Breakout Ventures

Breakout Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to building the future through science-driven innovation. The firm invests in early-stage companies that leverage the intersection of biology, chemistry, and technology to create transformative products and solutions. Their investment focus spans critical areas such as human health and sustainability, backing founders who are expanding the frontier of what's possible to create new markets and define the next generation of category-leading companies.

The firm was founded in 2016 by Lindy Fishburne and Julia Moore, emerging from Breakout Labs, a program of the Thiel Foundation. Lindy Fishburne, a Managing Partner, previously launched Breakout Labs in 2011, which provided grants for early-stage scientific research. This background instilled a definitive view that technology leverage is key to unlocking biology and chemistry for transformative products. Breakout Ventures was established to provide traditional venture capital investments, focusing on rigorous partnerships and identifying critical inflection points in scientific innovation.

Breakout Ventures has built a diverse portfolio of companies that are delivering on the promise of science. Notable investments include Cytovale, which diagnoses immune-mediated diseases; Modern Meadow, focused on sustainable biofabrication; STRM.BIO, developing in vivo gene therapy; and Ecovative Design, known for mycelium-grown materials. Other key portfolio companies include Noetik, which trains foundation models for cancer immunotherapies, Epana Bio, advancing autoimmune care, ZymoChem, increasing performance chemical yields with biomanufacturing, and Twelve, transforming carbon dioxide emissions into useful chemicals.

The Breakout Ventures team comprises experienced scientists and operators with deep technical understanding and commercial fluency. Managing Partners Lindy Fishburne and Julia Moore lead the investment strategy, supported by Partner Dana Watt, PhD, and Partner Nima Ronaghi, PhD, among others. The team's expertise allows them to anticipate roadblocks and navigate the complexities inherent in frontier science and technology, providing founders with not just capital, but also a catalytic network of corporates, strategic partners, and next-stage investors to accelerate growth and achieve milestones.