sources
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Obvious Ventures, “Vishal Vasishth” team profile, accessed March 2026. https://obvious.com/team/vishal-vasishth/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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Obvious Ventures, “How I Got to Now: Vishal Vasishth,” accessed March 2026. https://obvious.com/ideas/how-i-got-to-now-vishal-vasishth/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Obvious Ventures lands fund five with a 360-degree view of planetary, human, economic health,” January 26, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/26/obvious-ventures-lands-fund-five-with-a-360-degree-view-of-planetary-human-economic-health/↩↩↩
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Signal by NFX, “Vishal Vasishth Investing Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/vishal-vasishth↩↩↩↩↩↩
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Obvious Ventures, “Introducing The Obvious 360 Fund,” January 2026. https://obvious.com/ideas/introducing-the-obvious-360-fund/↩
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Obvious Ventures, “The Engine of Purpose That Drives Successful Companies,” accessed March 2026. https://obvious.com/ideas/the-engine-of-purpose-that-drives-successful-companies/↩↩↩
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StartUp Health, “Reimagining Capitalism with Purpose: A Fireside Chat with Vishal Vasishth of Obvious Ventures on the Future of Health,” November 2025. https://www.startuphealth.com/startup-health-blog/reimagining-capitalism-with-purpose-vishal-vasishth-on-obvious-ventures-and-the-future-of-health↩↩
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VCSheet, “Vishal Vasishth (Obvious Ventures),” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/vishal-vasishth↩
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Virta Health, “With $45 million of new capital, Virta is ready to accelerate its growth,” accessed March 2026. https://www.virtahealth.com/blog/with-45-million-of-new-capital-virta-is-ready-to-accelerate-its-growth↩
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Tracxn, “Devoted Health Funding Rounds & List of Investors,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/devoted-health/__nmiBadft21nnUP-nWEEAloTvR_grXaYBipctTJsUys4/funding-and-investors↩
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Corvus Insurance, “Announcing Our Series B Investment,” 2019. https://www.corvusinsurance.com/pressroom/announcing-our-series-b-investment↩
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Insurance Journal, “Upmarket Homeowners Insurance Platform Openly Raises $15 Million,” June 24, 2020. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/06/24/573367.htm↩
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Crunchbase, “Galileo Series A Funding Round,” accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/funding_round/galileo-health-series-a–6c7ab07f↩
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Business Wire, “Recursion Pharmaceuticals Raises $13M to Discover New Drugs Using Artificial Intelligence,” October 3, 2016. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161003005212/en/Recursion-Pharmaceuticals-Raises-13M-to-Discover-New-Drugs-Using-Artificial-Intelligence↩
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PR Newswire, “Brightside Accelerates Plans to Help Employers Provide Financial Care to Employees with $33M in Series B Funding,” November 2022. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brightside-accelerates-plans-to-help-employers-provide-financial-care-to-employees-with-33m-in-series-b-funding-301674617.html↩
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GlobeNewsWire, “ConcertoCare Raises $105 Million to Expand Value-Based, At-Home Care Model,” February 3, 2022. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/02/03/2378256/0/en/ConcertoCare-Raises-105-Million-to-Expand-Value-Based-At-Home-Care-Model-to-More-Seniors-with-Unmet-Health-and-Social-Needs.html↩
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Obvious Ventures, Portfolio page, accessed March 2026. https://obvious.com/portfolio/↩↩↩
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FFNews, “Prism Data Raises $5 Million in Seed Funding from Obvious Ventures, Citi Impact Fund and Others,” accessed March 2026. https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/funding/prism-data-raises-5-million-in-seed-funding-from-obvious-ventures-citi-impact-fund-and-others/↩
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PR Newswire, “Pyka Secures $40M Series B to Advance Commercialization of Dual-use Autonomous Electric Aircraft,” September 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pyka-secures-40m-series-b-to-advance-commercialization-of-dual-use-autonomous-electric-aircraft-302255688.html↩
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ImpactAlpha, “Zanskar snags $30 million for AI-based geothermal energy exploration,” May 2024. https://impactalpha.com/zanskar-snags-30-million-for-ai-based-geothermal-energy-exploration/↩
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Crunchbase, “Inceptive Financial Details,” accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/inceptive-5b4a/financial_details↩
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The Org, “Vishal Vasishth - Board Observer at Galileo,” accessed March 2026. https://theorg.com/org/galileo/org-chart/vishal-vasishth↩