Many venture capitalists, especially those in newer firms, have openly acknowledged that 2024 has presented significant difficulties in raising fresh capital. Dimension Capital, a relatively young venture outfit that is just two years old, had a distinct experience when it came to raising its second fund. Zavian Dar, one of the firm's three founders and managing partners, stated that every investor from their first fund returned very promptly. Additionally, they managed to bring in a small number of new investors. However, they ended up having to turn away the vast majority of limited partners (LPs) who expressed interest. Surprisingly, within less than two years after closing their initial $350 million fund, Dimension announced the successful raising of an oversubscribed $500 million fund, surpassing their initial target of $400 million.
Dimension Capital's Unique Focus and Appeal
The key to Dimension Capital's success lies in its unique focus on investing at the intersection of life sciences and technology. This area has witnessed a surge in popularity in recent years as the potential of drug discovery with artificial intelligence becomes increasingly tangible. In fact, Dar claims that Dimension is the first venture capital firm dedicated solely to bridging the gap between biology and computer science. Since its establishment in 2022 by Dar, who previously served as a general partner at Lux Capital, along with Adam Goulburn (pictured on the right) and Nan Li (pictured on the left), Dimension has made investments in approximately 20 companies. Approximately half of these startups are still in stealth mode.Among the firm's known portfolio companies is Chai Discovery, a startup that is developing an open-sourced AI foundational model for drug discovery. In September, Chai raised $30 million in seed funding, with Thrive Capital and OpenAI leading the round and Dimension participating. The firm has also backed Enveda Biosciences, a biotech that utilizes AI to develop medicines from natural compounds. Last month, Enveda Biosciences raised a $130 million Series C.When the firm first launched, the partners initially focused primarily on early-stage investing. However, their focus has since expanded to encompass all stages of development, ranging from the initial stages to public companies. Dimension has invested in Monte Rosa, a publicly-traded biotech that employs AI tools for drug development.The stage-agnostic approach adopted by Dimension allows them to write checks ranging from as low as a million dollars to as much as $30 million or more. Just like their first fund, their second fund is likely to have around 20 portfolio companies.Dimension's current portfolio is roughly divided between drug discovery companies and software and infrastructure companies that support biopharma. For instance, there is a still-stealth startup that is building robots to automate lab experiments.Dimension Capital has declined to disclose the names of their LPs but has stated that the list includes endowments, hospitals, and research institutions, among others.Unlike many traditional life sciences VCs, Dimension will only invest in biotech startups if "25%, 30%, even 40% of the team are computational biologists." Goulburn emphasized that these are machine learning practitioners, AI engineers, and hardware roboticists who work in harmony with chemists and biologists to drive drug discovery.Dar expressed his admiration for the founders who have chosen to establish businesses in this sector. He noted that one of the remarkable aspects of this current era is the caliber of entrepreneurs. These highly ambitious, technically proficient, and scientifically literate individuals are all entering this competitive arena.
