Breakout Ventures raises $114M fund to back AI science startups

Breakout Ventures has closed a $114 million Fund III to back AI-focused early-stage startups working in scientific fields such as biology and chemistry. 

The firm 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 the firm was looking for companies focused on “unlocking the complexity of science with AI.”

Breakout spun out of a grant program from the Thiel Foundation, and officially launched in 2016. It has previously raised two funds: a $60 million Fund 1 in 2017 and a $112.5 million Fund II in 2021, also focused on science startups. 

“We’ve always been focused on the opportunity for technology to unlock the power of biology and chemistry to solve massive unmet needs and create new markets,” she told TechCrunch. 

It took around a year and a half to raise Fund III, she said, from limited partners including The Kraft Group, Pinegrove Venture Partners, and Cubed Capital.

“Breakout founders may be PhDs who developed the science they are commercializing, or they may be emerging from industry where they deeply understand the need and opportunity,” she said. “Either way, we look for fit — the obvious reason why this is the best person to build a specific company.”