Breakout Ventures raises $114 million fund to support AI science startups

Breakout Ventures has closed its third fund, worth $114 million, to support early-stage AI-focused startups working in scientific fields such as biology and chemistry.

The company has already written checks to three companies and plans to invest in at least 20 companies through this fund, with average check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. Lindy Fishburne, managing director of Breakout Ventures, told TechCrunch that the company was looking for companies focused on “unlocking the complexities of science with AI.”

The Breakout Foundation grew out of a grant program from the Thiel Foundation and officially launched in 2016. It previously raised two funds: a $60 million Fund 1 in 2017 and a $112.5 million Fund 2 in 2021, which also focuses on scientific startups.

“We have always focused on the opportunity for technology to unleash the power of biology and chemistry to solve vast unmet needs and create new markets,” she told TechCrunch.

It took about a year and a half to raise the third fund from limited partners, including The Kraft Group, Pinegrove Venture Partners and S-Cubed Capital, she said.

“Outstanding founders may be PhDs who have developed the science they commercialize, or they may be coming out of an industry where they deeply understand the need and opportunity,” she said. “Either way, we’re looking for the right person — the obvious reason why that person is the best person to build a particular company.”